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AlbuquerqueClosed in 2016Fine DiningGone But Not ForgottenRating: Outstanding

JENNIFER JAMES 101 – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno6:06 AM

The number 101 has some very interesting connotations. If you grew up in the 60s, you might remember the Benson & Hedges cigarette jingle, “One, oh, one, one, oh, one, a silly little millimeter longer one, oh, one, a silly millimeter longer.” Talk about ear wax. That jingle was like It’s A Small World and the Gilligan’s Island theme. Once you got it into your head, you couldn’t get rid of it. My brainiac mathematician friend Bill Resnik appreciates that 101 is the 26th prime number. He points out that it’s also a palindromic number (a sequence that reads the same forward and backwards) or rather a palindromic prime. Geekier friends like Craig Stegman and Kenny Sanchez, developers extraordinaire, know 101 as a dreaded “fatal error” status code. In academics, 101 connotes a beginning or basic-level course number taught in universities in many English speaking countries. English 101, for example, is typically a remedial English course (not that I’d personally know anything about that). It’s where students brush up on the basics to prepare themselves for upper level courses. So why would Jennifer James, arguably Albuquerque’s very best chef, choose the number 101 to share her name on her restaurant’s…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2016Gone But Not ForgottenSandwich

Prime – Los Ranchos De Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno2:20 AM

What kind of foods and food-related activities do white people like? According to New York Times best-selling author Christian Lander, white people like picking their own fruit, sea salt, hummus, dinner parties, bottles of water, kitchen gadgets, Whole Foods and grocery co-ops, Asian fusion food, sushi, breakfast places, vegan or vegetarianism, wine, micro-breweries, tea, organic food, farmer’s markets, coffee and expensive sandwiches. Lander compiled a list, wrote a book and created a blog listing 134 things (and not just food) white people like. So, what constitutes an expensive sandwich? According to Lander, the expensive sandwiches liked by white people start at $8.99, but you’re looking at at least a $15 outlay after tip and drink. The shops which serve the sandwiches liked by white people generally “aren’t open for dinner, have a panini press and are famous for their bread. There are always vegan options and the selection of meats and cheeses are strongly European.” By the standards of today’s economy-driven inflation, $8.99 is starting to sound more like the median price of a sandwich, not the starting point for an expensive sandwich. In fact, $8.99 is a mere pittance compared to the most expensive sandwich in the world which…

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Friends of Gil (FOG) Dinner: A Great Time Had By All

Gil Garduno12:41 PM

If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him… the people who give you their food give you their heart. ~ Cesar Chavez “There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven’t yet met.” For the fifteen foodies who gathered at Joe’s Pasta House on Saturday evening, February 22nd, the inaugural “Friends of Gil” dinner started off as a foodie summit, but would up as a celebration among new friends. it was a night of rich laughter, convivial gaiety and great food. It was a night we ended long after the restaurant’s closing hours and only after we noticed we were the only ones left at the restaurant. Joe and Kassie Guzzardi were the consummate hosts, making everyone feel like welcome guests at their home. They graced us with their warmth and hospitality, mingling with everyone at our table and earning several new devotees. The menu showcased some of the Pasta House’s most delicious dishes, meals fit for the most discerning of gastronomes. The conclave of culinarians included some of the most prolific contributors of commentary on the New Mexico dining scene: Bob of the Village of Los Ranchos (407 comments), the ebullient…

AlbuquerqueAsianRating: Good

Asian Noodle Bar – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:43 AM

In the United States, as in many western cultures, the art of slurping one’s food in public has long been an etiquette taboo. In terms of culinary faux pas, slurping falls somewhere between talking with your mouth open and belching loudly. Conversely, in Japan and other Asian countries, slurping noodles at restaurants is not only perfectly acceptable, it’s often considered a sign of appreciation being conveyed to the chef. Visit a traditional noodle bar in Japan and you’ll be surrounded by an asynchronous symphony of slurping, the audible inhalation of noodles being heartily enjoyed. If slurping noodles was an Olympic sport, the Japanese would earn gold medals (irrespective of the Russian judges) and America would place below Jamaica. Slurping among Americans is a closed door activity, done as secretly as sneaking in adult literature under the cover of a brown paper bag. It’s a surreptitious pleasure enjoyed only in the comfort and privacy of our own homes. Who among us hasn’t lustily sucked down a bowl of throat-warming ramen with the fervor of a stray mutt who hasn’t eaten in days? Alas, many style-conscious Japanese youth, being more susceptible to western mores, are increasingly rejecting the old ways and have…

