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Closed in 2011EspañolaGone But Not ForgottenNew MexicanNew Mexico

Matilda’s Restaurant – Espanola, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno5:45 PM

In Asi Es Nuevo Mexico, the official state song of New Mexico, former Lieutenant Governor Roberto Mondragon extols in a rich timbre, the incomparably beauteous flowers of The Land of Enchantment–its women. When the verse “lindas mujeras que no tiene igual” (beautiful women without equal) was written, the composer must certainly have had Matilda Guillen in mind. At 81 years young, there is no surcease to Matilda’s boundless energy. She has owned and operated her eponymous restaurant for fifty years and has no plans to retire. On Sunday, September 24th, 2006, throngs of friends, family and admirers gathered together to celebrate her 81st birthday. Surrounded by hundreds of people who know and love her, she was practically showered in flowers, all of which paled in comparison to her inner and outer beauty. Although we had known about her and her restaurant for years, we met Matilda just five days after she had been feted by her family and friends. She was still aglow in happiness and basking in the presence of the flowers and family which remained behind. Though we had never met her before, she treated us the way she treats all her customers–like old friends. She is obviously…

AmericanClosed in 2008Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoSanta Fe

Dave’s Not Here – Santa Fe, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno10:34 AM

Dave’s not here. You really can’t blame him. After all, a Santa Fe district court judge issued (and later rescinded) a temporary restraining order alleging Dave (Letterman) had been tormenting a city resident for more than ten years by using coded words and signals to woo her on his television program. A better theory than mine is posited by David “Whochacha” Pederson, who points out that the line “Dave’s not year” is used repeatedly in a hilarious Cheech and Chong routine you’ve got to listen to. Wrong Daves? Maybe or maybe not. No one really seems to know for sure whom this quaint restaurant is named for. Theories abound, most speculating that the uniquely named neighborhood diner is whimsically named for an erstwhile proprietor who left town in a hurry. Deadbeat dad? Ran afoul of the law? Someone must know, but not even the staff is saying. What diners are saying is that Dave’s serves one of the very best green chile cheeseburgers in the Land of Enchantment, second in the City Different perhaps only to the Bobcat Bite burger (recognized by GQ magazine as one of the 20 best burgers in America). Dave’s serves, in my humble opinion, one…

BernalilloClosed in 2008Gone But Not ForgottenItalianNew Mexico

Capo’s Bottega Ristorante Italiano – Bernalillo, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:38 AM

Fifty years ago when Frank Venaglia opened the first of his family of Capo’s restaurants in Albuquerque, the Italian term “capo” didn’thave quite the notoriety it does today thanks to countless Mafia movies and the Sopranos television series. In the Mafia, capo is a shortened term for “caporegime” or “capodecina” which essentially translate to a high-ranking family member of a crime family who is in charge of a crew of soldiers–a captain so to speak. Today the Venaglia family owns and operates a family of four Italian restaurants-Capo’s Piazza (722 Lomas, N.E.) and Villa Di Capo (722 central, S.W.) in Albuquerque, Capo’s Corner (110 Pioneer Road) in Red River and the latest addition, Capo’s Bottega in Bernalillo. Another family venture, Capo’s Hideaway, also in Albuquerque, closed several years ago. The name “Capo’s” certainly does not imply any affiliation with the Mafia. Think of it more as implying “a captain among New Mexico’s Italian restaurants.” The Bernalillo restaurant is in an idyllic setting despite its proximity to the garish Santa Ana Casino. Situated on the site of the former Milagro restaurant and microbrewery, it’s humdrum facade belies a beautiful exterior. Wood accents are prevalent throughout the restaurant. Climbing the wooden stairs…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2007Fine DiningGone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

Ambrozia – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno11:56 AM

theophany: an encounter with a visible manifestation of a deity. Greek mythology chronicles the adventures of the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus whose primary sustenance was ambrosia, a magical repast which bestowed immortality upon those who consumed it, including humans. The word ambrosia literally means “sweet smelling or delicious,” an appropriate description of the wonderful meals proffered at Ambrozia, an Old Town fine-dining establishment launched in 2003. While dining at Ambrozia probably won’t confer immortality, diners might feel they’ve partaken of divine gastronomy. The gods certainly conferred many culinary talents on Ambrozia’s proprietor and chef savant Sam Ethridge, one of the most creative, talented and inspired restaurateurs in the Duke City. Etheridge has the rare ability to take any classic dish and transform it into a work of art. His cookbook “Indian Nation,” a celebration of traditional Native American dishes, earned a prestigious James Beard award. Our inaugural experience at Ambrozia was on a Sunday when a prix-fixe ($20 per person) brunch was featured fare. The four course brunch adventure begins with a selection of breads, croissants, pastries and sweet rolls, all of which are preternaturally wonderful (particularly the chocolate infused beignets). Since Ambrozia’s menu is seasonal, the items…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastBrunchClosed in 2010Gone But Not Forgotten

