{"id":69976,"date":"2025-04-21T00:01:44","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T06:01:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=69976"},"modified":"2026-05-01T21:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T03:22:10","slug":"smothered-albuquerque-new-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=69976","title":{"rendered":"Smothered – Albuquerque, New Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"
Smothered As Viewed From Central Avenue<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Until she retired in November, 2024, I referred to my friend Linda Johansen as the “doyenne of UNM IT<\/em>.”\u00a0 Linda is such an absolutely brilliant technologist that you might believe her doctorate is in information systems but it’s actually in Psychology.\u00a0 It didn’t dawn on me until after our meal what Linda must have thought about my sinister answer to her word association question regarding the term “Smothered.”\u00a0 My association hearkened back to our previous shared meal when a high-pitched child’s ear-piercing screams made other diners cringe.\u00a0 I joked “Smothered” is what one elderly woman looked like she wanted to do to that child.\u00a0 Hmm, I must have been chaneling my inner Ted Bundy when coming up with that gem.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Smothered As Viewed From<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Linda’s association with the term Smothered was Waffle House’s “scathered, smothered and covered<\/em>” hash browns.\u00a0 That’s hash browns “Smothered” in Grilled Onions and “Covered” with a Slice of Melted American Cheese.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>That’s a Gil type answer if ever there was one.\u00a0 It’s certainly far more innocuous and humane than my answer.\u00a0 It was also much closer to what Smothered is all about.\u00a0 Smothered is a new concept from the good folks who brought us Bosque Brewing<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 The concept is aptly described in Smothered’s blog: “New Mexico deserves a brunch scene that\u2019s as vibrant and exciting as the people who live here. We\u2019re not just opening another restaurant \u2013 we\u2019re building a place where people can come together, laugh, and enjoy amazing food in a fun, creative, and welcoming atmosphere<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

\"\"
Smothered’s Dining Room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brunch is the best of two worlds\u2013not quite breakfast and not quite lunch, but the best of both. It\u2019s a leisurely weekend repast which makes you feel you\u2019re getting away with something, as if you\u2019re defying your mom\u2019s mandate not to have dessert before the main entree. The feeling that you\u2019re getting away with something delightfully illicit is reenforced as you lap up mimosas and Bloody Marys as fast as the wait staff can bring them to you. Brunch even allows you to get away with laziness at least once a year when you have the excuse to drag mom to a restaurant where she and countless other moms can be pampered on their special day.<\/p>\n

Americans have loved brunch since the 1930s when, according to culinary historians, passengers on transcontinental train rides would disembark in Chicago for a late morning meal in between trains. It wasn\u2019t until after the second war to end all wars that brunch became popular on Sundays. Apparently the promises made in foxholes (where there are no atheists) were quickly forgotten because after World War II, there was a precipitous decline in the number of churchgoers across the fruited plain. Instead, Americans began to sleep in late on Sundays as they recovered from Saturday night hang-overs. After reading the funnies and lolling around the house for a while, they went out for brunch. All the cool people were doing it.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Unique Baked Buttermilk Biscuits With Whipped Goat Cheese, Redberry Rosemary Jam and Red Chile Honey Butter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The term brunch, a portmanteau of \u201cbreakfast\u201d and \u201clunch\u201d is believed to have originated in Britain in the late 19th century. The phrase was coined in 1896 by Guy Beringer, in of all places, the long defunct\u00a0Hunter\u2019s Weekly<\/em>. He exalted the concept of brunch because it allowed staying up later and getting drunker on Saturday night then not being expected to wake up early for breakfast.\u00a0 Alas, not everyone has a high opinion of brunch. In his terrific tome\u00a0Kitchen Confidential<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0fellow sybarite Tony Bourdain blew the lid off brunch, explaining that \u201cbrunch menus are an open invitation to the cost-conscious chef, a dumping ground for the odd bits left over from Friday and Saturday nights<\/em>\u201d adding that\u00a0\u201cyou can dress brunch up with all the focaccia, smoked salmon, and caviar in the world, but it\u2019s still breakfast<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because Smothered doesn’t have a Friday and Saturday night menu, Bourdain’s notion is blown out of the water.\u00a0 Smothered is all brunch, all the time.\u00a0 It’s not a way to repurpose leftovers.\u00a0 The restaurant is open everyday from 8AM to 3PM.\u00a0 \u00a0Best of all, it’s brunch with bold, creative twists.\u00a0 The operative word isn’t necessarily “Smothered” which might imply everything is covered in gravy or sauce.\u00a0 That’s not the case though some items are served with sauces, gravies, jams, butters and other delicious ameliorants.\u00a0 Smothered is located on Central Avenue, east of Old Town, in a space that formerly housed Vinaigrette<\/strong><\/a>, which in 2024 relocated to a nearby space.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A Flight of Bacon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Peruse the menu and you’ll quickly conclude that Smothered is something just a bit different.\u00a0 Sure it’s got some breakfast and brunch standards such as pancakes, waffles and French toast, but study the details and you’ll see they’re not accompanied by the usual syrupy suspects.\u00a0 Pancakes and waffles are served with a vanilla bourbon syrup while the French toast are offered with a bruleed sweet vanilla custard.\u00a0 The menu includes a section called “For The Table,” listing shareable biscuits and a flight of bacon.\u00a0 When Linda and I first pored over the menu (even as we were having brunch at another restaurant), we knew a visit to Smothered was inevitable.\u00a0 As America’s favorite everyman philosopher Homer Simpson once expressed so eloquently: “Mmm…bacon<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

