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Albuquerque Chicken Mexican New Mexico Rating: Very Good

El Rey Del Pollo – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoApril 3, 2022April 3, 202610:29 AM

My environmentally-conscious, Prius-driving friend Bruce “Sr. Plata” Silver has a much smaller carbon footprint than that carbon credit-trading hypocrite Al Gore. No environmental activist would ever condemn Sr. Plata for fouling the air and water with a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, he leaves large “al carbon fingerprints,” the finger-licking kind you get from frequenting restaurants which specialize in pollo al carbon, chicken prepared over charcoal. Pollo al carbon has spoiled Sr. Plata. He craves those juicy, spatchcocked, golden-skinned birds speckled with black char, chicken so meaty and delicious it makes store-bought rotisserie chickens look positively anorexic in comparison. Who can blame Sr. Plata? Made well, pollo al carbon is absolutely addictive. “Finger-licking good” might be a cliche,…

Italian Rating: Outstanding Rio Rancho

JOE’S PASTA HOUSE – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil GardunoMarch 31, 2022March 31, 202612:01 AM

Once a year, despite my protestations and whining, I agree to take my Kim to the Olive Garden. It’s a deal we have, albeit one that makes me feel like Faust in the Christopher Marlowe play. Faust, for the non-English majors among you, was a scholar who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. In my case, the deal is a visit to Olive Garden once a year in exchange for all the strange and exotic restaurants I want to visit the rest of the year. I sure got the rotten end of that deal. On a list of things I’d rather do, my annual visit to the Olive Garden for a meal…

Albuquerque American Breakfast Closed in 2024 Dog Friendly Donuts Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexico Sandwich

Kickstand Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoMarch 27, 2022June 4, 202412:01 AM

In 2016, The Plough Hotel in North Canterbury, New Zealand banned Lycra-clad customers in an attempt to remove any “unsightly bumps and bulges.” The hotel owner declared Lycra “unsuitable,” explaining “We get a nice group of customers out here, some elderly folk. When you’re trying to concentrate on your breakfast you just want to see the sausages on your plate.” Then as if expecting a confrontation from the lumpy, bumpy bikers, he issued a challenge: “If there’s hordes of cyclists outside threatening to bash us with their bike pumps we can always barricade ourselves in, we’ve got a bit of food and drink here so we should be able to outlast them.” Lycra bike wear may not be de rigueur…

New Mexico Pizza Rating: Excellent Rio Rancho

Davido’s Pizza – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil GardunoMarch 26, 2022April 5, 20263:42 AM

Some might call the American Realty and Petroleum Company (AMREP for short) a pioneering visionary for its early 1960s purchase of over 50,000 acres on the dusty Sandoval County plains that are now Rio Rancho. Others use different–and not necessarily as complimentary–adjectives to describe the land speculator whose clever marketing attracted hundreds of New Yorkers (among others) to the then untamed western fringes overlooking the Rio Grande. They came because Rio Rancho was a “lucrative investment” with half acre lots going for under $800 in the 1960s. They came because Rio Rancho offered “fishing, camping, swimming and golfing in a place where the sun shone 360 days a year.” They came to live in an area which sloped “among the…

Albuquerque Closed in 2022 Gone But Not Forgotten Mediterranean Middle Eastern New Mexico

Al Alwan’s Cafe – Albuquerque New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoMarch 10, 2022February 17, 202412:01 AM

“I hope I live long enough to see the children of Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria wake up to the sounds of birds not bombs.” ~Gigi Hadid Historians believe the name Syria derives from the Ancient Greek word “Seirios,” meaning, “sun-bright, glowing, blazing, and shining.” In Latin the equivalent term “Sirius” was used not only to denote the brightest star in the night sky and most prominent star in the constellation Canis Major (the greater dog), but to indicate “people from Syria.” Officially today, Syria is known as the Syrian Arab Republic. Lying in the east coast of the Mediterranean in the Middle East region which boasts of the most ancient civilizations in the world, Syria has historically existed in…

Albuquerque Asian Closed in 2023 Dog Friendly Food Truck Fusion Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexico Vietnamese

Cafe Nom Nom – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoMarch 4, 2022September 9, 202512:01 AM

