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AlbuquerqueNew MexicoPizzaRating: Very GoodSandwich

Richie B’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno8:14 PM

If you’ve ever wondered why New Yorkers fold their pizza slices in half lengthwise (aka the “fold hold”) and if you’ve ever attributed that practice to Big Apple quirkiness, you owe it to yourself to visit Richie B’s, a New York-style pizzeria on Unser in the Duke City’s Northwest quadrant. Now, the Albuquerque metropolitan area has plenty of claimants to New York-style pizza, but can you name a single one in which you’ve actually HAD to utilize the fold hold to eat a slice? New Yorkers have mastered the fold hold because true New York-style pizza is thin-crusted and cut into wide slices (usually wider than your face) which taper down to a perfectly pointed (and invariably “floppy”) bottom. I’ve seen friends and colleagues employ the fold hold simply to double the amount of pizza they can consume in one bite (then wonder why they finished off their pizza twice as fast). I’ve also seen them utilize “The Travolta” method—layering one slice on top of another and eating both simultaneously—again, to double the amount of pizza in each bite. I’ve also seen the more “civilized” (or haughty) among us (Former New York City Mayor di Blasio should have been impeached…

AlbuquerqueAsianJapaneseNew MexicoRamenRating: N/R (Not Rated)Sushi

Aji Ramen – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

If a television show was to be created about ramen (some pronounce it ray-men), it would probably be called “Everybody loves ramen.”  According to the World Noodles Association (yes, there is such an entity), Americans consume 5.15 billion servings of instant ramen every year.  If you think that’s a lot, the United States ranks as only the sixth-largest consumer globally, significantly far behind such Asian nations as China and Indonesia.  Still, the land of spacious skies and fruited plains ranks as the top ramen consumer outside of Asia.   The per person consumption rate among Americans is 15 servings of ramen per year.  Would you believe South Korea is ranked the world’s number one per capita in instant noodle consumption (72.8 servings of instant noodles per annum)? Perhaps because of my non-traditional route (night school and testing out of courses) to higher education, I’ve never had instant ramen.  That’s right.  In my 39 years on planet Earth, my lips have never partaken of the food most commonly associated with college students.  Maybe it’s a good thing.  The high-calorie content and the high concentration of refined carbohydrates, fats, and sodium  in instant noodles, contribute to an increased risk of metabolic disease.  Though…

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No Competition Supercharged Bistro – Corrales, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

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.”   I can’t relate to being a prisoner of war, but can fully appreciate why so many men cherish their time in the military.  More than playing sports in high school, the military develops a camaraderie and esprit de corps  you will never experience anywhere else.  Even Hawkeye Pierce, they cynical anti-military doctor who served in Korea with the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) recognized “I’m “closer to these people than i’ve ever been to anybody else in my life, or ever expect to be.” When some of us return to civilian life, memories are mostly all that is left of the close relationships we cultivated during our terms of service.  We tend to lose touch with the brotherhood of friends and colleagues for whom we would have happily taken a bullet.  That’s not always the case, however. …

AlbuquerqueBreakfastBreakfast BurritosNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Mick’s Chile Fix – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:55 AM

Addicts are all too familiar with the symptoms, especially the insatiable cravings that can only be quelled by a fix. There’s nothing like the high you get from the addictive mistress that is New Mexican chile. That’s why we willingly singe our tongues and scald our taste buds to get that fix. What gives chile its intense fire and creates the need for a fix is a chemical called capsaicin, a natural ingredient that stimulates the mouth’s nerve endings, causing a burning sensation. In response to this burning sensation, the brain releases endorphins, natural painkillers that may produce a temporary “high.” So, the more of a fiery chile you eat, the stronger the soothing effect. Even though chile isn’t medically addictive, some chile lovers may be hooked on the high they get…just ask anyone in New Mexico who loves the stuff. Better still, ask a chile addict who no longer lives in New Mexico and can’t get the stuff everyday. The withdrawal is painful. In dreams they are plagued by the unrequited yearning which can be fulfilled only by a satisfying bowl of red or green. They wake to drool soaked and chewed up pillows. New Mexicans are fortunate indeed…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBurgersNew MexicoRating: Very GoodSandwichSteak

