Search Results for: piatanzi

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Piatanzi – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

“Italy is an illusion, indeed, a mirage, the stuff of wishes.” ~Mario Luzi In the 1996 motion picture Big Night, two Italian restaurants across the street from one another operate in diametric opposition to one another both philosophically and in practice. One is enormously successful because it gives customers what they want and expect (even though savvy diners would consider the culinary fare mediocre and uninspired). In the other restaurant, the chef is a perfectionist who will labor all day to create a perfect dish and becomes exasperated when diners don’t recognize the authentic culinary art he creates, preferring “Americanized” Italian food instead. You might think the American dining public would prefer the latter and reject the former. Our inaugural…

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Bawarchi Indian Cuisine – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

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…

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Gigi Italian Bistro – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

“If you can go through with what Gordon Ramsey puts you through there’s nothing much more you can do. I mean the berating from that guy is unbelievable, but the reward is even greater.” ~ Chef Robert Hesse Veni, Vedi, Veci (I came, I saw, I conquered):  Chef Robert Hesse, the superstar consulting chef who launched Gigi left Albuquerque in February, 2019. The review below was based on three visits to Gigi when Chef Hesse prepared our meals.  In light of his departure, I have removed the rating of “26” I accorded Gigi and will update my review accordingly after my next visit. Chef Robert Hesse isn’t the man he used to be. In fact, he’s literally and figuratively a…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2017Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoPizzaRated 25

ECLECTIC URBAN PIZZERIA AND TAP HOUSE – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Looking around our table, my friend Ryan “Break the Chain” Scott astutely pointed out the relative scarcity of pizza at our table. Considering the Eclectic Urban Pizzeria and Tap Room may have been the most eagerly awaited pizzeria to open in Albuquerque in years, you’d think a phalanx of foodies would be devouring our weight in pizza…and while three pulchritudinous pies did grace our table, so did such eclectic fare as pho, chicken wings, roasted chicken and Chimichurri skirt steak a la plancha. Despite the term “eclectic” on the pizzeria’s appellation, the menu’s vast diversity actually surprised us. It’s a testament to his tremendous creativity and talent that Chef Maxime Bouneou can still surprise diners who for nine years reveled…

Albuquerque Restaurant Index

Gil Garduno

To visit a restaurant review, simply click on the restaurant name below and you will be magically transported to that review. Restaurants rated “25″ or higher are noted in capital letters. American (41): | 66 Diner | Cafe 6855 | Cafe Lush | Central Grill & Coffee House | Christy Mae’s Restaurant | Cinnamon Sugar & Spice Cafe | Copper Canyon Cafe | The Daily Grind | Dave’s Valley Grill |  The Farmacy |  The Flying Star | Fork & Fig | The Frontier Restaurant  | The Grove Cafe & Market | Hannah & Nate’s | Hello Deli | The High Point Grill | Ironwood Kitchen | Jimmy’s Cafe | K&I Diner | The Kickstand Cafe |  The Kosmos | Lindy’s…

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Friends of Gil (FOG) Dinner: World Peace One Meal at a Time

Gil Garduno

You’ve probably espied a bumper sticker encouraging everyone to “Visualize Whirled Peas,” an obvious homophone for “Visualize World Peace.” Some have posited that whirled peas might indeed be the way to world peace. Seriously! I’m speaking, of course, about hummus, a ubiquitous Middle Eastern food typically made of mashed (whirled) chickpeas. There’s a tiny café in Israel employing a unique way to promote reconciliation. The restaurant offers a 50-percent discount to any table in which Arabs and Jews elect to sit together. That’s promoting peace through hummus. Negotiating world peace over dinner isn’t exactly a novel concept. A New York group named World Peace, One Falafel at a Time aims to bring Jews, Muslims and people of other faiths together…

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Friends of Gil (FOG) IX: Where do YOU want to Eat? Cast Your Vote Now!

Gil Garduno

OK FOGEYS. It’s voting time. By Jim Millington We have prepared a list of widely disparate restaurants as worthy candidates for FOG IX in July. In an exercise of Democracy not controlled by special interest groups, you have the opportunity to vote for the restaurant in which you’d like to dine with the Friends of Gil. This being New Mexico, we ask that farm animals and dead relatives not vote. 1. Piatanzi on Juan Tabo has a back room for groups. The food is unique in Albuquerque and wonderful if you like it and not wonderful if you don’t. A disadvantage is that it can get expensive if you aren’t paying attention. 2. Nexus is a Brewpub which is probably…

Italian Restaurants

Gil Garduno

There was a time–not that long ago, in fact–when Italian restaurants in New Mexico were dismissed as just “good for New Mexico,” but certainly not of the caliber of Italian eateries in more sophisticated, more cosmopolitan locales heavily populated by Italians.  There are restaurants on my list below which wouldn’t have to take a backseat to any Italian restaurant anywhere!  By clicking on the name of the restaurant for which you wish to know my opinion, you will be magically transported directly to my review of that restaurant. Restaurant Location Why It’s On The List Forghedaboudit Las Cruces Not only New Mexico’s best Italian restaurant, but likely its very best steakhouse, too.  There’s a reason Bob and Kim Yacone are…