Tag: Fries

2023 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Southwest" SemifinalistAlbuquerqueBurgersNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)Santa Fe

Patty Man – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“Hotter than a sizzling flat-top, More powerful than a wood-fired grill, Able to stack towering flavors in a single bite… Look, up at the Sawmill! It’s a James Beard semifinalist It’s the king of the grill… It’s The Patty Man!“ Chef Sean “The Patty Man” Sinclair is a self-effacing guy, more like mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent than his “man of steel” alter ego.  You won’t see Chef Sinclair run into a phone booth to don his apron and toque nor will gawking crowds point toward him and utter “Look!  In the kitchen, it’s a cook.  It’s a chef.  It’s Sean…

AlbuquerqueIndianMiddle EasternNew Mexico

Spicy Junction – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

While perusing the menu at Spicy Junction, you might hearken back to The Dream, the very eclectic restaurant owned and operated by Pakistan emigrant Babu Bhatt in an uproariously funny episode of Seinfeld. As Jerry Seinfeld observed about The Dream’s menu, “he’s serving Mexican, Italian, Chinese. He’s all over the place.” Spicy Junction’s menu is similarly diverse, a melange of Indian, Venezuelan, Middle Eastern, Indo-Chinese and even pizza and burgers splayed temptingly onto three individual menus. That the menu is so “all over the place” makes great sense in that the chef worked as a chef at the location’s previous…

ArizonaAsianFilipinoRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Jollibee – Chandler, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

One visit to Jollibee might convince you you’ve visited yet another American chain restaurant.  You’d be half right.  Jollibee is a chain, but it’s a chain based out of the Philippines.  Apparently the many islands comprising The Philippines developed a taste for fried chicken and burgers during its years as a U.S. colony.  My Uncle Fred, a career Navy man stationed several times at Subic Bay (on the west coast of Luzon Island in the Philippines northwest of Manila), raved that the fried chicken, in particular, was far better than fried chicken anywhere in the United States.  Apparently he’s not…

AmericanNative AmericanNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Earl’s Family Restaurant – Gallup, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Two years after the end of the “second war to end all wars,”  a hamburger joint in Gallup first opened its doors.  What started out as a small burger place with scant seating (four stools and a couple of booths) has grown over the years to accommodate legions of loyal guests, some of whom have been frequenting Earl’s Family Restaurant practically since its inception.  Today, the seating capacity at Earl’s approximates 300.   That’s just barely enough to accommodate crowds during peak hours  Earl’s is open seven days a week fror breakfast, lunch and dinner. At nearly eighty years of serving…

AlbuquerqueHot DogsMexicanNew MexicoRating: Very GoodSandwichTacos

Dogos VIP – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Thanks largely to a 1974 Chevrolet commercial and its catchy tune, the phrase “As American as baseball, hot dogs and apple pie” has purportedly defined what Americans hold most sacrosanct.  Never mind that hot dogs are derivative of European sausages, they’re inextricably part of the fabric of the fruited plain. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (yes, there is such a thing) estimates that Americans eat seven billion hot dogs (so it’s not just me) during the unofficial summer season which runs from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. That’s 818 hot dogs per second and more than a…

AmericanNew MexicanNew MexicoNew Mexico Culinary Treasures TrailRating: Good

Los Ojos – Jemez Springs, New Mexico

Gil Garduno9:59 PM

Shortly after the Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman had the occasion to conduct an inspection trip of frontier outposts in the southwest.  He wasn’t impressed by what he saw in New Mexico, writing in a report that “We should have another war with Mexico and force them to take the Territory (New Mexico) back!”  As an unabashedly proud native New Mexican, it’s hard for me to comprehend that anyone couldn’t see the incomparable beauty of the Land of Enchantment which to me is obvious everywhere I turn. Were I able to go back to General Sherman’s time, there are…

AlbuquerqueAsianChineseFusionNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

El Palacio Imperial – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“Tradition is everything.  It’s very important. But we need to remember that the traditions of today Were the modernity of the past. And that the things we think are very science fiction type of things Will be the traditions of tomorrow.” ~Chef Jose Andres Chef Jose Andres was the founder of the World Central Kitchen which provides large-scale relief to communities affected by natural disasters and conflicts around the world.  He’s one of Time Magazine’s  world’s 100 most influential people.  He earned a Presidential Medal of Freedom for his altruism as well as for being the Spanish-American culinary innovator who…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfast BurritosRating: Excellent

Ironwood Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno10:29 AM

I’m not sure Matt Moody could sell milk to the lactose intolerant or ice to an eskimo, but it would be hard to bet against him. The genial owner of the Ironwood Kitchen on Albuquerque’s sprawling far northwest, Matt has a rare enthusiasm for both his restaurant and his recipes.  He won’t just describe a dish on the menu, he’ll tell you how it’s prepared and may even give you the genesis of its ingredients. That type of enthusiasm and confidence is infectious. Matt is also wise and experienced enough to understand the customer is always right…even if he doesn’t…

AlbuquerqueGreekMediterraneanNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Gyros Shack – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

When my dear friend Adelchi Parisella introduced me to Greek food at Gyros Mediterranean back in the early ’80s, I thought to myself “now this is the food of the gods.”  As curious as any cat, I naturally researched whether or not the Greek gods of Mount Olympus actually did eat gyros and patates.  The only two “foods” I could recall the gods eating were ambrosia and nectar.  Research revealed that while ambrosia and nectar were the gods main source of substance, the haughty  mythological beings actually consumed other foods, none of which were gyros and patates. Dionysius, the the…

ArizonaBurgersDog FriendlyRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

The Chuck Box – Tempe, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“I’ll have the great big one,” the barrel-chested behemoth behind me chortled.  One of his companions, a bookish nerd followed up with “I’ll have the big one.”  Not to be outdone, several male Arizona State University (ASU) students took turns ordering either the “great big one” or the “big one.”  Each order was followed by raucous laughter as if they were the first students ever to place their orders for burgers named for their respective sizes (the burgers, not the students’ manhood).  Not one of them dared ask for “the little one” for fear of being humiliated or even ostracized…

AmericanBrewery-PubDog FriendlyNew MexicoRating: Very GoodRio Rancho

Turquoise Desert – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:46 AM

A 2016 online survey conducted by Statista asked 719 adult respondents “What is the maximum length of time that you would drive to a place to eat?” More than half (51-percent) of the respondents indicated they would travel 16 to 30 minutes to a restaurant. The limit for another 26-percent was 30 minutes to an hour.  Only five percent said they would travel more than one-hour.  Even the most prolific driving diners don’t have anything on David Schuler of Mississippi.  To sate his cravings for his favorite pizza in Massachusetts, Mr. Schuler drove over 1,400 miles and through 16 states. …