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AlbuquerqueMediterraneanNew MexicoRating: Outstanding

Anatolia Mediterranean – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

As a bumpkinly but book-smart twenty-year-old away from home for the first time, I practically ached for adventure, something different… the antithesis of  my agrarian upbringing.  The Air Force accommodated me, sending me first to the cultural, culinary and cosmpolitan region around Boston, Massachusetts.  It was an illuminating experience which I thoroughly loved, but after two years my wandering soul wanted to experience even further away lands.  Though very open-minded, the only places not on my “dream sheet” of assignment preferences were Thule, Greenland; Shemya, Alaska; and the country of Turkey.  The latter was based on having seen Midnight Express (on a date, no less).  Though centered in a Turkish prison, the movie gave me a wholly inaccurate portrait of Turkish culture.  I would rue that prejudice for the remainder of my Air Force career. Senior (and much wiser) mentors regaled me with tales of their experiences while stationed in Turkey.  Türkiye (the United Nations spelling since 2022), they told me, had everything I was looking for–a diversity of culture, a vastness of geographical features, geopolitical and religious history, an agreeable climate and unforgettable cuisine.  The latter, of course, was especially important to me, a young man having been weaned…

BreakfastBreakfast BurritosMexicanNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: Outstanding

Ramona’s Mexican Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, the wisdom of cookbook writers.” ~Laurie Colwin, Novelist Watch virtually any episode of Kitchen Nightmares and you might just be convinced that families can’t possibly work together in a restaurant.  Kitchen Nightmares, one of Gordon Ramsay’s eight-hundred or so television shows, is rather formulaic–Ramsay spends a week with a failing restaurant in an attempt to revive the business.  Almost invariably, the failing restaurant is owned and operated by a family.  Almost invariably, the drama falls just short of Homer strangling Bart.  Arguments on Kitchen Nightmares are loud and intense.  Copious tears are shed.  Predictably, the sagacity and sangfroid of Saint Ramsay brings sanity to the family fray and the family joins him in a rendering of kumbaya. Contrast a visit to a Kitchen Nightmares restaurant with a visit to Ramona’s Mexican Cafe and the only drama you might experience is the internal conflict of trying to figure out what to order from a terrific menu.  Ramona, the matriarch of the Chavira Y Valles family, runs the kitchen with her sons.…

ItalianNew MexicoPizzaRating: GoodRio Rancho

Aldo’s NY Pizzeria – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:35 PM

Being within walking distance of Intel, my place of employment for eighteen years, made this old fashioned pizzeria an easy choice. Excellent pizza and a surprisingly varied menu (especially for such a small storefront) made it the right choice!  During Fab 9’s halcyon days Aldo’s, then named “Venezia,” was (along with the legendary Smokehouse) a virtual second home to Intel employees.  Aldo’s has  long been the right choice for Rio Rancho residents, many of whom have their familial roots in New York City just like Aldo’s NY Pizzeria has. Moreover, Aldo’s has deeper roots in the mother country where pizza was invented.  When it first launched as Venezia, diners may have surmised that it was named for a family with the surname Venezia.  Instead, it was named for Venice (Venezia in Italian), Italy, the fabled city on the water which the New York Times has described as “undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man.” A framed photograph on the wall depicts a less romatic city–New York City. The photograph shares space on the walls with certificates of appreciation for the restaurant’s community involvement and sponsorship of youth activities. Although Aldo’s has a “Rio Rancho Blvd” address, you won’t see…

New MexicoRating: ExcellentRio RanchoSandwich

That’s My Rez Sandwich – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Has life on the rez suddenly become mainstream? Increased exposure certainly seems to indicate that may be the case. In 2023, the novel Rez Ball received prestigious literary recognition, including the American Indian Youth Literature Award.  PowWows.com described the novel as “rooted in the reservations, Rez Ball is a fast-paced and fiercely competitive form of basketball that showcases the spirit of Indigenous identity. Its aggressive defense and quick transitions reflect the strength and pride of Native American players, making it a powerful expression of culture.” In 2024, the subsequent movie, also titled Rez Ball, also earned accolades. Centered in New Mexico, the movie follow the Chuska Warriors, a Navajo high school basketball team, as they overcome personal challenges in pursuit of a state championship. “Without Reservations,” a popular daily comic strip by Santo Domingo artist Ricardo Caté has been featured in the Santa Fe New Mexican and Taos News since 2006. It’s the only Native American cartoon in a mainstream newspaper, using humor and satire to highlight Indigenous life, culture, and issues. Caté has been creating six cartoons a week, teaching, revealing and explaining the Native American experience to people one panel at a time.  Caté’s impact goes beyond the…