Dave’s Valley Grill – Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno10:22 AM

Several years ago, Major Larry Abraham (God rest his soul) of the Village of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque called me out, reminding me that such restaurants as Sadie’s of New Mexico, Casa de Benavidez and Vernon’s Speakeasy were located not in Albuquerque as credited on Gil’s Thrilling…, but in the village he capably served for four terms. He politely asked me to correct my oversight. Ever since Mayor Abraham’s gentle prodding, your humble blogger has been much more diligent about ensuring the correct location of every restaurant reviewed–especially when at issue is whether the restaurant is in Albuquerque or in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque. In my defense, the Village of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque is much like what New Mexico’s legendary best-selling author Tony Hillerman termed “the checkerboard reservation.” Hillerman was, of course, speaking of the Navajo Nation, a hodgepodge of lands owned by tribes (mostly Navajo and Zuni), privately-owned lands and lands controlled by the government or trusts. Similar to the challenge of knowing where which lands in the Checkerboard Reservation are Navajo-owned, it’s not easy to tell where the village of Los Ranchos begins and ends and when you’ve crossed in and out of the village into the…

AlbuquerqueAsianNew MexicoRating: ExcellentVietnamese

Pho Nho – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Foodies are a passionate–some would say even snobbish–lot. The most passionate among them are sticklers for authenticity and provenance of ingredients and preparation methods.  The plebeian among us who don’t know quite as much had better not represent inaccuracies as truths (much as politicians do) or even use culinary terms incorrectly lest we be excoriated.  Tieghan Gerard, a well-intentioned blogger, learned just how passionate savvy foodies can be. Tieghan, the creator of the popular food blog Half Baked Harvest found herself in hot water when she had the audacity to misrepresent a quick noodle soup recipe. More specifically, she dubbed her recipe “chicken pho,” a faux pas on may levels and for many reasons.  Readers were quick to point out the recipe was NOT pho, a dish that should never be prepared quickly.  Strictly speaking, they pointed out, pho is a soup made with beef (although increasingly chicken and vegetarian versions are being made).  Several steps in the recipe (such as caramelizing the chicken) would never be done in a traditional pho recipe.  For the most woke among her  readers, Tieghan’s most grievous mortal sin was in calling her soup “pho,” an unforgivable misappropriation of Vietnam’s most popular and famous…

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Chicago Pizza Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

There is A LOT to see at the Chicago Pizza Kitchen (CPK).  My Chicago born-and-bred bride loved the framed photographs of the Windy City’s incomparable skyline and distinct architecture.  Bulls and Bears fans (not a reference to the stock market) will enjoy perusing photos and banners of Chicago’s sports teams.  Students of the age of chivalry will gravitate to the restaurant’s northern-most corners where knights in shining armor (literally) stand guard.  Military veterans like me will reminisce about our own experiences in service to our country as we peruse the photos depicting the military service of Chicago Pizza Kitchen’s owners.  Some of us will linger longest at the POW-MIA table, one of the most poignant and thought-provoking sights at any Duke City restaurant. Contemplating the meaning behind the POW-MIA table setting can bring you to tears, especially if you served or had family in the armed forces.  A POW-MIA table has only one place setting, representing the frailty of one prisoner, alone against his or her suppressors.  Fittingly the table is set close to the dining room entrance.  There are a number of other symbols displayed on the table which military veterans will appreciate. Some of my brothers-in-arms (including my own…

AlbuquerqueIndianNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Royal Hyderabad – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

When the New York Times described biryani as “the Indian equivalent of arroz con pollo or paella,” legions of Southwest Asians and culinary cognoscenti cried “Fake News!”  The media  megalith with the masthead that boasts of “all the news that’s fit to print” may as well have declared the Taj Majal as the architectural equivalent of Randy’s Donuts in Los Angeles or the Longaburger Company Building  in Ohio.  It’s highly unlikely Latin America and Spain are nearly as passionate about arroz con pollo or paella as denizens of the exotic subcontinent are about biryani, a dish The Better India boasts “epitomizes the zenith of Indian cuisine.  Zenith–that means biryani is at the very top, as good as it can possibly be.  So there, New York Times! Just by its title the book Biryani: The King of Indian Cuisine gives you an idea how esteemed the dish is.  The inside cover explains “biryani is the most beloved dish in every corner of India and many parts of Asia.”  In India, biryani has achieved legendary or mythical heights.  Chef Suvir Saran believes, “Biryani is the mirror image of our population and as the clock is ticking, its a test of time. Biryani has survived longer than any Human being, it will live forever because…

