Month: June 2025

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Afghan Kebab House – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

The juxtoposition of beauty, humanity and tragedy may best be exemplified by a photographic portrait taken in 1984 that graced the cover of National Geographic.  Christened “Afghan Girl,” the photograph depicted Sharbat Gula, a 12-year-old Afghan refugee in Pakistan during the Soviet-Afghan War.   Widely described as the “First World’s Third World Mona Lisa,” the image became a rallying cry for compassion among the Western world for the attrocities being committed in Afghanistan.  CNN called it the world’s most famous photograph.  A framed photograph of the green-eyed Afghan girl hangs prominently on one wall of Albuquerque’s Afghan House. Since 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, more than four-million people have fled the violence and crossed over the border into neighboring…

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Harry’s Roadhouse – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:12 AM

Roadhouses–great inns and restaurants located near major highways traversing the country–once dotted America’s fruited plain, offering respite and sustenance to weary or hungry travelers. Renown for serving great comfort foods, they have been an important part of America’s heritage though with the advent of fast food restaurants and chains, fewer authentic roadhouses exist today.  Harry’s Roadhouse may be a bit more sophisticated and eclectic than its roadhouse brethren, offering several kinds of pizza, sandwiches, burgers, salads, pastas, Cajun and Asian cuisine as well as American comfort food standards that give it a feel and taste of home. To say it’s a popular dining destination is an understatement.  Perhaps the only Santa Fe event which exceeds the number of cars parked…

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MARY & TITO’S CAFE – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:17 AM

Old-timers whose opinions I respect consistently rate Mary & Tito’s as Albuquerque’s best restaurant for New Mexican food, a restaurant that has been pleasing the most savvy and indoctrinated palates alike since 1963. It takes a lot to impress some of those old-timers, none of whom see much substance in the flash and panache of the nouveau restaurants and their pristine veneer and effusive, over-the-top flamboyance. These guys and gals are impressed only by New Mexican food the way their abuelitas prepared it–unadorned, authentic and absolutely wonderful. If you want to evoke their ire, take them to one of the chains. Worse, try sneaking some cumin into their chile. Just how good is Mary & Tito’s? In a span of…

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L&L Hawaiian Barbeque – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

It’s amusing to reflect back on what children of my generation considered funny during the prehistoric days before Nintendo, iPhones and even before color television.  As children were apt to do, we found humor in terms related to scatalogical and bodily functions such as caca, poo poo, pee pee and moco.  The latter is the Spanish term for booger.  Our reaction to learning that Hawaiians actually ate “loco moco” (which translates from Spanish to  “crazy boogers”)  would have beeen simultaneously raucous and nauseating.  Sure, most of us grew up eating chicharrones, menudo and morsillas, but only a crazy person would admit to eating boogers. Hawaiians do indeed eat loco moco, but it has nothing to do with boogers, crazy or…

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Vic’s Daily Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:02 AM

“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?” “What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?” “I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet. Pooh nodded thoughtfully. “It’s the same thing,” he said.” Unlike the great philosopher Winnie the Pooh, many Americans, it seems, don’t equate breakfast with excitement. Studies show that far too many of us fuel our bodies with a “gobble and go” mentality that typifies our frenetic lifestyles. In 2007, one food service industry research firm concluded that most Americans spend no more than three minutes shopping for breakfast (at such paragons of nutritional virtue as McDonald’s and Starbucks).…

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Duke City BBQ – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

During a 2016 campaign event in Phoenix, Arizona, Latinos for Trump founder Marco Gutierrez warned that if the country did not adopt tighter immigration standards as proposed by Republican nominee Donald Trump, there would be “taco trucks on every corner.”  For many of us, the only conceivable retort was along the lines of “what could possibly be wrong with that?”  Tacos (Mexico) have become as American as pizza (Italy), apple pie (England), French fries (Belgium), hot dogs (Germany), peanut butter (Ancient Inca and Aztec civilizations) and barbecue (Caribbean).  These foods may not have been invented in the good ol’ USA, but we’ve adopted them.  They’re part of the fabric of what makes this country fat…er, great. It’s likely that if…

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Sergio’s Bakery & Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In Italy, the oft-used idiom “Senza il pane tutto diventa orfano” translates to “without bread everyone is an orphan.” That’s how important bread  is in Italian culture.  Is it any wonder bread consumption in Italy is higher than in any other European country, even France. Many loaves are made by artisan bakers operating out of family-owned and operated bakeries.  Most work on a small scale and are heavily influenced by family recipes and regional traditions.  Those secrets and techniques have been handed down from baker-to-baker over the years. Family is essential to retaining the continuity of bread-making excellence in Italy.  Whether baking bread for home or operating a panetteria  and (or) a panificio, traditions are passed on from one generation…

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Lescombes Winery & Bistro (Cottonwood) – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Years ago when my job at Intel required frequent travel to the Phoenix area, I marveled at the desert landscaping at Phooenix’s Sky Harbor Airport.  Its xeriscaping approach uses  native, drought-resistant flora arranged in ways that promote efficient water usage.  Towering saguaros and spindly, spine-covered ocotillos greeted sojourners as they vacated the airport.  Not only does this xeriscaping save the city $400,000 annually and reduce water usage by more than five-million gallons per year, it gives visitors a welcome respite from the sun-baked asphalt and cement jungle that is the Valley of the Sun. Driving away from Albuquerque’s Sunport provided a stark contrast to the affable reception of the Sky Harbor.  While the latter was like a warm (scorching) embrace,…