Tag: Open Kitchen

2024 James Beard Foundation "Best New Restaurant" SemifinalistAsianFusionJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersNew MexicoRating: ExceptionalSanta Fe

ALKEME AT OPEN KITCHEN – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears. And how else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.” ~Khalil Gibran, The Prophet Very few of us can identify with the profundity of Khalil Gibran’s immortal poem “On Joy and Sorrow”  as well as Hue-Chan Karels, owner of the Santa Fe restaurant that is reimagining Asian cuisine.   Outwardly the beautiful entrepreneur is as buoyant and joyful as can be.  In fact, what might be her restaurant’s “mission statement” reflects that joy:   “We are joy makers who believe in the magic of culinary experiences.  Our passion is to create and curate inspired, original, unforgettable gatherings for the joyful celebration of human connection wherever they can be imagined.”  Before she became a joy maker, however, she had to surmount deep sorrows that carved into her being. Hue-Chan was nine years old when she and her family fled Vietnam.  Carrying only a small shoulder bag with $500, personal documents and negatives of family photos, the displaced family was sent to Guam then Camp Pendleton, California before relocating to Michigan. From a child’s perspective, the family’s…

AlbuquerqueDog FriendlyNew MexicoPizza

Restoration Pizza – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:02 AM

My dad taught me very early on that all people have inherent worth and dignity and are deserving of respect and kindness. A lifelong educator, he had a knack for reaching students deemed incorrigible or unteachable–students the “system” would just as soon discard. During his funeral nearly forty-five years ago, these were the students who cried hardest. They had just lost their biggest advocate, a teacher who believed in them, at times more than they believed in themselves. What set my dad apart from other teachers is that he demanded–and consequently received– no less than the best effort a student could put forth. He tried to instill that attitude in all students–demand the best of yourself, strive to achieve as much as you can. For my dad, they did. They reveled in making “Mr G.” proud of them. American historian Henry Adams once said “A teacher affects eternity.  He can never tell where his influence stops.”  Almost invariably when we visit Peñasco, one of his former students approaches me with stories of the work and life skills they learned from my dad.  Their gratitude is heartfelt and deep.  One developmentally challenged and very sheltered student recalled how she had never…