AlbuquerqueBuffetIndianNew MexicoRating: Very Good

Maharaja Indian Cuisine – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In his Netflix “23 Hours to Kill” special, comedian Jerry Seinfeld posed the question:  “What is the idea of the buffet?  Well, things are bad.  How can we make it worse?  Why don’t we put people that are already struggling with portion control into some kind of debauched Caligula food orgy of unlimited human consumption?”  Frankly, that’s a notion I’ve contemplated myself, but it’s not the only reason I don’t partake of buffets.  As an independent observer of the culinary condition, reviewing buffets–irrespective of how good they might be–is not a true indicator of a restaurant’s quality.   For that, you’ve got to order off the menu. Please don’t get me wrong.  I’m not anti-buffetite.   My Kim loves buffets.  So does our friend John Martin, a fellow trencherman.  During the height of the Cabrona virus, even culinary cognoscenti believed all-you-can-eat buffets were a thing of the past, just like sending Christmas cards.  The more fastidious among us were relieved that sanitation protocols would be the riddance of those too short plexiglass sneeze guards and the sharing of serving sporks and tongs.  Sadly, doing away with buffets–even if only for a short time–resulted in the permanent closure of such buffet favorites as…

AlbuquerqueAmericanNew MexicoPizzaRating: Very Good

Tula’s Kitchen (Pan American) – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“Pizza makes you a hero in the eyes of your kids. “Daddy got pizza!” You are higher status walking in the door with a pizza than if you were returning from a war with a Purple Heart.” ― Jim Gaffigan, Dad Is Fat Virtually since its inception, Dion’s Pizza has been a beloved Albuquerque staple–as much a Duke City institition as the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, the Sandia Peak Tramway and the Albuquerque Isotopes.   Denizens of the Duke City love Dion’s, a prolific purveyor of pulchritudinous pies since 1978.  With thirteen locations in Albuquerque alone as well as several others throughout the state, Dion’s pizza has become a mainstay not only at the family home, but at business functions.  It’s not only dads who become heroes when they ferry this pizza home.  Every boss thoughtful and savvy enough to bring Dion’s to a party or meeting is instantly regarded as a great boss.   Great pizza will do that for you. Ironically, founders Jon Patten and Bill Scott didn’t set out to create New Mexico’s most dynastic and beloved pizza place.  After purchasing a small place called New York Pizza, Jon and Bill began to carry out the plans of turning the pizzeria…

JewishNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)SandwichSanta Fe

Manhattan Avenue Deli – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:55 PM

I’ve been called many things, not all of them kind, but the name I’m most proud to hold is “Gil.”  It was my father’s name.  When colleagues from Intel’s manufacturing plant in Israel met me for the first time, they asked if I was Jewish.  Apparently in Hebrew, “Gil” means “joy,” “happiness,” or “gladness.” The name “Gil” is associated with celebration and optimism.  Gil can also be used a verb, with forms like gili (my joy) or related words meaning to “rejoice” or “be glad.”  The feminine version of Gil is “Gila.”  In my travels over 39 years on this planet, I’ve met several people named Gil, but until November, 2025 had never met anyone named Gila.  That is, until my visit to the Manhattan Avenue Deli in Santa Fe. A very vivacious young lady named Julia greeted and chatted me up as I walked into the Deli.  Not surprsingly, she asked if I was Jewish.   Julia regaled me with tales of her experiences in Israel, sharing that during her time in the Holy Land, she acquired the name “Gila.”  The name certainly fits.  Julia…er, Gila is one of the most genuinely effusive and optimistic people I’ve ever met.  Sporting…