JB’s Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno4:37 AM

The first thing that comes to mind when someone invites me to a buffet is a paragraph from E. B. White’s 1952 classic Charlotte Web.  In that paragraph, an old sheep describes the county fair to Templeton the lovingly irascible rat: “A fair is a rat’s paradise. Everybody spills food at a fair. A rat can creep out late at night and have a feast. In the horse barn you will find oats that the trotters and pacers have spilled. In the trampled grass of the infield you will find old discarded lunch boxes containing the foul remains of peanut butter sandwiches, hard-boiled eggs, cracker crumbs, bits of doughnuts, and particles of cheese. In the hard-packed dirt of the midway, after the glaring lights are out and the people have gone home to bed, you will find a veritable treasure of popcorn fragments, frozen custard dribblings, candied apples abandoned by tired children, sugar fluff crystals, salted almonds, popsicles, partially gnawed ice cream cones, and the wooden sticks of lollypops. Everywhere is loot for a rat–in tents, in booths, in hay lofts–why, a fair has enough disgusting leftover food to satisfy a whole army of rats.” I don’t know of any…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2009Mexican

La Norteñita – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:27 AM

The only disappointment (and it was a minor one) we experienced during our inaugural visit to La Norteñita was in not hearing the lively Mexican polka “Mi Nortenita” crackling over the restaurant’s tinny speaker system. That would have made our visit to “Old Mexico” complete. More than most Mexican restaurants in Albuquerque, La Norteñita (the little northern girl) has the look and feel of a restaurant in one of Mexico’s northern states. That means a kitchen and wait staff (and most customers) barely conversant in English, a lustrous color palate on the stark walls, mañana paced service and flavorsome food not adulterated for American tastes. The original La Norteñita has been around for several years, situated on Central Avenue in an edifice most Americans might consider a “dive.” Business was so good that its owner (ironically from Puerto Vallarta which is in central Mexico) launched a second La Norteñita restaurant about three miles from the original. A second La Norteñita was launched at the site which once housed Cha Cha’s, DeLillo’s All American Cafe and Christina’s restaurant, all very good restaurants in a heavily trafficked yet seemingly doomed to failure location. If you had wagered that La Norteñita would succeed…

AmericanBakeryClosed in 2008Food Network Eats New MexicoGone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoSanta Fe

Cloud Cliff Bakery & Cafe – Santa Fe, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno9:56 AM

In the 1880s, Northern New Mexico was a prolific wheat growing region. More than 250 varieties of wheat grew in its rocky but fecund soil. Thanks to a rural revitalization program called the Northern New Mexico Organic Wheat Project, the region’s wheat production is becoming genetic diverse once again. Today under the program’s auspices, more than 20 families are growing several heirloom wheat varieties which are marketed under the very popular Nativo label. The driving force behind the program is Willem Maltem, a former Zen monk who arrived in Santa Fe in the mid 1980s. To earn bread, Maltem sold bread, in 1984 founding the Cloud Cliff Bakery, Cafe and Artspace. The artisan Bakery now produces 35,000 loaves of bread a month, but the staff of life is but one of the many things that makes Cloud Cliff truly unique and special. Grace, beauty and harmony–hallmarks of Zen–are immediately obvious when you stride into the sprawling 8,000 square-foot complex whose distressed oak floor was recycled from a high school gymnasium. The walls are adorned by intricate paintings and weavings, the work of the Shipibo-Konibo people of the Peruvian Amazon. The patterns are said to have spiritual healing properties, and indeed…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2007Fine DiningGone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoTapas

Graze – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno1:57 PM

When uncredentialed food critics (like me) sing the praises of a restaurant, their fulsome rants might not garner much notice, but when professional chefs and critics are unabashedly effusive about that same restaurant, you’d be well advised to listen. Graze, launched in December, 2002 by chef luminary Jennifer James, has had all the cognoscenti waxing poetic. La Cocinita magazine’s best chef award winner for 2002, James has been all but beatified, so prolific is her reputation. Renown for melding seemingly disparate ingredients into concordant meals, she is as much an artist as a chef. Note: In September, 2006, Jennifer James ended her affiliation with Graze, leaving it in the hands of her business partner Michael Chesley. On January 27, 2007, Graze closed for good. Appropriately named, Graze specializes in tapas, Spanish appetizers that can also form an entire meal when several are ordered together. Tapas dishes are generally quite small and can be both simple or elaborate. Even though I understood that dining concept, I didn’t quite “get it” during our inaugural visit accustomed as I am to the huge portions served at most restaurants. We lamented the short-lived pate grand-mere with cornichons (sour crisp pickles made from tiny gherkin…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2014Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexican

La Esquina Restaurante – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:11 AM

It’s pretty common knowledge that several years ago, a state legislator submitted a resolution to declare “red or green chile” the official “state question“. On April 8, 1999, Governor Gary Johnson signed the bill making the resolution law. Less known is the fact that the New Mexico state legislature also passed a resolution approving an official state answer.  It’s no surprise that “red and green” or “Christmas” has been adopted as the official answer of the great state of New Mexico? Why red or green? In the hundreds of restaurants throughout the Land of Enchantment in which chile is served, you’ll invariably be asked to state your preference–red or green.  The fact that the state legislature approved resolutions for both a state question and answer signifies just how important the chile industry is to the economy of the Land of Enchantment. In 2004 New Mexico produced 106,850 tons of chile (25% above 2003) valued at 50.33 million dollars, making it the number one (legal) cash crop in terms of sales in the state.   One of the Duke City’s best practitioners of the art of preparing and serving excellent red or green chile is La Esquina Restaurante on the Galeria Mall in…

BarbecueClosed in 2010Gone But Not ForgottenNevadaUnited States

Buckingham Smokehouse Bar-B-Q – Las Vegas, Nevada (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno11:53 PM

Las Vegas has established itself as one of America’s, if not the world’s, preeminent dining destinations. Many of the world’s most famous and successful chefs have launched flamboyant restaurants that celebrate their self-aggrandizing greatness in magnificent pantheons of gustatory grandeur. Fortunately for true gastronomes who don’t worship exclusively at the tables of gastronomic glitterati, Las Vegas has also attracted its share of chefs with whom those of us of the common clay can identify–chefs who didn’t refine their skills at a snooty culinary institute but in the backyard on the family grill. With a recent influx of pit masters migrating to Las Vegas from America’s heartlands, Sin City may someday compete with Memphis, Kansas City, Texas and South Carolina as a bastion of barbecue. Witness: Mike “The Legend” Mills, a four-time world champion at “Memphis in May,” the most prestigious barbecue competition in the world chose Las Vegas as the site of his four Memphis Championship Barbecue restaurants. In recent years his restaurant has been a mainstay on the annual “Best of Las Vegas” awards. It’s been said that when it comes to Texas barbecue, all roads lead to the award-winning Salt Lick Barbecue restaurant in the tiny backwater town…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2009Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexican

505 Southwestern – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno4:32 PM

Area code 505 was one of the original area codes established in 1947 and for nearly 60 years, that sole area code sufficed to serve all of New Mexico.  With the state’s surging population, however, numbers available with the 505 prefix were eventually exhausted.  The Federal Communication Commission provided area code relief in the form of a second area code (575).     A new area code for the Albuquerque area wasn’t in the makings, but it would not have had implications for 505 Southwestern which would not have changed its name even had the area code changed.  575 Southwestern Chile Factory & Cool Stuff To Eat just wouldn’t have the same poetic lilt. In the mid 1990s, 505 Southwestern was one of our favorite dining destinations in the Albuquerque uptown area where the festive atmosphere and imaginative menu shouted “fun” while the frequently changing menu seemed to get better with each iteration.  One of the first things your eyes trained on when you entered the restaurant was an ominous looking iguana in a large tank.  Since iguanas are renown salmonella carriers, we were relived iguana wasn’t featured fare on the menu.  The 505 featured an excellent Sunday brunch and one of the best desserts in town–the…