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January 18, 2021

Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog

Follow the Culinary Ruminations of New Mexico's Sesquipedalian Sybarite. 1199 Restaurant Reviews, More Than 11,700 Visitor Comments…And Counting!

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Albuquerque / American / Dog Friendly / Indian / New Mexico

Marigold Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

January 13, 2021January 16, 2021 - 5 Comments.

It’s not all parents who can give birth to two children in a six week period, but that’s precisely what Harrison and Violet did.  In early October, 2019, they welcomed into the world a beautiful …

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Albuquerque / Asian / Chinese / New Mexico

Dragon House – Albuquerque, New Mexico

January 9, 2021January 13, 2021 - Leave a Comment

Admit it–every time you dine at a Chinese restaurant, you peruse the Chinese Zodiac paper placemats at your table describing the characteristics of people based on their birth year. Every new year of the lunar …

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Albuquerque / New Mexico / Rated 23 / Southern

Ms. Gennie’s House of Chicken – Albuquerque, New Mexico

January 6, 2021January 10, 2021 - 8 Comments.

My Air Force friend and colleague Al Garcia once shared one of those amusing anecdotes that will leave your head shaking in disbelief even as you’re practically rolling on the floor with laughter.  According to …

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Burgers / New Mexico / New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009 / New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011

Bibo Bar & Grille – Bibo, New Mexico

January 5, 2021January 6, 2021 - 33 Comments.

There’s an old Lebanese proverb that says, “some men build a wine cellar after only finding one grape.” That proverb aptly describes the many rags to riches success stories among Lebanese immigrants to the Land …

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Announcements

Red or Green: New Mexico’s Food Scene Was On Fire in 2020

January 1, 2021January 6, 2021 - 41 Comments.

We’ll always remember 2020 as the year we mostly stayed home, the year of cancelled vacations, of working remotely and as the ignominious year of politics and pandemics, a “year of nonstop awfulness,” according to …

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Announcements

Gil’s “Best of the Best” For 2020

December 30, 2020January 8, 2021 - 11 Comments.

2020 will be remembered for a series of shelter-in-place and lockdown restrictions that largely limited restaurants to delivery, call in, carry out and online ordering options.  The resilience, strength and innovation demonstrated daily by restaurateurs …

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Arizona / Dog Friendly / German

Haus Murphy’s – Glendale, Arizona

December 27, 2020January 10, 2021 - 3 Comments.

To some of us of a certain age and generation, the term “grandma’s food” evokes emotionally-arousing childhood memories of the foods our grandmothers would prepare. That’s especially true for those of us who no longer …

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Arizona / New Mexican / Rated 23

Richardson’s Cuisine of New Mexico – Phoenix, Arizona

December 26, 2020January 10, 2021 - 15 Comments.

My friend and former Intel colleague Steve Caine will forever rue the day he asked me to help him with an expense report for a business trip he made to Portland, Oregon. His itemized expense …

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Arizona / Dog Friendly / Italian / United States

Fat Ox – Scottsdale, Arizona

December 25, 2020January 3, 2021 - 1 Comment

In the Alpine village of Carrù in the Piedmont region of Italy stands the “Monumento al Bue Grasso” (monument to a fat ox).  Depicting two fat oxen under yoke, the monument celebrates the beast of …

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Arizona / Dog Friendly / Italian / Pizza / United States

DeFalco’s Deli: Italian Eatery & Grocery – Scottsdale, Arizona

December 24, 2020January 10, 2021 - Leave a Comment

My Kim usually leaves the recitation of movie or television quotes to me (apparently it’s a guy thing), but every once in a while she’ll surprise me with an utterance or exclamation she could have …

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Arizona / Dog Friendly / Italian

Barrio Cafe – Phoenix, Arizona

December 23, 2020January 10, 2021 - 1 Comment

A neighborhood should never be defined solely by grids and lines on a map or by a physical area where people live.  Nor should a neighborhood be defined by areas made homogeneous by restrictive covenants. …

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Arizona / English

Cornish Pasty Company – Scottsdale, Arizona

December 22, 2020December 24, 2020 - 2 Comments.

