Category: Closed in 2012

Closed in 2012Gone But Not ForgottenMassachusettsSeafood

Kingfish Hall – Boston, Massachusetts (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

“Endorse what you love.”  That’s the message NASCAR driver Tony Stewart delivers to Eric Estrada, Carrot Top and a host of other candidates the stature of which usually grace Dancing With The Stars and other dreadful reality shows.  If the television commercial is to be believed, what Stewart loves is Burger King, the fast food sponsor who supplanted Subway on the hood of his car and which is now paying for Stewart’s love. What it seems celebrities, including celebrity chefs, love most is having their names and smiling countenances visible to the general public and getting paid wheelbarrow’s full of money for the privilege.  Do you really believe Food Network glitterati Guy Fieri loves TGI Fridays or that Applebee’s can…

AlbuquerqueBarbecueClosed in 2012Gone But Not Forgotten

Johndhi’s BBQ – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

With the wafting aroma of smoked meats, Johndhi’s, a charming smokehouse restaurant on picturesque Rio Grande Boulevard welcomes you to Bar-B-Querque, a well-earned and time-tested sobriquet. Known as Geezamboni’s since its inception in 1988 until a name change in 2005, Johndhi’s is a North Valley institution popular all year round. Owned and operated by John Nellos of Albuquerque’s first family of barbecue (the philanthropic Nellos clan owns three Quarters restaurants in the Duke City), Johndhi’s has an ultra hip, mega casual feel to it that belies the converted home structure in which it sits.  The artsy ambience includes French posters, multi-hued Mexican ceramic masks and pictures adorning the walls.  Strewn about the restaurant’s many nooks and crannies are interesting accoutrements such as an antique…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2012Gone But Not ForgottenGreek

Hello Gyro – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Many scholars and historians consider  the ancient Greeks to be the germinal culture and progenitor of Western civilization as we know it.  Greek civilization has been immensely influential in the arts and sciences, politics and language, philosophy and education.  It may surprise you then to learn that what many consider the archetypal Greek dish is, in chronological terms, a relative newcomer to one of the world’s oldest civilizations. There is no historical source to prove definitively that the gyros were first made any earlier than the 1950s when they are believed to have been invented in Livadia, a city in central Greece.  The first souvlaki on a wooden stick, by the way, was also invented in Livadia at about the…

AlbuquerqueBakeryBreakfastClosed in 2012DonutsGone But Not ForgottenSpecialty

Paradise Donuts – Bosque Farms, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Though often boorish and crude, America’s favorite everyman philosopher Homer Simpson is prone to occasional bouts of insight. Who can argue with such Homeric sagacity as, “donuts, is there anything they can’t do.” At first browse that statement may appear clouded, make that glazed, but it’s a statement replete with credibility–and not solely with police officers. Cultural anthropologist Paul R. Mullins posits that one of the best ways to examine a culture is by looking at its eating habits and regional cuisines. He reasons that Americans don’t really have a culinary culture we can call our own, that the American culinary experience is an amalgam of appropriated customs and cooking techniques. The best evidence of this, in his mind, is…

Closed in 2012Fine DiningFood Network Eats New MexicoGone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoRated 25Santa Fe

Aqua Santa – Santa Fe, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

“But the moment I saw the brilliant, proud morning shine high up over the deserts of Santa Fe, something stood still in my soul, and I started to attend. There was a certain magnificence in the high-up day, a certain eagle-like royalty, so different from the equally pure, equally pristine and lovely morning of Australia, which is so soft, so utterly pure in its softness, and betrayed by green parrot flying. But in the lovely morning of Australia one went into a dream. In the magnificent fierce morning of New Mexico one sprang awake, a new part of the soul woke up suddenly, and the old world gave way to a new.” In a 1928 essay called “New Mexico,” prolific…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2012Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexican