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Taste of Rio Rancho Showcases City of Vision’s Best

Gil Garduno11:14 PM

Great things are happening in New Mexico’s third most populous city. Rio Rancho has developed an impressive culinary culture, boasting a number of bona fide award-winning destination restaurants. Not only are more and more of the City of Vision’s citizens frequenting restaurants in their hometown, discerning Duke City diners are making the trek “up the hill” to dine in Rio Rancho restaurants. So are residents of Placitas, Corrales, Bernalillo and beyond. Credit the increased popularity and success of Rio Rancho’s restaurants to the city’s many dedicated restaurateurs and their staffs who go the extra mile to keep their guests coming back for more. Many of those restaurateurs and their staffs live in Rio Rancho. They’re friends and neighbors to many of their guests. They’re also culinary consumers themselves, frequenting other restaurants in the City of Vision–not to check out the competition, but because they genuinely like them. It’s indicative of Rio Rancho’s culinary culture that you won’t hear a restaurateur utter a disparaging word about other restaurants in the city. Quite the contrary, they go out of their way to praise their “competition.” Michael Gonzales, the effusive operating partner of Cafe Bella raves about the pinwheels at Davido’s Pizza &…

AlbuquerqueFine DiningRating: Excellent

Farm & Table – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

For the past quarter century or so, American chefs and the dining public have increasingly embraced the concept of farm-to- table cooking. It makes great sense from an environmental and an economical standpoint and as the Smithsonian Magazine wrote, “the farm-to-table movement is at once hip and historic.” Its historical aspects are especially relevant in agrarian New Mexican villages where farm-to-table hasn’t always been a “movement,” “concept” or “trend.” It’s been a way of life, especially in the state’s frontier days when food wasn’t nearly as plentiful as it is today. Enchanting as it may be, New Mexico is a land which can be harsh and unforgiving as Native American pueblos and early settlers found out when, for centuries, they eked out a meager subsistence from an austere terrain amidst the ravages of climatic extremes. To a great extent their ability to coax a stable crop supply from an often unyielding earth was a tribute to their perseverance, hard work and divine graces. By the early 1800s, farmers made up about 90 percent of America’s workforce. Entering the 20th century, the percentage of Americans engaged in producing crops and livestock was down to 40 percent. Today, less than one percent…

BuffetClosed in 2015Gone But Not ForgottenJapaneseNew MexicoRio RanchoSushi

Ahh! Sushi – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED: 2015)

Gil Garduno6:08 PM

The year was 1997. Recently thawed from a thirty year cryogenic state, Dr. Evil addressed the United Nations about his diabolical scheme to hold the world ransom: “ In a little while you’ll notice that the Kreplachistani warhead has gone missing. If you want it back, you’re going to have to pay me…one million dollars.” After the United Nations officials erupted in laughter, Dr. Evil quickly corrected himself “sorry…one hundred billion dollars.” When our mere pittance of a bill arrived after my friends Paul, Bill, Fred and I had polished off a boatload of all-you-can-eat sushi at Ahh! Sushi, the 1997 movie Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, quickly came to mind. Considering all we had eaten, we half expected an evil sushi chef to come out from behind the curtain and say “sorry…one thousand dollars.” We didn’t add up what the sushi would have cost had we not availed ourselves of the all-you-can-eat offering, but suffice to say, we ate our money’s worth and then some. The only sticker shock visitors to Ahh Sushi in Rio Rancho receive is shock (and maybe a little bit of awe, too) at how inexpensive all you can eat can be. I won’t…