BakeryBreakfastNew MexicoRating: ExcellentRio Rancho

Dulce River Bakery & Coffee – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 PM

“Siblings in an ancient tradition Who take time, temperature and love And bring them together To make something that brings people together. You make more than just food You make friendships. You make joy.” ~Thank You Bakers According to legend, the city of Vienna, Austria has bakers to thank for its existence.  Those legends have it that in 1683, Vienna was under siege by over a hundred thousand Ottoman Turks. After months of trying to starve the city into submission, the Turks attempted to tunnel underneath the walls of the city. Fortunately for the “City o Dreams,” some bakers hard at work in the middle of the night heard the sounds of the Turks digging and alerted the city’s defenders. This advance warning gave the defenders enough time to do something about the tunnel before it was completed. Just in time, King John III of Poland arrived at the head of an army that defeated the Turks and forced them to retreat. To celebrate the end of the siege and the part they had in repelling the Turks, several bakers in Vienna made a pastry in the shape of the crescents they had seen on the battle standards of the…

AlbuquerqueRating: Very GoodSandwich

The Yeller Sub – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno10:20 AM

In the town where I was born… Lived a man who sailed to sea… And he told us of his life… In the land of submarines… – The Beatles: Yellow Submarine The phantasmagorical 1966 Beatles song Yellow Submarine may or may not have been the inspiration for Albuquerque’s venerable Yeller Sub, but one thing’s for certain.  Since it launched in 1979, the Yeller Sub has been the Duke City’s land of  oversized sub and torpedo sandwiches. Long-time residents will remember that the Yeller Sub was first located on Juan Tabo not too far from Manzano High School. Today it resides in the Louisiana Plaza Shopping Center off Montgomery.  Its current corner storefront has remained a popular dining destination for more than two decades. The restaurant’s familiar marquee includes a cartoonish Beatles style yellow submarine sliced in half with piled high sandwich ingredients forming the “body” of the submarine.   Original Beatles “action figures” (my Star Wars loving friend Ken gets upset if they’re called figurines or dolls), some featuring the famous yellow submarine, can be seen on the counters.  Many of them were gifts from faithful customers and remain in their original wrapped boxes.  Should you opt to dine in, you’ll…

AlbuquerqueBarbecueDog FriendlyNew MexicoRating: ExcellentRating: Very Good

Rudy’s Country Store & Barbecue – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:49 AM

In 1983, country crooner Ed Bruce released a song titled “My First Taste of Texas,” the first line of which was “My first taste of Texas was her blue eyes and golden hair.” Some ten years later, I experienced my first taste of great Texas barbecue when visiting Rudy’s Country Store & Barbecue in Leon Springs, Texas, a San Antonio suburb on the fringes of the magnificent Texas Hill Country. At the time Rudy’s was just beginning to make inroads toward becoming a significant barbecue presence in Texas where beef and brisket are king. Back then Leon Springs appeared to be a test ground for new restaurant concepts–and in fact, it is the site of the first Romano’s Macaroni Grill and the first Rudy’s Country Store & Bar-B-Q (as well as a concept called Nacho Mama’s which might have been the best of the lot.) Before it was Rudy’s Country Store & Bar-B-Q, however, it was just Rudy’s Country Store. The country store was opened in 1929 by Rudolph “Rudy” Aue, the son of the founder of Leon Springs. The country store included a gas station, garage and grocery store. In 1989, Rudy’s added Bar-B-Q to its country store’s name.…

BernalilloFood TruckMexicanNew MexicoRating: Very GoodTacos

Sazon Con Amor – Bernalillo, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