There’s a European joke that uses stereotypes to deride British cooking, among the most maligned cuisines in the world culinary stage. As the joke goes, in the European conception of heaven, the French are the …

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Arizona / Dog Friendly / Hot Dogs / Illinois / Rated 23 / Sandwich

Portillo’s Hot Dogs – Tempe, Arizona

December 21, 2020December 23, 2020 - 7 Comments.

Portillo’s story is the story of the American dream, a rags to riches saga that began with a single hot dog stand opening in 1963. That single investment has blossomed into a multi-million per year …

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Bakery / German / New Mexico / Rio Rancho

Dagmar’s Delectables Bakery & German Specialties – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

December 17, 2020December 22, 2020 - 12 Comments.

Until Dagmar Mondragon launched her first German restaurant in Albuquerque back in 1996, many of us knew very little about German cuisine in general and baking in particular.  The only German baker with which some …

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Bernalillo / Mexican / New Mexican / New Mexico

Ruby’s Tortilleria – Bernalillo, New Mexico

December 16, 2020January 14, 2021 - 2 Comments.

“A tortilla can be the, I would say, the most meaningful, the symbol of the Mexican cuisine, it’s the heart of the Mexican cuisine, the soul … the most recognizable element of the Mexican cuisine.” …

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Albuquerque / Asian / Fusion / Hawaiian / Latin American / New Mexico / Rated 23

Poki Poki Cevicheria – Albuquerque, New. Mexico

December 12, 2020December 16, 2020 - 23 Comments.

Having settled comfortably into middle age (perpetually 39-years old), my favorite participatory sports of basketball and tennis have been replaced by more sedentary, safe and slothful pursuits. Instead of getting my shot rejected (almost as …

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Albuquerque / Asian / New Mexico

Kamikaze Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico

December 5, 2020December 12, 2020 - 4 Comments.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Reese’s Peanut Butter cups commercials consisted of a series of vignettes. Each vignette depicted the collision of two daydreamers–one eating peanut butter and the other eating chocolate. The peanut butter …

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Albuquerque / Mariscos / Mexican / New Mexico / Tacos

The Whole Enchilada – Albuquerque, New Mexico

November 28, 2020December 12, 2020 - 4 Comments.

Perhaps because I was away from the Land of Enchantment for much of my Air Force career, one of my favorite bloggers has long been Lisa Fain, the James Beard award-winning “Homesick Texan.”   Like …

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Chinese / New Mexico / Rio Rancho

Heaven Dragon – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

November 22, 2020November 29, 2020 - 14 Comments.

From Norbert, the Norwegian Ridgeback of Harry Potter lore to Smaug, the greatest and most powerful of all dragons in The Hobbit, dragons are a familiar icon in modern literature, movies, music and pop culture.  …

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New Mexico / Pizza

Placitas Pizza – Placitas, New Mexico

November 20, 2020November 21, 2020 - 1 Comment

Back in the 1960s before the world was “woke” a catchy television jingle painted a pretty bleak picture: “Aunt Jemima pancakes without her syrup.  It’s like the spring without the fall.  There’s only one thing …

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Albuquerque / Hot Dogs / New Mexico / Pizza / Sandwich

AK Pizza – Albuquerque, New Mexico

November 18, 2020November 18, 2020 - 14 Comments.

“I hate it. I think it’s an abomination. There are so many awesome things here, I don’t know why that should be featured. It’s leading with your weakness. So much other great stuff.” ~Anthony Bourdain …

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Albuquerque / Italian / New Mexico

M’Tucci’s Twenty-Five – Albuquerque, New Mexico

November 15, 2020December 6, 2020 - 8 Comments.

“The best ingredient I discovered in America was ‘freedom.’ The freedom to experiment in the kitchen and the freedom to be open to those experiments in the dining room.” ~Massimo Bottura, Osteria Francescana Chef and …

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Italian / Rated 25 / Rio Rancho

JOE’S PASTA HOUSE – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

November 13, 2020November 14, 2020 - 73 Comments.

