Tag: Salsa and Chips

AlbuquerqueDog FriendlyMexican

Papa Nacho’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno1:47 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 The notion of cooking alone is unthinkable to Ignacio and Brigette “BeBe” Lopez, founders of Papa Nacho’s. Since they launched their popular Mexican restaurant in 1995, the restaurant has embodied the aphorism “the family that cooks together, stays together.” Papa Nacho’s is and always has been a family affair, with daughters Gloria and Marcial practically having grown up in the kitchen. Today Marcial and her husband Richard Jimenez own the restaurant and Gloria is living in California.  The gracious Gloria once reminded…

AlbuquerqueNew MexicanNew Mexico

Tomasita’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno10:25 AM

Much as I like and respect Bob of the Village of Los Ranchos (BOTVOLR), the most prolific commentator on Gil’s Thrilling…naming this blog for him has never been a consideration.  Like Bill Richardson, the former governor of the great state of New Mexico, most of us would like to see our names immortalized on the side of a building, newspaper article or in my case, a thrilling (and filling) food blog.  Call it ego or self-aggrandizement, it’s just human nature to want our names recognized, preferably in large print and not for some act of ignominy.  That’s what makes the story of Georgia Maryol and Tomasita Leyba so compelling. That Georgia would name her new restaurant venture for her long-time…

AlbuquerqueNew MexicanNew Mexico

Cocina Azul – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:37 AM

Ever the lexicologist, my first inclination at seeing the mantra “panza llena, corazon contento” emblazoned on any restaurant’s menu is to ponder the veracity of the audacious claim that filling the belly can leave diners contented. The venerable New Mexican dicho which translates from Spanish to “full belly, happy heart” was, after all, conceived at a time 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 my forefathers found out when, for centuries, they eked out a meager subsistence from an austere terrain amidst the ravages of climatic extremes. As the popularity of buffets serving humongous helpings of pitiful pabulum will attest,…