Tag: Venezuelan

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 tenant, El Chamo Arabe. In 2023, El Chamo Arabe introduced Duke City diners to a melange of Venezuelan and Mediterranean foods all in one menu.  While El Chamo Arabe now operates at Rio Rancho’s The Block (7805 Enchanted Hills Blvd.), its former chef and his bride took over the Menaul space.  They’re both Indian, but rather than serve Indian food exclusively, they decided to retain the existing menu and have added pizza.  If it sounds like an adventure in cuisine types you may not have thought go so well together, you’ll be more than pleasantly surprised at just how diverse…

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 popularized tapas in the United States.  His list of accomplishments and the reach of his philanthropic efforts mark him as one of those rare human beings whose influence and impact extend far beyond the kitchen. Several years ago, my Kim and I visited China Poblano, a spectacular restaurant launched by Chef Andres in Las Vegas, Nevada.  This eatery pays tribute to the concept of East meets West, serving both Mexican and Chinese foods.  Las Vegas Weekly called China Poblano “quite simply the perfect restaurant for today’s hipster foodie.”  China Poblano is not a fusion restaurant per se in that it doesn’t…