Tag: Tortas

MexicanNew MexicoRating: ExcellentRio RanchoTacos

Las Villas Taqueria – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Upon learning that a new Mexican restaurant named “Las Villas Taqueria” would be launching in Rio Rancho, the bilingual lexicologist in me didn’t immediately ponder the menu.  Instead, my ruminations were of the translation of “Las Villas,” a Spanish term with several meanings depending on context.  I pondered whethr the restaurant was named for  small towns or settlements or for  luxurious country homes, both translations of the term “las villas.”  Then again, “Villas” is a common Spanish surname.  After a superb meal with my dear friend Bill Resnik, I came to the conclusion that “Las Villas” is actually a diminutive form of “las maravillas,” or “the wonders.”  That’s wonder as in “a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration caused by something beautiful or unexpected.”  I had not expected for Las Villas to be quite as good as it was. Las Villas had its grand opening on 11 October 2025. It occupies the very high turnover space which most recently housed Whiptail and before that Banana Leaf.   Visionaries (residents of Rio Rancho) have long surmised that one of the reasons tenants don’t last long at the space is because there is no direct entrance or egress.  in fact, if you didn’t…

BreakfastBreakfast BurritosMexicanNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: Outstanding

Ramona’s Mexican Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, the wisdom of cookbook writers.” ~Laurie Colwin, Novelist Watch virtually any episode of Kitchen Nightmares and you might just be convinced that families can’t possibly work together in a restaurant.  Kitchen Nightmares, one of Gordon Ramsay’s eight-hundred or so television shows, is rather formulaic–Ramsay spends a week with a failing restaurant in an attempt to revive the business.  Almost invariably, the failing restaurant is owned and operated by a family.  Almost invariably, the drama falls just short of Homer strangling Bart.  Arguments on Kitchen Nightmares are loud and intense.  Copious tears are shed.  Predictably, the sagacity and sangfroid of Saint Ramsay brings sanity to the family fray and the family joins him in a rendering of kumbaya. Contrast a visit to a Kitchen Nightmares restaurant with a visit to Ramona’s Mexican Cafe and the only drama you might experience is the internal conflict of trying to figure out what to order from a terrific menu.  Ramona, the matriarch of the Chavira Y Valles family, runs the kitchen with her sons.…

BernalilloFood TruckMexicanNew MexicoRating: Very GoodTacos

Sazon Con Amor – Bernalillo, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

The Broadway musical Rent taught us that a year is comprised of “five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes.”   Instead of measuring the length of a year “in daylights, sunsets, midnights, cups of coffee, inches, miles, laughter or strife,” Rent encouraged us to measure a year in life in seasons of love.  Not surprisingly, Seasons of Love (a song from the musical from which the italicized lyrics originated) came immediately to mind when we espied Sazon Con Amor, a food truck (that’s mobile kitchen to you, Bob) parked on Highway 550 in Bernalillo. Sazon Con Amor translates from Spanish to “Seasoning With Love,” but that was close enough to Rent’s definitive song to trigger a day-long earworm.  It also prompted me to ruminate on the many times chefs have expressed that the secret ingredient in their cooking is love, but until discovering Sazon Con Amor, we’ve never heard of any chef bragging about seasoning with love.  It’s not just semantics either.  Cookbooks refer to seasoning as “the herbs, spices and herb-spice mixes used during the preparation of food”  (by  contrast, condiments consist of ingredient combinations (often including spices) added by a diner at the point of consumption).  It would be…

AlbuquerqueMexicanNew MexicoTacos

Rotiseria Y Taqueria Alcantara – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, grocery prices have vaulted up 29% since February 2020.  Indeed, an Associated Press survey conducted in 2025 revealed that “the cost of groceries has become a major source of stress for just over half of all Americans — outpacing rent, health care and student debt.”  Very, very few grocery items have proven themselves inflation-proof.  Among those rare items is Costco’s rotisserie chicken which has remained the same price for years.  That consistently low price is a major reason Costco sells  more than 100-million ready-to-eat chickens each year. The obvious question when you peruse the menu at Rotiseria Y Taqueria Alcantara is “can a rotisserie chicken at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant possibly be six times as good as a Costco chicken?.”  Do the math.  “Six times” is just about how much more a whole rotisserie chicken at this Mexican restaurant on Isleta costs.   For the $28, you’ll pay for one chicken, you can actually buy almost six rotisserie chickens at Costco.  You’re probably wondering if the $28 rotisserie chicken is gilded in golden plumage.  Or perhaps, you’re pondering whether that chicken was pampered with a carefully managed diet of nutrient-rich grains like kobi beef cattle…

AlbuquerqueMexicanNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)Tacos

La Zenita – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In his immortal play Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare used two lines to convey that the naming of things is irrelevant: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.”   My friends Bruce and Loren Plata like to remind me that in Hebrew, the name “Gil” represents a “small goat,” an animal that definitely doesn’t smell quite as fragrant as a rose.  My retort, of course, is that “goat” is an acronym for “greatest of all time.”  So, relevant or not, names do have meanings and can provide a lifetime of notoriety.   Most of us just hope our names aren’t something that can be made fun of. In Hebrew, the name “Zenita” means “gift of God.” Now, that’s one lofty name to aspire to.  Someone christened with that name would probably be expected to have pretty divine qualities. A restaurant bearing that name might be expected to serve food that’s heavenly. No, not manna and quail, but food that’s delicious and filling.  When I asked about the genesis of the name, the restaurant’s personable owner explained that the name is a play on two words.  First, it’s a…

Food TruckMexicanNew MexicoRating: GoodTacos

Birrieria Y Tacos Alex Tijuana Style – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:01 PM

If you’ve noticed an increase in the number of recent visits on this blog to Mexican restaurants, credit much of that to Pati Jinich, ebullient host of the James Beard Award-winning and Emmy nominated PBS series Pati’s Mexican Table   Although we record the Saturday airing of Pati’s Mexican Table, we don’t usually watch it until Sunday…right before lunchtime.  It’s no wonder, therefore, that what we’ve been craving for lunch is Mexican food. It’s nigh impossible not to be utterly charmed (if not outright besotted) by the lovely Pati Jinich.   Her huge likeability quotient is the byproduct of a genuine warmth and self-effacing humor which come across with her every thickly-accented utterance.  She’s down-to-Earth and genuine, taking absolute joy in  broadening and sharing her expansive knowledge about the colorful tapestry known as Mexican cuisine.  In every episode, Pati embarks on an educational and entertaining journey.  Each dish she encounters serves as a launching point into explorations of the rich and diverse history and culture of her country of birth. In season eight (episode 811), which aired in January, 2019, Pati explored Sinaloa, “Mexico’s Bread Basket,” which produces about 40% of the meat and produce consumed in all of Mexico.  Inspired…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBurgersDog FriendlyMexicanNew MexicoTacos

Burger Bro’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Such advanced human traits as complex symbolic expression, art as an aesthetic visual form and elaborate cultural diversity emerged mainly during the past 100,000 years or so.  That’s more than four-million years after humans gained the ability to walk on two legs. By comparison, the ubiquitous All-American burger has evolved in the blink of time.  Most culinary historians believe the burger as we know it today was invented somewhere between 1885 and 1904. Even most of us who have lived three or more decades have seen significant changes in the burger.  Many of those changes have occurred during the 21st century–the last twenty years or so. Think about it.  For the most part, the predominant burger many “seasoned” eaters across the fruited plain enjoyed until recent years was relatively unadorned save for the burger’s essential and defining elements: a soft, toasted bun (sesame seed buns were popularized by the Golden Arches in the 60s); sweet, vine-ripened tomatoes; crisp, cool, crispy lettuce; a smear of pungent yellow mustard; maybe some chopped white onions and in the middle of it all, a juicy, seasoned all-beef patty.  To be sure, additional ingredients–cheese in the 1920s or 1930s and in New Mexico, green chile in the 1940s–eventually…

BernalilloBreakfastMariscosMexicanNew MexicoRating: Very Good

Los 6 Hermanos – Bernalillo, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:12 AM