Also on the menu is a section called “Toasts” which features a de rigueur avocado toast as well as caponata toast.\u00a0 Prominently arrayed in an orange background are what Smothered callss “The Classics.”\u00a0 Listed first (surprise, surprise) are biscuits and gravy.\u00a0 Every item in this menu section is prefaced with “Smothered” as in smothered duck tostada, smothered golden beet chilaquiles and a smothered breakfast burrito.\u00a0 If the menu didn’t have a breakfast burrito, it wouldn’t matter what else is on the menu.\u00a0 New Mexicans love breakfast burritos more than they do some relatives.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Smothered Chicken and Waffles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Americans have preconceived notions about biscuits.\u00a0 Having lived in the Deep South for eight years, our idea of biscuits is tall, fluffy, flaky and light buttermilk biscuits made with White Lily flour<\/a><\/strong>. It’s the the most iconic style in the South.\u00a0 Smothered describes its biscuits as “two freshly baked buttermilk biscuits<\/strong><\/em> served with whipped goat cheese, redberry rosemary jam and red chile honey butter.”\u00a0 Other than “buttermilk” that description didn’t include any of the adjectives I use to describe Southern biscuits.\u00a0 In fact, the biscuits had a unique (strange?) yellowish color with a texture more reminiscent of scones (crumbly and dry).\u00a0 That yellowish hue, we learned, is courtesy of butter…even more than Paula Deen uses.\u00a0 In the baking process the biscuits are practically immersed in butter which seeps all the way through.\u00a0 Though we didn’t leave a crumb behind, we would have preferred Southern biscuits especially considering the whipped goat cheese, redberry rosemary jam and red chile honey were all fabulous.<\/p>\n

Smothered’s bacon flight offering brings to mind another Homer Simpson maxim: “Mmmm.\u00a0 Move over eggs.\u00a0 Bacon’s got a new best friend – fudge<\/em>.”\u00a0 None of the six strips of bacon on the bacon flight<\/strong><\/em> included fudge, but hey, the restaurant’s new and maybe they’ll add fudge at some point (wishful thinking).\u00a0 The bacon flight included one of each bacon with habanero with a piloncillo glaze, vanilla bourbon glaze, chili crisp, Cajun dry rub, chile verde and pancake battered.\u00a0 You can’t accuse this flight of being a “one note” wonder, but four of the strips were defined by their piquancy while two were sweet.\u00a0 \u00a0A ramekin of vanilla bourbon syrup accompanied the bacon, but we were slow to figure out we should have been applying that syrup to the pancake battered bacon.\u00a0 \u00a0Linda and my Kim let me have the lion’s share of the piquant bacon.\u00a0 The flight wasn’t especially memorable save as a showcase for the potential of bacon to be exploited for its ability to pair well with other flavor notes.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Buttermilk Waffle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On a day in which New Mexico’s winds would exceed the speed limit in many of the state’s highways, Linda was craving comfort food.\u00a0 Associated with hearty, satisfying meals that evoke feelings of warmth, nostalgia and home, chicken and waffles are–paired together or enjoyed separately–the ultimate comfort food.\u00a0 \u00a0The Smothered chicken and waffles<\/strong><\/em> (two buttermilk waffles, harissa brined fried chicken, sunny side eggs, red chile honey butter, whipped goat cheese and vanilla bourbon syrup served with a kale salad and smashed saltwater new potatoes) certainly hit the spot.\u00a0 The fried chicken actually resembled a very thick slab of chicken fried chicken.\u00a0 I expected a bit more heat from the harissa brine which has a flavor somewhat similar to sriracha, but as fried chicken goes, this is a good one.\u00a0 On their own it’s probably impossible not to love waffles, but with the red chile honey butter and vanilla bourbon syrup, these waffles are in rarefied air.\u00a0 None of us touched the kale salad.<\/p>\n

