March 2026 - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog

Red and Green: New Mexico’s Food Scene is On Fire – March, 2026

Gil GardunoMarch 31, 2026March 31, 20261:01 AM

NEW MEXICO REPRESENTED IN JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION FINALISTS LIST; The James Beard Foundation (JBF) has announced its 2026 finalists. Only two of the Land of Enchantment’s purveyors of food or adult beverages made the list. Albuquerque’s Bow & Arrow Brewing Company is a finalist in the “Outstanding Bar” category, while Steve Riley of Mesa Provisions, also in Albuquerque, was named one of five finalists in the “Best Chef – Southwest” category. Chef Riley was a semifinalist in the best chef category in 2024. NEW MEXICO BOASTS OF ONE OF 13 TOP PIE SHOPS IN AMERICA: Pi Day is an annual, worldwide celebration of the mathematical constant \(\pi \) (pi). Pi Day is held on March 14 (3/14) because 3, 1, and…

Albuquerque American Dog Friendly Fusion New Mexico Rating: Very Good

Fuego 505 Rotisserie & Bar – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoMarch 29, 2026March 31, 202611:01 PM

“I have become obsessed with cooking meat over fire. I get prepared for it. I make sure I’m hungry before I cook it. The smell of the smoke and the aroma of the crackling meat ignites some ancient genetic memories. It makes cooking and eating significantly better.” ~Joe Rogan, Podcast Host Those of us with a carnivorous bent can relate to Joe Rogan’s ode to cooking meat over fire. There’s absolutely nothing as mouth-watering as the heady aroma and melodious sound of meat searing on the grill or sizzling in a pan. An argument can easily be made that nothing evokes a wanton lust more than smoke perfumed by meat as it wafts toward our anxiously awaiting nostrils. The sounds…

Asian Lao New Mexico Rating: Outstanding Rio Rancho Sushi Thai

Vong Sushi Thai and Laos Cuisine – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil GardunoMarch 28, 2026March 31, 202612:01 AM

Grammatically any of the following is correct: Laotian cuisine, Lao cuisine or the cuisine of Laos. Just don’t ever call it “Laosy cuisine.” That would not only be a malapropism, it would be wholly inaccurate. The cuisine of Laos is among the most dynamic and delicious in Southeast Asia, if not the world. One of the reasons Laotian cuisine doesn’t receive the accolades it deserves is because of its neighbors. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia bordered by Myanmar (formerly Burma), China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. To some extent, these neighbors (at least China, Vietnam and Thailand) have surpassed Laos on the world’s culinary stage–not necessarily because their cuisine is superior, but because it’s…

Albuquerque Asian New Mexico Rating: Excellent Thai

Hot Pink Thai Cuisine – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoMarch 21, 2026March 31, 20265:36 PM

Black socks and sandals, mixing plaids and polka dots, middle-aged men wearing trousers up to their nipples, T-shirts that accentuate the “spare tire” look, fat guys wearing culottes… If there’s a fashion faux-pas out there, you can bet some of us XY-chromosome-enabled fashion Luddites have committed it and then some. When it comes to fashion, many of us are as clueless as a pirate wearing two eye patches. There is, however, one fashion statement we won’t make. Among the six to seven shirts hanging (wrinkles and all) in our closets, none will be the color pink. Nor will they be salmon, carnation, rose, Amaranth or any other shade of pink fashionistas invented in an effort to get us to wear…

Albuquerque New Mexico Rating: Good Southwestern Truth or Consequences

Casa Taco – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoMarch 19, 2026April 3, 202611:20 PM

Nowadays, hoy en día, with our world full of war and violence and lack of love, a world full of greed A world of domination, grasping power, venal stupidity, real evil. Don’t get me started. It’s good to know that a conversation about tacos will always engender a sense of comfort and happiness. If only we could sit down at a big round world table and eat tacos in a spirit of love we might begin to work on world peace!” ~Denise Chavez New Mexican Author Not even the beloved taco was excluded from the divisiveness of 2016’s contentious presidential campaign. Marco Gutierrez, founder of the group Latinos for Trump warned MSNBC that without tighter immigration policies…”you’re going to have…

