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AlbuquerqueFine DiningRating: Outstanding

Seasons Rotisserie & Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:21 AM

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted. – Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 Despite America’s oft vascillating economic situation, new restaurants continue to sprout faster than New Mexico’s unofficial state flower (no, not the ubiquitous orange traffic cone; the almost as omnipresent tumbleweed). Rarely does a week go by without some sparkly and shiny new restaurant opening up somewhere in the Duke City. Though most start off with much promise and…

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Pop Fizz – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno7:57 PM

NOTE: The review below is primarily for the Pop Fizz instantiation at the National Hispanic Cultural Center which closed during the Cabrona Virus.  Pop Fizz continued to operate at other locations, but did not have the comprehensive menu it once had.  Pop Fizz announced its closure in March, 2026. The geriatrically advanced among us who grew up during the golden age (1950s through the 1970s) of the “jingle” were constantly bombarded with earworm-inducing singing commercials, those catchy and memorable short tunes used to convey advertising slogans. We couldn’t help but sing along, often to the annoyance of our parents. When,…

BarbecueBurgersNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Greg’s BBQ – Belen, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

On our journey to together forever, my Kim and I have shared meals at thousands of restaurants.  Even when we haven’t enjoyed those meals, without exception we’ve enjoyed our times together.  We share everything…almost.  Maybe the only thing we don’t completely share is the extent, breadth and depth of my passion for food.  You probably won’t believe this, but I’m one of those “live to eat” types who’s certifiably obsessed with food–to the point of looking forward my next culinary adventure before my current meal is even done.  I self gloss as a gastronome, but foodie, gourmand or bon viveur…

AlbuquerqueNew MexicoRating: ExcellentSandwich

Philly Steaks – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno8:02 PM

“I love the dignity in the name Philadelphia, but at heart, we’re Philly.” ~Lisa Scottoline New York Times Best-Selling Author “There are a couple of things you should know about Philadelphia,” my friend Vladimir “Speedy” Gonzalez told me before my first visit to the City of Brotherly Love. “First, Philadelphians are not rude. We may be blunt and direct, but that’s just passion.” Passion? I always thought he was a grouch. “Second,” he added, “you’ve got to know the process for ordering a Philly cheesesteak when you visit Pat’s King of Steaks. If you don’t, you’ll be sent to the…

AlbuquerqueMexicanNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)Tacos

La Reforma Brewery – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:27 AM

When my friend Schuyler saw the name of the restaurant on this review, he teased me that my life of dissipation, debasement and debauchery finally caught up with me.  “39-year-old juvenile delinquents like you belong in a reformatory.”   Being the mad scientist cerevisaphile he is, he also told it’s about time I ended my teetotaling ways.  “You’ve tried everything else.  Why not beer?”  Frankly, when my friend Ryan “Break the Chain” Scott first told me about La Reforma Taqueria, Brewery and Distillery, I had no idea what the context of the term “Reforma” meant, but doubted it had anything…

AlbuquerqueBrunchDog FriendlyNew MexicoRating: GoodSpanishTapas

VARA WINERY & DISTILLERY – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:53 PM

In 1620, King Philip III of Spain issued a royal decree mandating that each of the 19 recognized New Mexican Pueblos elect by popular vote, a governor, lieutenant governor and other officers as might be needed to carry on the Pueblo’s affairs. The decree required that elections take place at the close of a calendar year with installation into office occurring the first week of the new year. In commemoration of each Pueblo’s recognized sovereignty, each governor was presented a silver-headed Vara de Soberania (Cane of Sovereignty) with a cross inscribed on the sliver mount as evidence of the support…

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Urban Taqueria -Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

My sagacious friend Bill Resnik is like a 6’5″ Yoda. Perhaps because he was a stand-up comedian for several decades, he seems to invite good-natured teasing from among our mutual friends and colleagues.  Like gunfighters sporting black hats in the westerns of yore, would-be comics seem to come out of the woodwork to challenge the fastest quipster in the west.  Instead of six shooters, the villains arrive sporting their put-downs, taunts and insults…and like the white chapeau-wearing good guy fighting on behalf of the forces of goodness and niceness, Bill dispatches them quickly with witty retort. I once asked Bill…

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Need-A-Pita – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno8:28 PM

If anniversary gifts are seen as a barometer for the health of a relationship, it’s a wonder any marriage involving men survives. Dozens of bad gift compilations across the internet would have you believe those of us with the XY-chromosome deficiency…er, pairing are notoriously bad gift givers. Instead of lavishing our spouses with romantic gifts indicative of our love, we give them practical things…such as universal remote controls, home brewing kits or outdoor pizza ovens we ourselves would like. Or we give them exercise equipment, not realizing the connotation might not be “I care,” but  “you’re fat.”  Then there are…

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Rosemary – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“Eye of newt, and toe of frog, wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting, lizard’s leg, and howlet’s wing– for a charm of powerful trouble, like a hell-broth boil and bubble.” Anyone who’s read Shakespeare’s Macbeth will recognize this incantation by three witches as they stir a boiling cauldron replete with the ingredients needed to conjure ghosts into their world so they can manipulate Macbeth, the future king.  Even among those of us who may have been required to memorize this famous stanza, the ingredients seem so malevolent.  Little did we know that most of…

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Pacific Paradise Tropical Grill & Sushi Bar – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno4:53 AM

Shangri-La. Eden.  Paradise. Heaven on Earth.  The concept of a remote and exotic utopia, a faraway haven or hideaway of idyllic beauty and tranquility, has long intrigued mankind.  Paul Gauguin, the famous French post-impressionist artist thought his persistent pilgrimage for Paradise was over when he moved to Tahiti in the tropical South Pacific.  Alas, his picturesque paradise, as with anything that seems too good to be true, was also discovered by French colonists who quickly transformed Tahiti into the antithesis of the “sensual loafer’s paradise” he had envisioned. For aficionados of Asian cuisine, paradise might be defined as a restaurant…

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The Burger Stand – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno2:44 PM

“If you need good hot grillin’, Try my burger stand. If you need a slice of thrillin’, I’m the baddest in the land. Any way you want it baby, I am your burger man.” ~Burger Man by ZZ Top Those of us invited on occasion to judge competitive food events try to follow a few very sensical but ironclad rules to ensure our evaluations are fair, balanced and accurate—or at least as accurate as any largely subjective matter can be. Though we commit these rules to memory, it’s very easy to forget about them and give way to unbridled desire,…