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Tranquil Buzz Coffee Shop – Silver City, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Where have all the hippies gone?  Long time passing.  Where have all the hippies gone?  Long time ago.  Where have all the hippies gone?  Would you believe they’ve all gone to Tranquil Buzz, a coffee shop with perhaps the best coffee shop vibe in the country.  Boasting of the “best coffee in the cosmos,” Tranquil Buzz lives the motto “Love lives here.”  We practically lived there, too.  Well, at least for the first two hours of our day during the three days we spent in Silver City.  Fortunately the AirBnB at which we stayed was directly across the street from what has become a community meeting place with regular events such as poetry readings, open mic music and written word, local and regional professional musician performances, drum circles, meditation, and more. Approach Tranquil Buzz through the Arizona Street gated entrance and you might be reminded of Swiss Family Robinson’s treehouse with boardwalks that meander under towering deciduous trees and past a small pond in which koi swim merrily.  Along the boardwalk are several nooks and crannies  in which coffee drinkers enjoy al fresco coffee drinking.  It reminded me of the club houses my brothers and I built with our friends…

BakeryNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)Sandwich

Diane’s Bakery & Deli – Silver City, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In 2011, New Mexico Magazine recruited several local food writers and asked us to introduce readers to ten of “New Mexico’s Best Eats” in several categories:  Best Green Chile Cheeseburger, Best New Mexican Soul Food, Best Fine Dining, Best Enchiladas, Bet Vegetarian New Mexican Food, Best Road Food, Beste Local Seasonal Ingredients, Best Contemporary Native American Food, Best Chocolate and Best Carne Adovada.   For the most part, writers waxed eloquent about “the usual suspects” in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. The most noteable exception was Lesley S. King, a distinguished writer who graced New Mexico Magazine’s as the “King of the Road” for years.  Lesley declared The Land of Enchantment’s “Best Road Food” to be the Hatch Benedict from Diane’s Restaurant and Bakery in Silver City.  During her tenure as King of the Road, Lesley traveled the length and breadth of the state, visiting virtually every town and city, giving readers a deeper and more enriching experience than what is offered by most travel guides and tour services.  She knows New Mexico and she knows where the state’s best foods are served. Though we should have raced to Silver City immediately after reading Lesley’s excerpts, we let life get in…

AmericanNew MexicoNew Mexico Culinary Treasures TrailRating: Very GoodSteak

Buckhorn Saloon – Pinos Altos, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:28 AM

In 1859, 49ers returning home from California discovered gold among the tall pines (Pinos Altos) north of Silver City. Word spread like wildfire.  In short order, there were more than 700 men prospecting in the area. As with other boom towns, rampant lawlessness made prospectors lives exciting to say the least.  Miners faced an anything goes attitude in the pursuit of gold punctuated by frequent raids by marauding Apaches.  In the “Apache War” of 1861, Cochise joined his father-in-law Mangas Coloradas (an Apache war leader who towered at 6’7″) and some 400 Apache warriors to drive away miners from their traditional homeland. In its early days Pinos Altos saw a veritable who’s who of fame and infamy.   In the 1860s, Old West legend Roy Bean operated a mercantile in Pinos Altos before moving to West Texas to gain fame as Judge Roy Bean “The Law West of the Pecos.” Henry McCarty (William Bonney was just an alias), the infamous Billy the Kid, began his life of crime in the area.  As the area’s gold began to deplete, families turned to ranching.  Some of the largest ranches in the country once were located just outside of town.  Evidence of ranching…

FrenchNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

La Vie Est Un Bistro – Silver City, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In 2013, the New York Times published an article titled “Looking for Big Flavors in a Small Town.”  The article extolled the dining scene in “Silver City, an old mining town in the southwestern corner of the state, which has “seen its creative spirit extend to the local food scene.”   Leave it to your roving gastronome to arrive in Silver City ten eleven years too late.  When the New York Times visited, Silver City was home to the Curious Komquat, where Chef Rob Connoley earned  James Beard semi-finalist honors for Best Chef – Southwest.  Chef Connoley, by the way, moved to St. Louis where he garnered another semifinalist nomination in 2022, this time for Best Chef: Midwest.  He repeated that honor in 2023 then in 2024 was the only St. Louis chef to be named finalist. It goes without saying that the closure of Curious Kumquat put a serious dent on the Silver City culinary world.  That loss was compounded by the 2015 shutting down of Shevek & Co, another Silver City institution.  Then, the aftermath of the Cabrona virus brought about the 2022 closure of Revel, another highly regarded downtown eatery.  Diane’s Restaurant & Bakery, THE place to visit…