The Broadway musical Rent taught us that a year is comprised of “five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes.”   Instead of measuring the length of a year “in daylights, sunsets, midnights, cups of coffee, inches, miles, laughter or strife,” Rent encouraged us to measure a year in life in seasons of love.  Not surprisingly, Seasons of Love (a song from the musical from which the italicized lyrics originated) came immediately to mind when we espied Sazon Con Amor, a food truck (that’s mobile kitchen to you, Bob) parked on Highway 550 in Bernalillo. Sazon Con Amor translates from Spanish to “Seasoning With Love,” but that was close enough to Rent’s definitive song to trigger a day-long earworm.  It also prompted me to ruminate on the many times chefs have expressed that the secret ingredient in their cooking is love, but until discovering Sazon Con Amor, we’ve never heard of any chef bragging about seasoning with love.  It’s not just semantics either.  Cookbooks refer to seasoning as “the herbs, spices and herb-spice mixes used during the preparation of food”  (by  contrast, condiments consist of ingredient combinations (often including spices) added by a diner at the point of consumption).  It would be…

AlbuquerqueItalianRating: Good

Mario’s Pizza & Ristorante – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:25 PM

In the 1978 movie Same Time Next Year, Ellen Burstyn’s character lamented that her husband considered his years in the Army the best years of his life. When Alan Alda’s character, her partner in a 26-year adulterous affair, commiserated that many men felt that way about their time in the military, Burstyn retorted, “but he spent two years as a prisoner of war.” Only a husband who wants to sleep on the couch would admit to any source of happiness outside of marriage… and only an honest answer to the loaded question “does this dress make me look fat“ is more deleterious to any amorous prospects. When I speak fondly to my lovely bride about how much I cherished my years in Massachusetts, it’s always prefaced or followed by “I wish you had been with me.” My two years in the Bay State were the best years of my life…outside of my married years, of course. Massachusetts converted this once gangly and naive lad of 19 who grew up in bucolic Peñasco, New Mexico into a more worldly and sophisticated young man ready to conquer the world. Having been raised on a diet of northern New Mexican staples such as…

AlbuquerqueBuffetIndianNew MexicoRating: Outstanding

Taste of India – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno9:16 AM

“Don’t go and cook Indian food if you never cooked Indian food, you know?” ~Wolfgang Puck Those who can’t do, write.  The pan is mightier than the pen. Pick your aphorism.  When it comes to cooking Indian food, both certainly apply in my case.  Every effort to prepare even the most basic of Indian dishes is a painful reminiscence of the Chemistry courses which confounded, confused and frustrated me in equal measure.  Sure, covalent bonds made sense (because they were easy), but the math-based system of writing complex chemical equations may as well have been Klingonese.  So, too, are most recipes for Indian dishes. Yes, a passable phalanx of premixed “instant” Indian food exists, but what’s the fun in preparing that?  Aspiring Indian food cooks (and masochists like me) prefer to prepare everything from scratch.  That includes grinding and roasting ingredients for our own garam masala, an essential Indian spice mix which Epicurious considers “the Indian equivalent of French herbes de Provence or Chinese five-spice powder.”  Somehow, my mix always has the taste appeal of a lethal bleach and ammonia combination.  After years of trial and failure, I’ve arrived at  the painful realization that I may never be able to…

AlbuquerqueNew MexicoTea

St. James Tearoom – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Broccoli?  I love it!  Anchovies?  Bring me more!  Oysters?  Enamored of them!  Limburger Cheese?  The stinkier the better!  Durian?  Andrew Zimmern may find it disgusting, but I love it.  I’m often asked if there’s anything I don’t like.  My response surprises most people.  The one food item I don’t like at all is tea.  Whether hot or cold, tea is absolutely nauseating to me.  That may or may not stem from a week-long Boy Scout Swim Camp at Conchas Lake where tea was served for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Drinking the murky water from Conchas Lake might have been preferable. My two “overseas” assignments in the Air Force were at Royal Air Force bases in England, the country which tried to tax the tea they explorted to the colonies.  In England, tea is what ambrosia was to the Greek gods of Mount Olympus.  “Tea time” is twenty-four hours a day throughout Great Britain.  Denouncing it might trigger an international incident.  Brits may tolerate Yanks not liking room-temperature beer, but you dare not besmirch, belittle or blacken England’s sacrosanct tea.   Though my Kim and I frequented tea shops at Bourton on the Water, an English village often called the “Venice of…