Tag: Tandoori Chicken

AlbuquerqueBuffetIndianNew MexicoRating: Very Good

Maharaja Indian Cuisine – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In his Netflix “23 Hours to Kill” special, comedian Jerry Seinfeld posed the question:  “What is the idea of the buffet?  Well, things are bad.  How can we make it worse?  Why don’t we put people that are already struggling with portion control into some kind of debauched Caligula food orgy of unlimited human consumption?”  Frankly, that’s a notion I’ve contemplated myself, but it’s not the only reason I don’t partake of buffets.  As an independent observer of the culinary condition, reviewing buffets–irrespective of how good they might be–is not a true indicator of a restaurant’s quality.   For that, you’ve got to order off the menu. Please don’t get me wrong.  I’m not anti-buffetite.   My Kim loves buffets.  So does our friend John Martin, a fellow trencherman.  During the height of the Cabrona virus, even culinary cognoscenti believed all-you-can-eat buffets were a thing of the past, just like sending Christmas cards.  The more fastidious among us were relieved that sanitation protocols would be the riddance of those too short plexiglass sneeze guards and the sharing of serving sporks and tongs.  Sadly, doing away with buffets–even if only for a short time–resulted in the permanent closure of such buffet favorites as…

AlbuquerqueBuffetIndianNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Kabab & Curry – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

A recent study by The Picky Eater analyzed the world’s most popular cuisines and dishes.  Picky Eater’s survey determined that Italian cuisine (highlighted by pizza, pasta, and risotto) is the most popular cuisine in the world, followed by Japanese and Indian food. The study also revealed that Chinese restaurants are the most common worldwide, representing an average of 9.5% of all restaurants in “top-visited cities,” followed by Italian cuisine concepts (roughly 8.5%) and Indian establishments (8%).  Indian restaurants have not propogated as widely in the United States. A 2023 study by the Pew Research Center closely indicates that Indian restaurants account for only 7 percent of all restaurants serving Asian food in America.  That’s starting to change. Although the first Indian restaurant ( the Hindustanee Coffee House in New York City) opened its doors in the late 1800s, it wasn’t  until the 1960s and 1970s that Indian cuisine began to gain wider recognition, as more Indian immigrants came to the United States and opened restaurants and grocery stores. Today, Indian cuisine is a well-established part of the American culinary culture–one that is poised to explode largely thanks to innovative second- and third-generation Indian-American chefs developing new dishes and unique concepts.…

AlbuquerqueBuffetIndianNew Mexico

Naan & Dosa – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable.” ~Mark Twain >Ever since Eve succumbed to the wiles of a serpent who moonlighted as a used car salesman, humankind has been easily led into temptation.  As playwright Oscar Wilde once jokingly remarked, “I can resist anything except temptation.” We can all relate. We all face temptations of one sort or the other.  Like the forbidden fruit of Eden, temptation can be very attractive and very difficult to resist.  Though technically sin–actions or offenses that are offensive to God–is a concept to which only Christianity and Judaism subscribe, most of the world’s religions do believe in the concept of right or wrong–as defined by the laws and rules set forth by their respective gods and as interpreted by religious leaders within the respective faith. Sometimes (or quite often as has recently been revealed) those religious leaders are also led astray.  One of the more benign examples involves a Brahmin, a member of the priestly class in Hindu society’s caste system.  Since alcohol was forbidden to Brahmins, one tried to ferment his own with rice.  When his efforts failed, he poured out the contents onto a pan and made…

AlbuquerqueIndianNew Mexico

Bawarchi Indian Cuisine – Albuquerque, New Mexico (REBRANDED)

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

NOTE: Although Bawarchi quickly earned praise and acclaim from the public and the media alike, corporate support was lacking.  Bawarchi, a burgeoning chain with locations in 23 states, seemed more interested in expanding across the fruited plain than it did in supporting its local affiliate.  Within three years, the Khan family had rebranded its name to “Royal Hyderabad.”  It’s not only the name that changed.  New recipes were developed, some items were dropped from the menu and other items were added.  In November, 2025, Royal Hyderabad launched its second location, this time on Albuquerque’s ever-expanding west side.  The new restaurant is a 4,000-square-foot space that can accommodate 110 people.  Please visit my review of Royal Hyderabad for more information. When the New York Times described biryani as “the Indian equivalent of arroz con pollo or paella,” legions of Southwest Asians and culinary cognoscenti cried “Fake News!”  The media  megalith with the masthead that boasts of “all the news that’s fit to print” may as well have declared the Taj Majal as the architectural equivalent of Randy’s Donuts in Los Angeles or the Longaburger Company Building  in Ohio.  It’s highly unlikely Latin America and Spain are nearly as passionate about arroz con…

BuffetIndianRating: ExcellentRio Rancho

Namaste Restaurant – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno4:37 AM

Several years ago while leading my organization’s e-business marketing and communication effort at Intel, I had the great fortune of hiring a phenomenal Web developer recently arrived from India. In the process of filling out one of our complicated employment forms he transposed his name, writing his last name then his middle initial and first name instead of the way hinted at on the complicated form. As a result, during the entire time he worked for us we all called him Kolli, his last name. He was too polite to tell us his first name is actually Srini. Over time Srini became more acculturated, maybe even a bit “Americanized” (he’s now a huge Dallas Cowboys fan), but he’s never lost his personal warmth, good humor and impeccable manners. Politeness and great manners seem to be a hallmark of Indian people…or at least those in the service industries. When colleagues ask for a romantic dinner recommendation, I frequently suggest one of the area’s Indian restaurants where impeccably attentive service and consistently excellent food impart the effect of making diners feel like welcome royalty. Most Indian restaurants, like my friend Srini, embody the spirit of a traditional Indian salutation, “Namaste” which is…

Dog FriendlyIndianRating: N/R (Not Rated)TexasUnited States

It’s A Punjabi Affair – Amarillo, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

During our last full year at Intel, my friend Bill Resnik and I had the distinct honor and privilege of working on a project with a team from Microsoft comprised mostly of information technology professionals with roots in the exotic subcontinent of India.  We had expected impeccable technical expertise, but their dedication and focus was far beyond what any of us would have anticipated.  As an example, Kannan, a technical solutions analyst once took a well-deserved vacation in Hawaii and still called in to daily project meetings.  Tropical birds sang in the background as Kannan provided his updates while lounging on the lanai. Never one to miss out on an opportunity, Bill downloaded an application for his iPhone which played everything from beautiful bird songs to simple tweets and chirps.  The second Kannan began to speak during a meeting–either from his San Francisco home base or somewhere Microsoft had dispatched him–Bill would play bird sounds that weren’t necessarily indigenous to Kannan’s location at the time.  We heard everything from turkeys gobbling and chickens cackling to a pterodactyl screeching.  It was driving Kannan batty trying to figure out where all these strange and exotic bird sounds were emanating.  It brought to…