AlbuquerqueItalianPizzaRating: Excellent

Giovanni’s Pizza & Subs – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno5:46 PM

Frequent and lengthy business trips to California in 1997 nearly ruined me forever for a food that belongs on America’s food pyramid (never mind the government’s nutritional aspects)–pizza. Despite an open mind and willingness to try anything, the heretical toppings adorning Golden State pizzas quelled and quashed what I had thought to be an everlasting love. Even today, I’m traumatized by nightmares of pesto impregnated crust desecrated with sushi grade sashimi, artichoke and the designer vegetable de jour. Returning to the Land of Enchantment with the taste of pizza parodies fresh on my mind, it was weeks before I could bring myself to even contemplate partaking of the pie Italians (and those who wish they were) consider sacred. Then we discovered Giovanni’s Pizza & Subs, a neighborhood pizzeria in the finest tradition of East Coast pizzerias. Giovanni’s is one of several Duke City area pizzeria claimants to proffering “New York style” pizza. In my estimation and that of several Metropolis transplants of my acquaintance, it’s also the very best. New York Yankee memorabilia, framed Mafioso movie photos and an “I Love Me” wall replete with dozens of favorable review clippings and awards told us this restaurant might be more than…

AlbuquerqueBakeryItalianNew MexicoRating: Very Good

Saratori’s Italian Bakery – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:48 AM

In 2007 serendipity had a hand in one of the most delicious additions to the Tully’s deli fortunes, an addition that had nothing to do with sandwiches, meats, pastas or other deli deliciousness. Rather than find a new tenant for the recently vacated shop in the same strip mall, Tully’s Deli & Italian Meats owner Johnny Carmuglia converted it into an Italian Pastry Shop which he named by combining the names of his two daughters Sara and Tori. Thus was born Saratori di Tully (since renamed to Saratori Italian Bakery).  In 2023, the Carmuglia family obtained even more space in the strip mall and connected all their operations: The Italian Market, The Italian Bakery, Catering and the Italian Deli.  It’s a one-stop shop for Italian commestibles of the highest quality. Saratori Italian Bakery specializes in traditional Italian cookies: pignoli, regina, “rainbow” Venetian layer, almond, limone farfalla (lemon bow knots), biscotti, Napoleons, cannoli and much, much more including Italian wedding cakes, pasticotti, sfogliatelle and seasonal favorites such as holiday breads. All products are homemade with the freshest ingredients available, using no preservatives. For good measure, Saratori offers an array of pies: pecan, cherry, apple, apple crumb, pumpkin and pumpkin ricotta cheesecake.…

AlbuquerqueBakeryItalianRating: ExcellentSandwich

Tully’s Italian Deli & Meats – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:19 AM

The sense of smell, more than any of our other senses, influences our ability to recall past events and experience. From among the five senses, fragrance is considered the most potent medium for conjuring up memories. True enough, some of the most enduring sensory memories of my years in the Boston area are reawakened thanks to the amazing aromas that greet me each time I visit Tully’s Italian Deli & Meats on San Mateo. It is with increased rarity that you find an authentic Italian deli which greets you at the door with the incomparable aroma of pastas, meatballs or sausages simmering in a perfect marriage of tomato sauce, garlic, basil and oregano. It’s also rare to find an Italian kitchen equally practiced at preparing outstanding pasta dishes and Italian meats. Tully’s Italian Deli & Meats is then indeed an anachronism because it does capture you before the door with wafting odoriferous emanations that bid you welcome and which have a Pavlovian effect on your taste buds. The Camuglia family–John, Geraldine “Gerry” and Johnny–has owned and operated this memory triggering deli since 1970, in the process creating new and wonderful memories for the legions of patrons who frequent their deli.…

AlbuquerqueBreakfastNew Mexico Culinary Treasures TrailRating: GoodSteak

Western View Diner & Steakhouse – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno5:20 AM

