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Thai Street – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

By chronological standards, Thai cuisine–especially as we know it today–is relatively new to the world culinary stage.  Culinary historians believe Thai cuisine may be as young as 1,400 years, coinciding with a mass migration of people from regions of China.  These settlers dined mostly on seafood, herbs and plants prepared mostly by stewing, baking and grilling (over time, stir-frying and deep-frying also became popular).  Large domestic animals such as water buffalo and oxen were too valuable to slaughter for food.  As such, meat was used very sparingly though considering the settlers’ propensity for seasoning, a small amount of meat went a long way.   While Chinese–particularly Szechuan–dietary practices were the most significant early influences, the introduction of other ingredients and culinary techniques began to define the Thai food with which we are familiar today. Foremost were curries from the exotic subcontinent of India which people infused with coconut.  After the European discovery of the American continents, Portuguese mariners brought chili spices to the region.  These were the forerunner of the incendiary dishes which give Thai cuisine their popularity and explosions of flavor.  Understandably, regional preferences were developed with five or so distinct regional styles of cooking defined.  Variations resultant from…

AlbuquerqueBreakfastDog FriendlyNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

ABQ Burrito – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Perhaps the only good thing that came from the Cabrona Virus was that many of us get to work from home.  Otherwise, the cost of commuting to work in this “build back better” economy would probably approach our meager wages.  Though not commuting to work spares us from cashing in our 4.1Ks in order to purchase fuel for our gas guzzlers, there are still times when we have to drive somewhere.  Like when we have to visit Albertson’s or Smith’s to scour the half-empty shelves for luxury items such as baby formula.   With “Putin’s inflation” making gas virtually unaffordable, budget-conscious consumers are desperate for alternatives to the land yachts we drive.  We’re walking to the mailbox instead of backing the car out of the garage to drive to the mailbox a quarter-mile away.  We don’t visit our in-laws quite as often (some of us might see this as a bonus unless it results in extended visits from the mother-in-law).  We’ve curtailed driving four miles through a parking lot in search of a spot ten feet closer to the store.  It’s been rough! So rough, in fact, that even the most dedicated sofa spuds among us have started to explore…

AmericanBakeryBernalilloBreakfastDog FriendlyNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: Very Good

The Range – Bernalillo, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:43 AM

The phoenix of ancient Egyptian mythology was a sacred firebird of beautiful red and gold plumage said to live for centuries. At the end of its life, the phoenix built itself a nest of cinnamon twigs which it then ignited. Both the phoenix and the nest burned fiercely and were reduced to ashes from which a new phoenix arose. Similarly, the Range Cafe in Bernalillo was claimed by a fiery conflagration only to rise up from the ashes to exceed its former glory to become one of the most popular restaurants in New Mexico. Like the phoenix, the Range is a rare breed–one of the few locally owned and operated (non-chain) restaurants which at any given time (make that, almost all the time) has diners lining up for a seat. That may be because the Range offers the “familiar” in serving comfort foods and local favorites and serves them in the profuse portion sizes American diners love. The original Range debuted in September, 1992 in Bernalillo’s main street, Camino Del Pueblo. The restaurant was an instant success, quickly becoming more than a local favorite. Not quite three years later (on May 30, 1995), the Range went up in smoke–a huge…

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TIKKA HUT PIZZERIA AND KABOB HOUSE – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“I’ll give you three guesses to tell me what tabula rasa means,” I challenged my friend and Wordle phenom Carlos.  “That’s easy,” my erudite amigo proclaimed, “Tabula Rasa was a silent screen actress in the 1920s.”  “Close,” I replied, “but you’re thinking about Tallulah Bankhead.”  “I was just kidding,” he demurred, “Everyone knows tabula rasa is a Mediterranean salad.”  “You’re getting closer,” I joked, “but the Mediterranean salad you’re thinking about is tabouli.”  On his third attempt, Carlos gave me the right answer: “I’m drawing a blank.” Tabula rasa, in fact, translates from Latin to “blank slate.” In psychology as well as in epistemology (theory of knowledge), tabula rasa refers to the idea that we are solely the product of our upbringing and experiences.  In psychology, it also refers to  the technique therapists use when they themselves become “blank,” and allow the recipient to project their own needs, desires, and beliefs onto them. For those of us who follow culinary trends, the term has a third definition, one coined by CBC writer Andrew Coppolino who wrote: “Unless you are a rigid food traditionalist and a dedicated adherent to the dogmatic philosophy that pizza can only be called pizza if it…

