Month: August 2026

New MexicanNew Mexico

Sopaipilla Factory Restaurant – Pojoaque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

If you’re expecting something akin to Willie Wonka’s Chocolate Factory (maybe Guillermo Goloso’s Sopaipilla Factory), you’ll be disappointed.  But, if you’re expecting solid New Mexican cuisine served by an accommodating waitstaff, the Sopaipilla Factory should meet your needs and quell your hunger.  The Sopaipilla Factory sits squarely in the town of Pojoaque, but somehow has a Santa Fe address even though the City Different is eighteen miles away.  That’s not because Pojoaque is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Fe county.  It’s because because Pojoaque relies on a Santa Fe post office and ZIP code routing. Still, having a Santa…

Diners Drive-Ins and DivesFood Network Eats New MexicoMexicanRating: OutstandingTaos County

Antonio’s: A Taste of Mexico – Taos, New Mexico

Gil Garduno10:16 PM

In Veracruz, Mexico, the kitchen fire and the hearth are sacred. The “Women of Smoke” is a beautiful, poetic tribute to the grandmothers, mothers, and daughters who spend their entire lives sitting in front of wood-fired stoves, breathing in the woodsmoke as they cook. For generations, the smoke became a literal part of who they were—weaving into their clothes, their hair, and their skin.  Though the poem exclusively honors women, perhaps the progeny of one of them is Antonio Matus, chef and owner of the eponymous Antonio’s: A Taste of Mexico in Taos, New Mexico.  Like the ode, Antonio is…

ChickenNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)Santa FeSoul Food

Anthony’s Soul Food – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

I couldn’t help but ask Anthony Moore “Don’t you eat your own food?”  Anthony is the lean and lanky owner of the eponymous Anthony’s Soul Cafe in Santa Fe.  He explained that during a typical day he gets in some 12,000 steps (five to six miles) at his restaurant.  That, he claims, is the reason he doesn’t weigh four-hundred pounds. The peripatetic Anthony jokes that his role as owner also includes dish-washer, greeter, host, waiter, chef and whatever else is required during the day.  It’s not that he doesn’t have help.  We had expected to see Anthony’s son whom we…

AlbuquerqueAsianNew MexicoRating: ExcellentThai

Sa Thai Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In 2023, TasteAtlas, an “encyclopedia of flavors, a world atlas of traditional dishes, local ingredients, and authentic restaurants” compiled a ranking of the 100 best cuisines in the world.  The highest rated cuisine in the world (to no surprise) was Italian followed by Japanese then Greek.  Thai cuisine was ranked 17th in the pantheon of great cuisines, just one slot ahead of American cuisine (whatever that is).  TasteAtlas also named Phat Kaphrao (also known as Pad Grapao or “holy basil stir-fry”), a dish made from meat, chili and basil, as the “best stir-fried dish in the world.”  Among the highest…

AlbuquerqueItalianNew MexicoPizza

Pazzi Ristorante Italiano – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In Italian, pazzi is the masculine plural form of pazzo, which means “crazy,” “mad,” or “foolish”. The feminine plural form is “pazza.” In either case, it translates to “crazy people” or “madmen” when used as a noun, or simply “crazy” for masculine plural nouns/adjectives. Interestingly, the name “Pazzi” is derived from the Latin word “pax,” which means peace.  So why would an upscale Italian restaurant in Albuquerque’s Northeast Heights name itself for a crazy person.  Surely, it’s not because owners have been inspired by the crazy officiating of WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association) games in which physicality and dirty play…

AlbuquerqueBurgersNew MexicoRating: Very GoodRio Rancho

Stackers Burger Co. – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In baseball it’s called the “Triple Crown,”an incredibly rare achievement in which a player leads the league in average, home runs, and runs batted in.  To win the triple crown, a player must tremendous power to hit for distance as well as a very keen eye to hit baseballs thrown at nearly 100 miles per hour and place them on the field in positions that result in driving in runs.  In horse racing, the term Triple Crown represents a series of horse races for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.  To win all three of these…

MexicanNew MexicoRating: Very GoodSanta Fe

Gabriel’s of Santa Fe – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:25 AM

Located fifteen miles north of Santa Fe, just south of Pojoaque and within minutes of two garish native American casinos, Gabriel’s is a culinary oasis back-dropped by nearby cedar, cottonwood and pine tree-laden hills and the Santa Fe mountains further to the southeast. Gabriel’s entrance is flanked by unpeeled latillas, a “coyote fence” precursor to one of the best restaurant settings in the Santa Fe area. In the early spring and fall, weather permitting, the sprawling dining room and its Spanish colonial theme are often rebuffed in favor of an outdoor dining experience. For al fresco dining, there are few…

AlbuquerqueAsianNew MexicoRating: OutstandingVietnamese

Saigon City – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:02 AM

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 eyes was a miracle! However, this is something you later don’t even bat an eyelid at after a day or two. Throughout the country, the roads are all complete lawless chaos…BUT it works! Everyone is…

AlbuquerqueBakeryFrenchRating: Excellent

La Quiche Parisienne Bistro – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:00 PM

Who can ever forget Fred the Baker, the haggard, perpetually exhausted Dunkin Donuts baker and his iconic lament, “time to make the donuts?” Every morning an annoying alarm clock would rouse Fred from his deep slumber and he would wearily utter his trademarked catch phrase as he prepared for the rigor of the day. For fifteen years—from 1982 to 1997—Fred the Baker let America know it was time to make the donuts, reminding them that while he was doing so, the guys who make the supermarket donuts were still in bed. The Fred the Baker commercials became ingrained in American…

AmericanBreakfastNew MexicoNew Mexico Culinary Treasures TrailRating: Good

The Silver Screen Restaurant at El Rancho – Gallup, New Mexico

Gil Garduno4:22 AM

In the 1930s and 1940s, sometimes considered the halcyon days of Western movies, the Four Corners region was the site of many cinematic classics, quite a few featuring battles between the cavalry and “misplaced” American Indians.  Never mind that the Cheyenne and the Sioux actually lived hundreds of miles (and several states) away, the region’s dramatic topography was a perfect backdrop for cowboy conflicts with these Midwestern Indians. Besides that, Navajo “actors” were plentiful.  Producers would attire them in war bonnets, arm them with lances and hand them scripts in which they would invariably succumb to the “righteous might” of the…

ArizonaDiners Drive-Ins and DivesItalianPizzaRating: OutstandingUnited States

Fat Olives – Flagstaff, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Several years and a couple of tons ago, my friend “Macho” Mike Moretti and I were the type of trenchermen that all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurants feared so much they established strict time limits.  When a German restaurant on San Mateo offered a free dessert to any diner who could finish a gargantuan combination plate, we easily surmounted the challenge and asked for seconds.  Perhaps our most impressive culinary conquest transpired when Pizza Inn offered a “order one pizza, get the next size free” deal.  We ordered an extra large pizza and a large pizza then polished them off.  That was the…