Once a year, despite my protestations and whining, I agree to take my Kim to the Olive Garden. It’s a deal we have, albeit one that makes me feel like Faust in the Christopher Marlowe …

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Albuquerque / New Mexico / Vietnamese

Saigon City – Albuquerque, New Mexico

November 7, 2020November 12, 2020 - 4 Comments.

My brother in blogging Ryan Cook describes his first day in Vietnam: “So, my first stop in Vietnam was the capital, Hanoi. My honest first impressions… what the hell have I let myself in for. …

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Albuquerque / Dog Friendly / New Mexico / Sandwich / Tacos

Street Food Sensations – Albuquerque, New Mexico

November 6, 2020November 12, 2020 - 1 Comment

Restaurant Insider, which touts itself as “your source for restaurant news, trends, information, tools and conversation” has observed that one of the catalysts most instrumental in driving a changing culinary landscape are Generation Z (anyone …

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Albuquerque / Chicken / Food Truck / New Mexico

Wing It Up – Albuquerque, New Mexico

November 1, 2020November 9, 2020 - 7 Comments.

Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern has nothing on my friend Ralph Guariglio. Zimmern who claims to love such “exotic cuisine” as fermented walrus anus probably wouldn’t touch some of the…er, interesting foods Ralph enjoyed during …

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Albuquerque / Mexican

Taco Cabana – Albuquerque, New Mexico

October 30, 2020November 1, 2020 - 9 Comments.

In 1972, English author Diana Kennedy, the doyenne of Mexican cuisine, penned The Cuisines of Mexico, a Mexican cookbook in which she described Texas’s Mexican food as “inauthentic,” coining the term “Tex-Mex.”  Kennedy essentially drew …

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Albuquerque / Dog Friendly / Mexican / New Mexico / Tacos

Duke City Taco – Albuquerque, New Mexico

October 22, 2020October 28, 2020 - 20 Comments.

Observer: You’ve said that you can do anything with a taco, except put ketchup on it? Danny Trejo: That’s it! [Laughs]. Observer: Do people try to do that? Danny Trejo: Yeah, some people think that …

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Albuquerque / Dog Friendly / Mariscos / Mexican / New Mexico

Sharky’s Fish and Shrimp – Albuquerque, New Mexico

October 18, 2020October 18, 2020 - 13 Comments.

Never mind your tired, your poor or even your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Carlos Zazveta, the effusive proprietor of Sharky’s Fish & Seafood told us to bring our dogs, our cows and our …

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Albuquerque / Barbecue / Food Truck / New Mexico

Rev’s BBQ – Albuquerque, New Mexico

October 17, 2020October 31, 2020 - 2 Comments.

You might think that the food truck industry is an ultra-competitive dog-eat-dog business in which purveyors aren’t very gracious when discussing fellow food truck operators. Considering how they often jockey for a limited number of …

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Albuquerque / Barbecue / Food Truck / New Mexico / Rated 24

Mighty Mike’s Meats – Albuquerque, New Mexico

October 15, 2020October 15, 2020 - 7 Comments.

Thank you, Mighty Mike! Thank you for restoring our faith in barbecue just one day after my Kim declared “I don’t want to have barbecue for a long time.”  Readers might find it hard to …

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Albuquerque / American / Breakfast / Brunch / Dog Friendly

Cafe Lush – Albuquerque, New Mexico

October 7, 2020October 15, 2020 - 10 Comments.

Urban Dictionary, that oft hilarious, veritable cornucopia of slang, jargon and streetwise lingo, defines “lush” as “someone who drinks a lot.” (Actually, there are several pages of similar definitions for “lush” in the “peoples’ dictionary,” …

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Food Truck / Mexican / New Mexico / Santa Fe

Master Food Truck – Santa Fe, New Mexico

October 6, 2020October 5, 2020 - 4 Comments.