AlbuquerqueChickenFood TruckNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Wing It Up – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern has nothing on my friend Ralph Guariglio. Zimmern who claims to love such “exotic cuisine” as fermented walrus anus probably wouldn’t touch some of the…er, interesting foods Ralph enjoyed during his travels for Intel.  That’s especially true when Ralph traveled  to Vietnam and The Philippines, all the while chronicling his adventures in “Captain Ralphie’s Travelogue.”  Though most of us envied his peregrinations, few of us would have had the gastronomical fortitude to try such “delicacies” as beating cobra heart and live lobster (yes, still alive…and thrashing). Much as Ralph loves adventurous dining, his passion and favorite food group is chicken wings.  Ralph can eat chicken wings for breakfast, lunch and dinner with chicken wing snacks in between.  Never mind that chicken wings have a disproportionate “effort-to-meat” ratio, he happily gnaws on those tiny avian bones to extricate every meaty morsel, a look of blissful contentment on his face.  Ralph is the type of guy who would bob for chicken wings in a deep fryer.   When he married his beautiful bride Linda, I thought for sure the wedding cake would be studded with layers of chicken wings and the cake would be “frosted” with Buffalo…

AlbuquerqueDog FriendlyItalianNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Taste of Love – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

NOTE: Taste of Love is no longer at the 505 Central Food Hall.  Follow them on their Facebook page. Ask virtually every chef and home cook what the secret ingredient to good cooking is and invariably their answer will be “love.”  Or in the case of Jersey Shore actor Michael Sorrentino, “The secret ingredient to every meal is love. And also garlic.”  Be forewarned, however, divulging “love” as the secret ingredient to good cooking might just get you in hot water with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).   In 2017 the FDA reprimanded a bakery in Concord, Massachusetts for including the term “love” in its ingredient list for granola.  The over-reaching, humorless federal agency’s warning letter admonished: “Your Nashoba Granola label lists ingredient ‘Love.’ Ingredients required to be declared on the label or labeling of food must be listed by their common or usual name. ‘Love’ is not a common or usual name of an ingredient, and is considered to be intervening material because it is not part of the common or usual name of the ingredient.” It’s a good thing the FDA isn’t responsible for determining if movies contain profane, indecent or obscene content.  Otherwise, a 2017 movie titled…

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El Roi Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

You know you’ve been involved in project management for too long when the only thing that comes to mind when told about a restaurant named “El Roi” is “why would a restaurant be named for a Return on Investment (ROI).”  For those of us who have worked in Information Technology, ROI is a financial ratio used to calculate the benefit an investor will receive in relation to their investment cost.  Restaurants often have a poor return of investment–not just in financial capital, but in human capital.  Restaurants require a significant investment in time by owners as well as kitchen and “front of the house” staffs and the financial return isn’t exactly lucrative.  My Kim theorized that Roi is probably a preferred derivation of Roy.  “By poor spellers,” I chortled.  It turns out my brainy bride was correct…well, almost.  According to Namedat, a website which takes social security administration data and converts it to facts and stats about names of people in the United States, there are actually 8,706 humans in the country with the first name Roi.  Naturally one of the very first questions we asked when we finally made it to El Roi is just what does the name…

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Tarasco (Formerly The Whole Enchilada) – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:46 PM

