Tag: Small Plates

AlbuquerqueFine DiningNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: Outstanding

Ex Novo Brewing Co. – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

After years of design and construction, Ex Novo new taproom and restaurant opened its doors in July, 2024.  The 11,500-square-foot edifice is broken into two levels.  On the first level, you’ll find  the restaurant, kitchen, taproom, indoor seating and a large patio.  A full-service bar with food service can be found upstairs in the spectacular mezzanine.  A large outdoor patio accommodates one-hundred guests and will eventually provide live music.   An adjacent  cafe and deli called Sammy’s Cafe & Deli.opened in October, 2024. Sammie’s offers an all-day breakfast menu as well as some of the most sought-after sandwiches imaginable (a pastrami reuben, banh mi, Italian, etc.) Brought in to lead Ex Novo during its founding was Marc Quiñones, one of the most heralded and talented chefs in New Mexico.  At  Level 5 Rooftop Restaurant, Chef Quiñones conceptualized the idea of “Contemporary New Mexican Ranch Cuisine’ which celebrates New Mexico’s historical reliance on the bounty of the earth and its plentiful wildlife.  Chef Quiñones channeled the way New Mexicans preserved and prepared foods a century ago.  He brought that concept with him to Ex Novo.   The chef parted ways with Ex Novo not quite a year after having led the restaurant during…

AmericanClosed in 2025Dog FriendlyGone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoRio Rancho

Whiptail – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

We all know New Mexico has an official state aroma (green chiles roasting),  an official state cookie (biscochito),  official state vegetables (chile and pinto beans), but did you know the Land of Enchantment has an official state reptile?  Chastity Bustos does.  In fact, in she named her new eatery  in honor of that reptile, the New Mexico whiptail (Aspidoscelis neomexicanus).  When I asked Chastity if she knew the New Mexico whiptail is a female-only species that doesn’t need male lizards to reproduce, she jokingly replied “it’s all about girl power.” Don’t get the impression that Chastity subscribes to the slogan popularized by feminist icon Gloria Steinem: “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.”  Chastity and her husband Brian have an egalitarian business relationship.  She manages day-to-day operations for Whiptail and he does the same for their other restaurant, Philly Steaks on Albuquerque’s east side. As soon as work began on the Highway 528 restaurant that for years had housed Banana Leaf, City of Vision residents became giddy with excitement.  It’s not everyday a new restaurant opens up in Rio Rancho.  Social media postings, particularly on Nextdoor swelled excitement and divulged revelations. “Visionaries” not only learned the new…

AmericanDog FriendlyNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)Taos County

Medley – El Prado, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:01 PM

You’re probably expecting my review of an El Prado restaurant named “Medley” to start with a musical theme, maybe likening the menu to “a musical composition made up of a series of songs or short pieces.”  That would be an easy way to do it, but it would also be slightly disingenuous.  Medley isn’t named for anything having to do with music and though the menu is akin to a composition, the restaurant and wine shop are named for Chefs-Owners Colleen and Wilks Medley.  Medley is also, according to the restaurant’s website is a philosophy–“something good, for everyone.” That something good absolutely starts with its incomparable setting.  Almost equidistant between Taos Plaza and the Taos Ski Valley, Medley is situated in what maps will tell you is El Prado (the meadow).  Your eyes will tell you you’re in an idyll of vast open plains and depthless skies.  Whether attired in their traditional cerulean blue or nature has chosen to paint those skies in a sunset panacea of colors that awaken the soul, those skies will evoke joy, contemplation and maybe even melancholy (at the thought you may have to return home to a less spectacular setting).  Even when storm clouds…