Juan’s Broken Taco – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Fusion–the inventive combination of diverse, sometimes disparate culinary traditions, elements and ingredients to form an entirely new genre–has yet to become commonplace in the Land of Enchantment Some restaurants in New Mexico have dabbled in their conception of fusion, primarily by offering dishes from several southeast Asian countries alongside one another as well as dishes that are “inspired” combinations of those countries’ cuisines. In large metropolitan areas, particularly in California, restaurants featuring the melding of French and Chinese cuisine are especially popular. Here’s one fusion I’ll bet you’ve never heard of, much less tried–New Mexican and Romanian. Albuquerque has one restaurant in which that rarest of fusion can be found. To be honest, it’s not the wholly disparate cuisines of…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastClosed in 2012Gone But Not ForgottenRated 23

Milton’s Family Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

In a 2002 column Jason Sheehan, one of the best in a succession of outstanding Alibi restaurant critics assembled a dream menu of the best foods he had ever eaten, a “desert-island top ten” from which he’d choose if ever asked the question, “If you could eat only one thing every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?”  His top ten list included the phenomenal red chile breakfast burritos from Milton’s Family Restaurant in Albuquerque. As a restaurant critic I’d flatter myself disingenuously if I compared myself to Sheehan, but at least in terms of our mutually high opinion of Milton’s breakfast burritos, we’re completely simpatico. I first discovered those tortilla encased treasures when stationed at…

Closed in 2012Food Network Eats New MexicoGone But Not ForgottenNew MexicanNew Mexico

Leona’s Restaurante de Chimayo – Chimayo, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

In his book Authentic Happiness, Dr. Martin Seligman posited that there are two kinds of smiles. The first is called the Duchenne smile, named for its discoverer, French neurologist Guillame Duchenne. This is considered a genuine smile in which the corners of the mouth turn up and the skin around the corners of the eyes crinkle (ala crow’s feet). This type of smile may sometimes begin with laughter that generates a wide smile which causes the skin around the eyes to crease. The Duchenne smile is very hard to fake and is therefore often used to detect sincerity. The other type of smile, called the Pan American smile, is named after the smile airline stewardesses (or at least those on…

Closed in 2012Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoPizza

Sandia Crust Pizza Company – Cedar Crest, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Deadheads and pizza have been inextricably tied since 1993 when (legend has it) an audacious pizza delivery boy absconded with several cassette tapes from Jerry Garcia’s kitchen counter.  It didn’t take long before late-night Grateful Dead radio programs around the country were playing second- and third-generation “dubs” of the rough mixes that have come to be known as “The Pizza Tapes.” The Pizza tapes featured the collaboration of Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia, mandolinist David Grisman and guitarist Tony Rice, all legendary figures in the music world.  The 12-song improvisation gives every indication that the session was warm, intimate and replete with the joyful spontaneity and rapport of friends not used to playing together but having a genuinely good time…

AlbuquerqueAmericanClosed in 2012Gone But Not Forgotten

Billet’s Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Americana has spawned many unique cultures, counter-cultures and fringe groups. Some of those cultures operate equally well in any spectrum. Take for example the biker culture in which Fortune 500 executives as well as bandits, desperados and those in between are fervent in their pursuit of two-wheeled motorized activity. This is evidenced by the throngs of bikers on both sides of the law making annual pilgrimages to Sturgis, South Dakota with the same zeal as pilgrims headed to Mecca. Local bikers have made the Billet Grill (formerly known as the Easy Riders Grill) a favorite dining destination. When it first opened in 2004, it was easier to see why. Diners were surrounded by all things bike thanks to a custom…

BernalilloBreakfastClosed in 2012Gone But Not ForgottenMexicanNew Mexico

La Hacienda Express – Bernalillo, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

You know you’re in New Mexico when you can order breakfast burritos under the golden arches or green chile cheeseburgers at Wendy’s. In doing so, however, you just might be sacrificing tastiness for the sake of expeditiousness. An excellent alternative to chain-induced heartburn and burger boredom is a stop at La Hacienda Express, a favorite of locals in the know. While it may not have as many restaurants as the ubiquitous chains, you can still find one in the Nob Hill area (4400 Central, S.E.), one in the far northeast heights (11200 Montgomery, N.E.) and one at Albuquerque’s Sunport where you can get your last (or first) fix of New Mexican food before flying out (or after landing). There’s a…