AmericanBakeryBreakfastBrunchClosed in 2020Gone But Not Forgotten

Hartford Square – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno8:29 PM

“The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a star.” ~ Anthelme Brillat-Savarin Dante Alighieri’s 14th century poem Divine Comedy postulated the existence of nine circles of Hell, each circle appropriate to the sins of the damned. The fourth circle, for example, is reserved for hoarders and wasters whose punishment is to spend eternal life rolling giant boulders at one another. While gastronomy is a virtue and not a sin, were there to have been a circle in Hell for gastronomes, there’s no doubt it would have been to spend eternity eating in chain restaurants where we would be subjected to the tedium and monotony of forevermore eating homogeneous foods. It would certainly make prophetic my words “I’ll be damned if I ever eat at Chili’s or Applebee’s.” Gastronomes need the spice of life that is variety. Unlike gluttons who eat and drink excessively or voraciously, (and therefore spend eternal life in the fourth circle of Hell where they wallow in muck and mire) gastronomes need not consume food in large quantities. Instead, we (and I’m including the faithful readers of this blog here) need the diversity that comes from foods with varying…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2022Gone But Not ForgottenPizza

Brickyard Pizza – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno10:46 PM

“The Brickyard” is the commonly used nickname for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the Indy 500. A Duke City pizzeria with the sobriquet Brickyard Pizza launched near the University of New Mexico in August, 2004, but has absolutely nothing to do with the famous race. It isn’t even affiliated with Albuquerque’s famous racing family, the Unsers, several of whom have won motor racing’s crown jewel. Brickyard Pizza occupies the Brick Light District area edifice which previously housed Rebar, an eclectic Asian inspired restaurant which just wasn’t an economic or conceptual fit for the collegiate demographic. Cash-strapped students who subsist on a diet of the four food groups–frozen food, fast food, canned food and when they can get it, free food–just didn’t get Rebar. For one thing, Rebar didn’t serve pizza, the favorite food of collegians across the fruited plain, a food students love so much it would be every university’s mascot were it not for the boards of regions. Entrepreneurial founder Derek Young understood what the college crowd wanted: pizza, beer, big screen televisions, free Internet access and wireless connections in an unpretentious and informal ambiance–the quintessential college hang-out experience. Beer and pizza alone make it better than being…

AmericanFarmingtonNew MexicoNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011Rating: N/R (Not Rated)Sushi

Clancy’s Pub – Farmington, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:42 PM

Characterized by writer Tom Wolfe as the “Me Decade” and derided by cynics as the “Disco Era,” the 1970s witnessed an explosion of copycat fast food chain restaurants and the birth of innovative fusion cuisine in many contemporary restaurants. Fusion cuisine is the inventive combination of diverse, sometimes disparate culinary traditions, techniques and ingredients to form an entirely new genre. In large metropolitan areas, particularly throughout California, the fusion of different cuisines became commonplace. Restaurants featuring the melding of French and Chinese cuisine were especially popular. Still other restaurants had their own ideas as to what constituted fusion cuisine. Instead of intermixing ingredients, they featured menus showcasing the cuisine of several genres. One such restaurant is Clancy’s Pub in Farmington, New Mexico. Though its name practically screams “Irish pub,” Clancy’s Pub is so much more. Founded in 1978, Clancy’s offers one of the most diverse and comprehensive menus you’ll find anywhere in New Mexico. It’s East meets West, surf meets turf, vegetarian meets meat lover, sweet meets savory, and so much more. Now, if you’re wondering if Clancy’s Pub is just another one of those restaurants which endeavors to “be all things to all people” and falls woefully short of…

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Gil’s Best of the Best for 2013

Gil Garduno12:00 PM

The advent of 2014 is nigh. It’s with great fondness and more than a little (blush) salivation that I bid adieu to auld lang syne and the most memorable dishes of 2013. These are the dishes which are most indelibly imprinted on my memory engrams…the first dishes that come to mind when I close my eyes and reflect on the past year in eating. “But this is New Mexico,” you might exclaim after you read that eight of the very best dishes I enjoyed in 2013 were seafood dishes. That’s not supposed to happen in a high desert state. Chez Bob must not have heard this is a landlocked state because the Diver Scallops with a Buerre Blanc Sauce are as good as you’ll find along the coast. Chef, proprietor, barista, ambassador. That’s Michael Gonzales who’s not only unabashedly passionate about his Cafe Bella, but a civic-minded promoter of the City of Vision. His slow-roasted, locally smoked carne panini featured succulent pork, baby field greens, mozzarella and a mayo-based sauce. Each bite is an absolute joy and an adventure in deliciousness. Four sandwiches made my “best of 2013” list. Tia Betty Blue’s, a rollicking, quirky and all-around fun restaurant creates…