Drive eastward on Airport Road in Santa Fe toward Cerrillos and you just might wonder if you accidentally traipsed into the Twilight Zone and somehow found yourself in Los Angeles.  At the very least, you …

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Breakfast / Cajun / Corrales / Dog Friendly / New Mexico

C3’s Bistro – Corrales, New Mexico

September 30, 2020October 1, 2020 - 23 Comments.

A case could be made that “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” the name of a 1977 hit by Santa Esmeralda, could well be a lament about New Mexican cuisine (in addition to being the background …

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Dog Friendly / Mexican / New Mexico / Rio Rancho

Elotes Del Rancho – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

September 25, 2020September 28, 2020 - 12 Comments.

“Now you’re just being uppity.”  That’s my Kim putting me in my place the second I begin to crow haughtily about some highbrow or nouveau way to prepare something ordinary.  Tandoori salmon pizza…that’s so me.  …

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Albuquerque / Mexican / New Mexico

La Guelaguetza – Albuquerque, New Mexico

September 24, 2020September 26, 2020 - 15 Comments.

“I am tenacious. And I love to eat.  I go into the field and see some delectable things they’re cooking, wild plants perhaps, and think, ‘Oh my God, I have to write about this.’ I …

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Most Recent Visits

Marigold Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

January 13, 2021January 16, 2021

Dragon House – Albuquerque, New Mexico

January 9, 2021January 13, 2021

Ms. Gennie’s House of Chicken – Albuquerque, New Mexico

January 6, 2021January 10, 2021

Bibo Bar & Grille – Bibo, New Mexico

January 5, 2021January 6, 2021

Red or Green: New Mexico’s Food Scene Was On Fire in 2020

January 1, 2021January 6, 2021

Gil’s “Best of the Best” For 2020

December 30, 2020January 8, 2021

Haus Murphy’s – Glendale, Arizona

December 27, 2020January 10, 2021

Richardson’s Cuisine of New Mexico – Phoenix, Arizona

December 26, 2020January 10, 2021

Fat Ox – Scottsdale, Arizona

December 25, 2020January 3, 2021

DeFalco’s Deli: Italian Eatery & Grocery – Scottsdale, Arizona

December 24, 2020January 10, 2021

Barrio Cafe – Phoenix, Arizona

December 23, 2020January 10, 2021

Cornish Pasty Company – Scottsdale, Arizona

December 22, 2020December 24, 2020

Portillo’s Hot Dogs – Tempe, Arizona

December 21, 2020December 23, 2020

Dagmar’s Delectables Bakery & German Specialties – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

December 17, 2020December 22, 2020

Ruby’s Tortilleria – Bernalillo, New Mexico

December 16, 2020January 14, 2021

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Featured Posts

  • Introducing the New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail for 2011
  • Introducing the New Mexico Culinary Treasures Trail
  • 2019: Red or Green–New Mexico’s Food Scene Was on Fire
  • Gil’s “Best of The Best” for 2019

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Your Feedback

  • Michael Montoya on The Cooperage – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)
  • Becky Mercuri on Red or Green: New Mexico’s Food Scene Was On Fire in 2020
  • Becky Mercuri on Marigold Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • Gil Garduno on Marigold Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • Thomas Molitor on Red or Green: New Mexico’s Food Scene Was On Fire in 2020
  • Becky Mercuri on Marigold Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • Becky Mercuri on Red or Green: New Mexico’s Food Scene Was On Fire in 2020
  • Thomas Molitor on Red or Green: New Mexico’s Food Scene Was On Fire in 2020
  • Becky Mercuri on Red or Green: New Mexico’s Food Scene Was On Fire in 2020
  • Steve Coleman on Cafe Poca Cosa – Tucson, Arizona
  • Thomas Molitor on Red or Green: New Mexico’s Food Scene Was On Fire in 2020
  • Steve D. on Gone But Not Forgotten
  • Ruben Zamora on Ms. Gennie’s House of Chicken – Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • Thomas Molitor on Ms. Gennie’s House of Chicken – Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • Looks awesome on Ms. Gennie’s House of Chicken – Albuquerque, New Mexico

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