NOTE: Cafe Nom Nom no longer operates out of the Boxing Bear Brewery. The Nom Nom Facebook page seems to indicate it now operates out of a food truck, but no information is provided as to days in which it is available to diners. “Nom nom.” It sounds innocent enough. Parents–yes, including parents of four-legged fur babies–utter it in baby talk intonations to get our children to eat something, especially when that something is “good for them” but doesn’t actually look or taste good. Nom nom was, of course, the favorite expression of Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster as he ravenously devoured a plate or six of cookies, a fusillade of crumbs flying from his chewing mouth. Grade school teachers use…

Albuquerque New Mexican New Mexico Rating: N/R (Not Rated)Vegetarian/Vegan

Vegos Vegan New Mexican – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoMarch 4, 2022April 6, 202612:01 AM

“Well, there’s not a taco big enough for a man like me That’s why I order two or three Let me give you a tip, just try a nacho chip It’s really good with bean dip. I eat uno, dos, tres, quatro burritos Pretty soon I can’t fit in my Speedos Well, I hope they feed us lots of chicken fajitas And a pitcher of margaritas.” ~ Weird Al Yankovic: Taco Grande Growing up in agrarian Northern New Mexico where we grew and consumed the bounty of our gardens was the closest I’ve ever been to a vegetarian or vegan diet. In addition to the beans, pumpkins, corn, carrots, lettuce, apples, pears and strawberries we grew on our farm, my…

Albuquerque New Mexico Seafood

Down N Dirty Seafood Boil – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoFebruary 27, 2022November 26, 202211:19 AM

Seafood boil in the Duke City! If the notion conjures visions of heading to Tingley Beach and embarking on an unappetizing repast of catfish, rainbow trout and silvery minnows boiled together in a large pot of green chile seasoned broth, you’re in for a treat. As of September, 2013, it’s possible for expatriates from any of America’s coastal regions to indulge in authentic seafood boil…and it’s very good. So good, in fact, that since its launch, copycat restaurants have spawned throughout the Duke City. Down N Dirty Seafood Boil was the first–often duplicated but never replicated. Albuquerque’s very first seafood boil restaurant launched to very little fanfare. The event should have been celebrated with ceremonial splendor and rejoicing. Think…

Albuquerque Dog Friendly National Chain New Mexico Pizza Rating: Very Good

California Pizza Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoFebruary 19, 2022April 3, 20266:51 PM

No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. This is Gil’s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog, champion of the mom-and-pop restaurant, defender of the independently owned eatery, supporter of the family owned and family operated diner…and this is a review of a chain restaurant. No, this blog has not been hijacked by some corporate cabal bent on corrupting the American diet with homogeneous mediocrity…and no, this review was not written under duress or the promise of free food. It was written of my own free will, sound mind and full accord. Lest you condemn this seemingly traitorous affront, hear me out. Several years ago, I made my own version of a Faustian pact. Faust, for the non-English majors among you was a scholar…

Albuquerque Bakery Mexican Rating: Very Good

Panaderia El Dorado – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoFebruary 13, 2022April 5, 20265:42 AM

“Over the Mountains of the Moon, down the Valley of the Shadow, ride, boldly ride…if you seek for El Dorado.” ~Edgar Allan Poe In the 16th century when the Spaniards reached South America, natives regaled them with tales about a tribe with profligate wealth living high in the Andes. According to raconteurs, when a new chieftain ascended to the throne, he was covered in gold dust. Gold and precious jewels were then tossed into a lake to appease a god who lived underwater. The Spaniards called this golden chief “El Dorado” which translates to “the gilded one.” Legends of El Dorado fueled the Spaniards insatiable lust for gold, an effort they pursued for more than two centuries. Though they found…

Buffet Indian Rating: Excellent Rio Rancho

Namaste Restaurant – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil GardunoFebruary 12, 2022April 5, 20264:37 AM

Several years ago while leading my organization’s e-business marketing and communication effort at Intel, I had the great fortune of hiring a phenomenal Web developer recently arrived from India. In the process of filling out one of our complicated employment forms he transposed his name, writing his last name then his middle initial and first name instead of the way hinted at on the complicated form. As a result, during the entire time he worked for us we all called him Kolli, his last name. He was too polite to tell us his first name is actually Srini. Over time Srini became more acculturated, maybe even a bit “Americanized” (he’s now a huge Dallas Cowboys fan), but he’s never lost…