Albuquerque Asian Japanese New Mexico Ramen Rating: Outstanding

Oni Noodles – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoMarch 14, 2026March 31, 20262:06 PM

In retrospect, the monsters and bogeymen who frightened impressionable children of my generation were pretty lame. Perhaps the most lame of them all was Frankenstein, a lumbering behemoth who walked around with his arms outstretched like a sleepwalking Shaquille O’Neal. Frankenstein snarled and growled a lot, probably because Gene Hackman poured hot soup on his lap. Then there was that pasty-faced vampire Dracula who could be repelled with garlic (which explains his aversion for Italian food). Dracula couldn’t even enjoy New Mexico’s 310 days of sunshine without sizzling and hissing like a strip of bacon. In comparison Japan’s monsters are pretty badass. Godzilla, a foul-tempered prehistoric sea monster prone to tantrums destroyed Tokyo several times and was pretty much impervious…

Albuquerque Asian Chinese New Mexico Rating: N/R (Not Rated)

Fei’s Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoMarch 12, 2026April 6, 202612:12 AM

Some say the map of China looks like a chicken. The province of Sichuan in Southwest China would be right in the stomach of that chicken. That’s fitting because the cuisine of Sichuan is internationally renowned for its liberal use of spice. What characterizes Sichuan from the other regions of China is its use of Sichuan peppercorn, chilies, and the ability to take even the most mundane of ingredients to create fabulous dishes. There’s a term for the flavor profile associated with Sichuan cuisine. It’s the word “mala” which translates to “numbing spice.” The “ma” portion of that term comes from the use of Sichuan Peppercorns (which are actually in the same botanical family as citrus, not chilies). Sichuan peppercorns…

Albuquerque Breakfast Mexican Rating: Excellent

Delicias Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoMarch 8, 2026March 31, 202611:59 PM

There’s no denying the ever-increasing popularity of Mexican food across America, but it may surprise you to learn that in the estimation of some sources, it has supplanted Italian food as the favorite ethnic cuisine in the land. Marketplace, a nationally syndicated business oriented radio program with more than nine-million listeners a week, says there’s no bones about it, calling Mexican food “the most popular ethnic food in the U.S., bigger than Italian or Chinese.” Askmen.com confirms only that “Mexican has become one of the three most popular cuisines in the U.S., with nearly 90% of the total population having tasted it.” According to Marketplace, there are some 90,000 or so Mexican restaurants across the fruited plain. The loose categorization…

Albuquerque Asian New Mexico Rating: Outstanding Vietnamese

SAIGON CITY – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoMarch 3, 2026March 31, 202612:02 AM

NOTE: Saigon City shuttered its doors on 31 October 2025 to allow the owners to take a much-needed vacation. It reopened on 12 January 2026. During the time away, Shawn negotiated an extension to the lease which will keep Saigon City at its familiar location. For that, regulars at this outstanding Vietnamese restaurant are elated. My brother in blogging Ryan Cook describes his first day in Vietnam: “So, my first stop in Vietnam was the capital, Hanoi. My honest first impressions… what the hell have I let myself in for. Seriously…The roads are chaos! The ride from the airport to the hostel was basically 40 minutes of holding my breath and cringing. How someone wasn’t killed in front of my…

African Albuquerque Ethiopian New Mexico Rating: N/R (Not Rated)

Clay Pot Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoMarch 1, 2026April 6, 202612:01 AM

“This stuffing of food in your fellow diners’ face is called gursha, and that’s what you do to show your affection and respect. Try this at the Waffle House some time and prepare for awkwardness.” ~Anthony Bourdain, Season 6 of Parts Unknown Eating Ethiopian cuisine involves eating with your hands. That can also be said about eating pizza, sandwiches, tacos, gyros and a number of other foods common to the American palate. But what about being fed from someone else’s hand? In Ethiopia, that practice is called gursha. Gursha is a term for the Ethiopian tradition of hand-feeding a bite of food, wrapped in injera, to someone else as a gesture of love, friendship, and respect. It signifies hospitality, often extended to…