Tag: Bruschetta

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Scalo – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

Contrary to popular belief, Scalo was not already a Nob Hill fixture in 1706 when Don Francisco Cuervo y Valdés, governor and captain general of New Mexico, named a new settlement for the Duke of Alburquerque, then viceroy of New Spain.  Scalo didn’t actually open until December, 1986, but during its lengthy tenure it has such a degree of permanence in our memories and taste buds that it’s hard to believe it wasn’t one of the fabled paradors (an establishment where travelers could seek lodging, and usually, food and drink) along the Camino Real.  It would make sense because the word “Scalo” itself translates from Italian to “stopover.”  Then there’s Scalo’s revered spot on the now defunct Albuquerque Monthly.  On…

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Joe’s Pasta House – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (Under New Ownership)

Gil Garduno

Much as they might wish for it to happen, no restaurateur can make their restaurant THE hometown favorite.  It happens organically and it happens only by the unanimous will and consent of the people.  Similarly, it takes the acclamation of the dining public for a restaurant to become THE heartbeat of a community–where residents go to interact with one another in a convivial spirit of sharing a great meal. A restaurant has to prove itself every single time with every single guest.  It must offer a combination of memorable food, a homey look and feel and mostly personable, attentive service.  There can be no such thing as a “bad day.”  To find the template for how a restaurant becomes the…

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JOE’S PASTA HOUSE – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

Once a year, despite my protestations and whining, I agree to take my Kim to the Olive Garden. It’s a deal we have, albeit one that makes me feel like Faust in the Christopher Marlowe play. Faust, for the non-English majors among you, was a scholar who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. In my case, the deal is a visit to Olive Garden once a year in exchange for all the strange and exotic restaurants I want to visit the rest of the year. I sure got the rotten end of that deal. On a list of things I’d rather do, my annual visit to the Olive Garden for a meal…