Tag: Cheryl Alters Jamison

2022 James Beard Foundation - "Best Restaurant" Semifinalist2023 James Beard Foundation - Best Restaurant SemifinalistAmericanDog FriendlyFarm to TableRating: N/R (Not Rated)United StatesUtah

Hell’s Backbone Grill – Boulder, Utah

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“I’m going to hell! The worst place in the world! With devils and those caves and the ragged clothing! And the heat! My God, the HEAT!” ~Elaine Benes (Seinfeld: Season 9, Episode 16) Most of us would describe Hell in similarly terrifying terms (albeit without the humor) as Elaine Benes did during a memorable episode of Seinfeld back in 1998.  The Hell that existed in Elaine’s mind  was indeed “the worst place in the world!”  If Hell can be so nightmarish, can Hells Backbone be any better?  Are there devils wearing ragged clothing and living in caves in Hells Backbone?  Not in the Hells Background we visited in June, 2024. Hells Backbone in Southwestern Utah is a spectacularly rugged area bridging the towering Boulder Mountain on the north and the breathtaking canyons to the south cut by the Escalante River over millions of years.  The Hells Backbone Road meanders through and past ridges and unearthly mountain contours that stagger the imagination. It winds from juniper and sage desert high up into the lush pine and aspen forest on Boulder Mountain and the highest plateau in North America.  The Hells Backbone Road is one of the most scenic–albeit trecherous during stormy…

BarbecueNew MexicoRating: ExcellentSanta Fe

The Ranch House – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno9:27 PM

When it comes to existentialism, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche have nothing on my university classmate Ron at the University of Southerm Mississippi who would argue that the meaning of life is to ponder the meaning of life. In his ongoing analysis of existence, he can turn any subject into a philosophical debate. Once while enjoying a rack of ribs at Anjac’s BBQ in Gulfport, Mississippi, he actually pondered the essence of barbecue–to sauce or not to sauce, what is lamb’s place in barbecue, etc. While he pondered, I ate. It appears my friend is not the only person who has contemplated the essence of barbecue. Meathead Goldwyn, the self-professed “barbecue whisperer and hedonism evangelist” believes “the seductive aroma and flavor of smoke is the essence of barbecue.” Author Rick Browne who has a “PhB” in barbecue argues that the essence of barbecue is the sauce, “the glorious thickened liquid (sometimes not-so-thickened) that we gleefully baste, mop and slop with.” William McKinney who co-authored Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue counters: “Sauce is fine and can perk up the meat, but the essence of barbecue lies in that process.” Los Angeles Times writer Charles Perry weighs in with “the…

BurgersDog FriendlyNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)Steak

Adobe Deli – Deming, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:03 AM

In 2009  I had the great privilege of helping compile the inaugural New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail along with the scintillating, four-time James Beard award-winning author Cheryl Alters Jamison; the brilliant Kate Manchester, founding publisher of Edible Santa Fe; and one of New Mexico’s finest ambassadors, Martin Leger, then advertising manager for the New Mexico Department of Tourism.  We discussed dozens of potential candidates for inclusion into the inaugural Trail.    Narrowing down those “most worthy” was like selecting the best and brightest stars on a clear, cold New Mexico winter night. Between the four of us, we had (over the years, not in one seating) voraciously consumed green chile cheeseburgers at an almost embarrassing number of restaurants, drive-ins, diners, dives, joints, cafes, roadside stands and even bowling alleys.  Ultimately we narrowed down the number of selections to what we believed were the very best green chile cheeseburgers from throughout the Land of Enchantment.  Our list was well vetted, our research meticulous (and delicious) and our bellies full.  There’s no way we could possibly have missed any of the Land of Enchantment’s best green chile cheeseburgers…or was there? During a long overdue visit to the Adobe Deli about eight miles…