Since the 1930s, neon signage has been a prominent and vital part of Route 66 as it meanders through Albuquerque. From the foothills of the Sandias in the east to the parched desert expanse of the west, Route 66 is festooned with vibrant neon signage that cuts a luminous swath through the city. The nocturnal spectacle of glowing neon might be the siren’s call that has drawn generations of “cruisers” to Central Avenue. One of Albuquerque’s most prominent neon spangled signs celebrates Route 66 as it spans across all four lanes of Central Avenue near its intersection with Coors Boulevard Southwest. Literally at the shadow of that span is the Western View Diner & Steakhouse which has been pleasing weary travelers and hungry locals since 1937 thanks to generous portions of reasonably priced and delicious comfort food with a homemade taste that comes from years of plying its culinary craft. To say the Western View Diner & Steakhouse was at Albuquerque’s western fringes back when it launched seven decades ago is an understatement. Aside from sagebrush and vast expanses of horizon, there wasn’t much in the city this far west. The Western View is one of the very few surviving…

AlbuquerqueAmericanRating: Very Good

Jimmy’s Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:39 AM

The first (and probably most important) English words my parents taught me before my first day of school were “May I please go to the restroom?”.  That simple phrase was the beginning of my love-hate relationship with the English language.  English can be a confounding language if it’s your primary language, but learning it as a second language is brutal.  I thought I’d never pick up the  many complicated sets of rules (and their variations) governing how English is spoken and written.  English remains a challenge for me to this day (and for exposing you to my multitudinous grammatical fox paws and malapropisms, I sincerely apologize). Even English names were a challenge to learn because many of them have diminutive counterparts which don’t make much sense. For John, it’s Jack; for William, it’s Bill and for James, it’s Jim. It’s no wonder I was so confused when President John F. Kennedy was also called Jack and actor Jimmy Stewart was also referred to as James.  In New Mexican Spanish, our diminutives are much simpler.  For male names, we simply add “ito” to the end of a name (Juanito, Estevanito, etc.).  Similarly, add “ita” to a female name (Andreita, Carmelita) and you’ve got its…

AlbuquerqueChineseClosed in 2026Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoRating: Excellent

China Luck – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno5:06 PM

A few years ago,  The Daily Meal, an online resource which purports to produces more culinary content than any other resource published a feature entitled “Chinese Food You Won’t Find in China.” The list was replete with many popular favorites you’ll find at virtually every Chinese restaurant in America: General Tso’s Chicken, Crab Rangoon, Fortune Cookies, Chop Suey, Sweet and Sour Pork, Egg Foo Yong, Orange Beef and even Egg Drop Soup. Many of these dishes were, in fact, invented in the United States.  You can’t accuse Americanized Chinese food of being subtle.  Brash, gaudy and maybe even over-the-top, but never subtle. In fact, the flavor profile of Americanized Chinese food is generally so gunked up with MSG, sugar, salt and vinegar that by comparison, authentic Chinese food (invented in China) may come across to unacculturated diners as comparatively bland or boring. When Daniel Wilcox recommended a visit to China Luck, my initial inclination was to dismiss the restaurant as yet another in the pantheon of Albuquerque’s Americanized Chinese restaurants.  That dismissal was based on previous visits to both the now defunct China Luck restaurant in Rio Rancho and the also now defunct China Luck in Albuquerque’s Montano Plaza Shopping…

BrunchCorralesDog FriendlyMexicanNew MexicanNew MexicoPizzaRating: N/R (Not Rated)Spanish

Mulas – Corrales, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

How many times have you heard an elected official referred to as a “jackass?”  In the village of Corrales, that term could conceivably not be used as a pejorative.  Every year during the last weekend of the Corrales Harvest Festival, a pet mayor is named.  If the newly elected mayor is unable to fulfill his or her duties, a pet mayor pro tem is named to assume the duties of the mayoral office.  Corrales has long prided itself on being a paragon of democratic values and inclusivity though the winning candidate is usually a dog or a horse.  In 2022, the winning candidate was a peacock and in 2020, it was  Chip, a five month old miniature donkey. Unlike human elections in which the legitimacy of campaign fund sources (and how those funds are used) is often in question, pet mayor elections are based on a tally of dollar-ballots cast for each.   Votes are one dollar each with ballot boxes available throughout the village.  Nor will you find candidates bad-mouthing one another or railing against fake media coverage.  Campaign slogans tend to be more friendly, too. In 2021, for example, Jewel, a Standard Poodle’s slogan was “The world needs…