{"id":431,"date":"2008-07-07T10:41:22","date_gmt":"2008-07-07T17:41:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?page_id=431"},"modified":"2011-01-09T20:55:57","modified_gmt":"2011-01-10T03:55:57","slug":"duke-city-dining","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?page_id=431","title":{"rendered":"Dining Albuquerque"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Downtown<\/a>
Downtown Albuquerque (Courtesy of Sarah Rose)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As New Mexico’s largest city, Albuquerque\u00a0also provides its\u00a0most\u00a0plentiful and diverse\u00a0dining opportunities.\u00a0 Lying\u00a0in the Chihuahuan Desert near the geographical center of New Mexico, the “Duke City”\u00a0is situated on a plain along the banks of the Rio Grande and\u00a0at the base of the Sandia Mountains to the east. <\/span><\/p>\n

Historically a tricultural city representing a synergy of Native American, Hispanic and Anglo cultures, both\u00a0modern and traditional cultures coexist in a relatively\u00a0easy harmony.\u00a0 As a result, Albuquerque is very accepting to diversity in dining.<\/span><\/p>\n

Less than 20 years ago “diversity” was not\u00a0a term you could ascribe to the\u00a0Albuquerque dining scene.\u00a0 Aside from a preponderance of New Mexican and American restaurants, the only other ethnic restaurants represented in appreciable\u00a0numbers\u00a0were Chinese and Italian.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"My
My friend Bill Resnik attepts to bite into the Have your Cake Dagwood sandwich<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Burgeoning growth over the past three decades resulted in a population, which in 2002, surpassed half a million.\u00a0 It also meant\u00a0the introduction into our dining scene,\u00a0of restaurants crossing many ethnic groups and demographics. <\/span><\/p>\n

Bigger is not always better and with an increase in population, Albuquerque also has seen the onslaught of many nation-wide franchise restaurants, most of which dot the frontage roads visible from the city’s freeways. <\/span><\/p>\n

Some of these interlopers have essentially\u00a0driven long-established “mom and pop” restaurants out of business.\u00a0 During the 18 month period starting at about January, 2003, the number of chain restaurants in the Duke City doubled, adding over 5,000 seats to an already glutted market.\u00a0 At the same time, the number of new seats for restaurants not in the “chain gang” increased by just over 200.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The famous Lotaburger marquee (Photo courtesy of Sarah Rose)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Several years ago some innovative Duke City restaurateurs fought back, forming the “Albuquerque Originals”, one of sixteen chapters nationwide dedicated to promoting the independent restaurant.\u00a0 Many of the city’s best restaurants belong to the Originals: Artichoke Cafe, Ambrozia, Graze, Great American Land & Cattle Company, Indigo Crow, McGrath’s, Rancher’s Club, The Range Cafe, Scarpa’s, Seasons, Yanni’s and others among them. <\/span><\/p>\n

It baffles me as to why the local populace would prefer to eat at a copycat chain when they could dine at a wonderful original.\u00a0 For a lengthier diatribe on my opinion of corporate restaurants, please read my ratings page.<\/span><\/p>\n

Albuquerque’s mantra should be “pansa llena, corazon contento,”\u00a0 a Spanish “dicho” or saying which means, “full stomach, happy heart.”\u00a0 That’s because Duke City residents have over 1200 restaurants from which to choose–and choose they do–to the tune of about $1400 per diner in 1994.<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, New Mew Mexicans in general like to dine out.\u00a0 In fiscal 2003, New Mexicans spent $1.6 billion in eating and dining establishments (considering the disgraceful amount of alcohol consumed by New Mexico residents, I’d love to see the true break-down between alcohol and food).<\/span><\/p>\n

Other cities may have more restaurants and restaurants with much more acclaim, but Albuquerque holds its own and often surpasses the culinary culture at larger cities.<\/span><\/p>\n

NOTE<\/strong>: \u00a0The awe-inspiring polychromatic photo of downtown Albuquerque is courtesy of my friend Sarah Rose, a very talented and creative artist whose lenses capture her subject matter in a unique light. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As New Mexico’s largest city, Albuquerque\u00a0also provides its\u00a0most\u00a0plentiful and diverse\u00a0dining opportunities.\u00a0 Lying\u00a0in the Chihuahuan Desert near the geographical center of New Mexico, the “Duke City”\u00a0is situated on a plain along the banks of the Rio Grande and\u00a0at the base of the Sandia Mountains to the east. Historically a tricultural city representing a synergy of Native American, Hispanic and Anglo cultures, both\u00a0modern and traditional cultures coexist in a relatively\u00a0easy harmony.\u00a0 As a result, Albuquerque is very accepting to diversity in dining. Less than 20 years ago “diversity” was not\u00a0a term you could ascribe to the\u00a0Albuquerque dining scene.\u00a0 Aside from a preponderance of New Mexican and American restaurants, the only other ethnic restaurants represented in appreciable\u00a0numbers\u00a0were Chinese and Italian. Burgeoning growth over…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-431","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nDining Albuquerque - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?page_id=431\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dining Albuquerque - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As New Mexico’s largest city, Albuquerque\u00a0also provides its\u00a0most\u00a0plentiful and diverse\u00a0dining opportunities.\u00a0 Lying\u00a0in the Chihuahuan Desert near the geographical center of New Mexico, the “Duke City”\u00a0is situated on a plain along the banks of the Rio Grande and\u00a0at the base of the Sandia Mountains to the east. 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