Once upon a time (how many of you remember when seemingly all ancient fables and stories began with these four words?) there was a family of six Chinese brothers, each with a unique and amazing power. One of the brothers committed an infraction against Chinese law and was sentenced to death by the emperor. By asking for one last night at home the brothers were able to take each others place and thwart the king’s executioner’s attempt to kill them.  Eventually the executioner ran out of ways to run the execution and had to call it off. There are no cuentos or corridos, sagas or stories in Mexico involving six siblings imbued with exceptional abilities.  In fact, just about the most remarkable fact about “seis hermanos” is the number of small villages in the Land of Montezuma with that name.  On 23 February 2019, 6 Hermanos Fresh Mexican Kitchen opened its doors on Camino Del Pueblo in Bernalillo.  Not surprisingly, the restaurant is named for a family of six brothers who share ownership and cooking duties.  It’s not just another Mexican restaurant.  There are more than six reasons it’s a special place. One of the more than six reasons this…

AlbuquerqueBreakfastMariscosMexicanNew MexicoRating: ExcellentTacos

¡Ay Mi Mexico! – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno9:42 AM

One syllable, one word, one simple expression…yet there probably is no more expressive interjection,  heart-rending cry or honest exclamation in the Spanish language than the simple word “Ay.” This–one of the most  diminutive among all words–can say and mean so much.  Depending on the context, “Ay” is used to express such emotions as: <happiness: think “¡Ay, Chihuahua” when Despicable Me patriarch Gru espies a black villain suit he covets; surprise: ¡Ay, Cabron! what are you doing home in the middle of the day?; exasperation: ¡Ay, Que Lastima! <pain or dismay: Bart Simpson’s ¡Ay, caramba!” when he saw his parents having sex. The versatility of “ay” is virtually unparalleled (though you can usually tell what meaning or mood a speaker is ascribing to that oh, so simple and powerful expression). Informally, “ay” may preface other words in place of curse words in order to make a phrase sound less harsh.  In essence “¡Ay, caramba!” and “¡Ay, Chihuahua!” are Mexican equivalents of “oh, shoot,” “darn” or “shucks.”  Perhaps the most famous use of the term is in the immortal Mexican song Cielito Lindo whose refrain exhorts “Ay, ay, ay, ay, canta y no llores.”  Some English dictionaries translate this as “oh, oh,…

Dog FriendlyFood TruckMexicanNew MexicoRating: ExcellentRio Rancho

No Te Rajes – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

As the eldest of six, I had the wonderful blessing of having spent more time with our dad than my siblings did.  Dad was the embodiment of the term “gentle man,” a patient mentor and nurturing exemplar of how to be a father and friend.  During our many outings, dad always had the radio tuned to KDCE, “The Station That’s All Heart” out of Espanola.  KDCE played the New Mexican and Mexican songs dad grew up with and loved.  Among his favorites (frequently on KDCE’s repertoire) was Ay Jalisco No Te Rajes by Jorge Negrete. It became one of my favorites, too. The song title made absolutely no sense to me because the term “rajes” comes from the verb “rajarse” which means to “crack” or “split.”  Dad explained that colloquially, “no te rajes” means “don’t back out” or “don’t chicken out.”  He assured me the song was basically a love song to the Mexican state of Jalisco.  He also told me it was the theme song to the 1941 Mexican movie of the same name, based on a novel by the same name.  If you think I’m a wealth of information, you should have met my dad, one of the…

AlbuquerqueBreakfastDog FriendlyMexicanNew MexicoTacos

Los Olivos – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

For many New Mexicans, Durango, Colorado is much more familiar than Durango, Mexico.  In truth, however, Mexico’s Durango may actually have more historical significance and ties to the Land of Enchantment than its like-named resort town in Colorado.  That’s especially true for the Catholic Churches of New Mexico. Episcopal jurisdiction for the Catholic church in New Mexico was placed in 1797 under the stewardship of the Bishop of Durango. New Mexico remained part of the Diocese of Durango until 1850 when Pope Pius IX created the Vicariate Apostolic of New Mexico and appointed Father Jean Baptiste Lamy as its first Bishop.  Yes, that’s the same Father Jean Baptiste Lamy on whom Wila Cather’s Death Comes For the Archbishop is based. Durango, Mexico was also a significant “paraje” (stopping point) along the The Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (Royal Road of the Interior Land), the 1,590 mile road between Mexico City and San Juan Pueblo (Ohkay Owingeh), New Mexico. During the 17th Century, the area between the villas of Durango and Santa Fe also came to be known as “the Chihuahua Trail.”   It’s a vast understatement to declare that Santa Fe’s reliance on El Camino Real was crucial to the…