Perhaps because I was away from the Land of Enchantment for much of my Air Force career, one of my favorite bloggers has long been Lisa Fain, the James Beard award-winning “Homesick Texan.”   Like me, Lisa longed for home during the two decades she lived in New York City.  Like me, Lisa returned to her home state, the call of family, friends, bluebonnets, and Tex-Mex luring her back.  Also like me, Lisa is fiercely proud of the cuisine of the state she calls home.  Much of the enjoyment I derive in reading about her favorite foods is in noting the (sometimes vast) differences in foods just across the border.  Take for example cheese enchiladas which she calls “the essence of Tex-Mex.” \She describes them as “a plate of rolled corn tortillas stuffed with orange, oozing cheese, floating in puddles of brown-chili gravy. Yes, that kind of cheese enchilada. The Tex-Mex kind.”  What makes Tex-Mex cheese enchiladas so special to her is the chili gravy which Lisa describes as “a mash-up between flour-based gravy and Mexican chile sauce. It’s a smooth and silky substance, redolent with earthy cumin, smoky chiles and pungent garlic. It’s not fiery, as it was originally…

AlbuquerqueBarbecueFood TruckNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Rev’s BBQ – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

You might think that the food truck industry is an ultra-competitive dog-eat-dog business in which purveyors aren’t very gracious when discussing fellow food truck operators. Considering how they often jockey for a limited number of spaces in heavily trafficked events and vie for consumer attention and dollars, you would think they’d denigrate their brethren.  In an October 4th interview on the fabulous What’s Up Abq Podcast, Michael “Mighty Mike” Mondragon dispelled that notion.  Mike couldn’t have been more benignant about Albuquerque’s food truck scene, calling it a “community.”   He expressed tremendous admiration for both the owners and the food of Tikka Spice and Wing It Up (review pending), among others. When asked “if you’re not eating your own barbecue, where do you go in town,”  Mike waxed poetic about his friend Manuel “Rev” Duran.  Mike appreciated that Manuel, who “who just started doing his trailer part-time because he’s a postal worker”…”has some real good barbecue” and “does it for the love.”  Ironically, just a few days prior to listening to that interview, my friend Bill Resnik had raved to me about Rev’s brisket, calling it “the best I’ve ever had.”  Over the years Bill and I have shared barbecue in Phoenix,…

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The Feel Good – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno5:42 PM

“Whoa! I feel good, I knew that I would, now I feel good, I knew that I would So good, so good, ’cause I got you So good, so good, ’cause I got you So good, so good, ’cause I got you.” ~James Brown The lyrics to the “Godfather of Soul’s” signature song aren’t etched on the windows or door of The Feel Good, but several other thematic aphorism are.  There’s Virginia Wolf’s quote, “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”  M.F.K. Fisher’s “Sharing food with another human being is an ultimate act that should not be indulged in lightly” is etched on the door while Alan D. Wolfelt’s sage “Food is symbolic of love when words are inadequate” occupies another window.  Maybe because it’s a shorter quote, James Beard’s “Food is our common ground.  A universal experience.” occupies a small window. One quote which perhaps should be etched on The Feel Good is San Francisco-based journalist Madison Park’s “Having a belly stuffed with comforting food can feel like a warm hug from the inside.”  In a 2010 article for CNN, Park explained why eating a lot feels so darn good.  You might…

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Red Onion Lounge – Heber, Arizona

Gil Garduno4:09 PM

On 5 November 1975, a seven-man logging crew working in the Sitgreaves National Forest near Heber, Arizona experienced what has become the most documented UFO (UAP or unidentified aerial phenomena, if you prefer) sighting and abduction in history. As the crew was wrapping up for the day, they saw a bright light off to their right. When they approached, they espied a bright saucer-shaped UFO  (UAP) hovering about 20 feet over a clearing.  Travis Walton was the only one who got out of the truck to investigate.  He was quickly knocked to the ground by a bright, blue-green beam of light.  Five days and six hours later, Walton awoke on the outskirts of Heber. Not surprisingly, the veracity of the crew’s account has been called to question.  Initially skeptics outnumbered believers by a significant margin, despite multiple polygraph lie-detector tests the crew passed.  Theories abounded as to what “really” happened.  Among the most prevalent was a contention that the logging crew  was about to miss a November 10th deadline to finish the logging job, after which they would be docked 10 percent of the contract.  With no physical evidence available, we may never know exactly what happened on that November…