My Kim’s brunch choice was a buttermilk waffle (served with red chile honey butter, whipped goat cheese and vanilla bourbon syrup).\u00a0 Long-suffering (or completely oblivious) Marge Simpson isn’t quite the quotable personality her husband is.\u00a0 After all, she believes: “Sticking together is just what good waffles do.<\/em>”\u00a0 Hmm, I don’t know anyone who would like their waffles to stick together–even after they’ve sat in syrup for a while.\u00a0 Smothered’s buttermilk waffles<\/strong><\/em> don’t stick to one another.\u00a0 They’re perfectly crisp and golden on the outside while being light and fluffy on the inside.\u00a0 Add the whipped goat cheese for a fantastic sweet-savory combination.\u00a0 Then there’s the vanilla bourbon syrup, a new favorite.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Smothered Golden Beet Chilaquiles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Leave it to your hedonistic gastronome to try something new and different.\u00a0 Yes, even at the expense of trying something I knew would be fabulous, I can’t resist trying something heretofore new to me.\u00a0 That’s both a boon and a bane.\u00a0 Smothered’s golden beet chilaquiles<\/strong><\/em> (house-pickled golden beets, sunnyside egg, fried 50\/50 tortillas, smothered in strawberry and raspberry ranchero sauce topped with goat cheese and cilantro) is definitely in the “boon” category.\u00a0 In fact, you can put it in the “Wow!” category.\u00a0 It’s a surprisingly delicious dish.\u00a0 The “ranchero” sauce is both fruity and piquant, imparting both heat and sweet.\u00a0 With their characteristically earthy flavor and sweet notes, the golden beets were terrific.\u00a0 A plateful would have made me deliriously happy.\u00a0 Though the tortilla chips started out crispy, they became somewhat flaccid by meal’s end.\u00a0 That’s wholly expected and actually made it easier to pick them up with a fork.<\/p>\n

Since Eater designated 2015 as \u201cthe year of the avocado toast<\/strong><\/a>,\u201d \u201cgourmet toast\u201d has been in an ascendency that\u2019s finally caught up with Albuquerque.\u00a0 \u00a0It\u2019s an idea whose time has come.\u00a0 No longer should diners be satisfied with a cold pat of butter or cream cheese on no personality bread that\u2019s already cool by the time it gets to your table.\u00a0 Thus far, only the Curious Toast Cafe<\/strong><\/a> has given diners much versatile options for breakfast bread.\u00a0 Smothered’s “Toasts” menu lists only two options–the aforementioned avocado toast and caponata toast<\/strong> <\/em>(thick-cut sourdough, roasted eggplant smothered in caponata sauce, burrata cheese, pistachios, balsamic glaze and honey drizzle with a side of kale salad and smashed saltwater new potatoes).\u00a0 Linda asked for a poached egg, too.\u00a0 There’s a lot going on with this sandwich, both from a diverse flavor standpoint and texturally.\u00a0 It’s one of those genius-made creations whose whole is even better than its individual components.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Caponata Toast<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brunch reimagined and chefs playing with your food.\u00a0 That’s Smothered, a concept whose time has definitely arrived.\u00a0 Should you ever be asked what you associate with “Smothered,” this Duke City restaurant will be first on your mind.<\/p>\n

Smothered<\/strong>
\n1828 Central Avenue, S.W.
\nAlbuquerque, New Mexico<\/strong>
\n(505) 835-5976
\nWebsite<\/strong><\/a> | Facebook Page<\/strong><\/a>
\nLATEST VISIT<\/strong>: 17 April 2025
\n# OF VISITS<\/strong>: 1
\nRATING<\/strong>: N\/R
\nCOST<\/strong>: $$
\nBEST BET<\/strong>: Caponata Toast, Smothered Golden Beet Chilaquiles, Buttermilk Waffle, Smothered Chicken and Waffles,\u00a0 A Flight of Bacon; Baked Buttermilk Biscuits With Whipped Goat Cheese, Redberry Rosemary Jam and Red Chile Honey Butter
\nREVIEW #1664<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Until she retired in November, 2024, I referred to my friend Linda Johansen as the “doyenne of UNM IT.”\u00a0 Linda is such an absolutely brilliant technologist that you might believe her doctorate is in information systems but it’s actually in Psychology.\u00a0 It didn’t dawn on me until after our meal what Linda must have thought about my sinister answer to her word association question regarding the term “Smothered.”\u00a0 My association hearkened back to our previous shared meal when a high-pitched child’s ear-piercing screams made other diners cringe.\u00a0 I joked “Smothered” is what one elderly woman looked like she wanted to do to that child.\u00a0 Hmm, I must have been chaneling my inner Ted Bundy when coming up with that gem.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":69984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[440,5701,165,141],"tags":[4883,2180,4881,4879,960,4884,4882,4880,4885],"class_list":["post-69976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-albuquerque","category-breakfast-burritos","category-brunch","category-new-mexico","tag-a-flight-of-bacon-baked-buttermilk-biscuits-with-whipped-goat-cheese","tag-brunch","tag-buttermilk-waffle","tag-caponata-toast","tag-central-avenue","tag-redberry-rosemary-jam-and-red-chile-honey-butter","tag-smothered-chicken-and-waffles","tag-smothered-golden-beet-chilaquiles","tag-vinaigrette"],"yoast_head":"\nSmothered - Albuquerque, New Mexico - 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=\"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=69976\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Smothered - Albuquerque, New Mexico - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Until she retired in November, 2024, I referred to my friend Linda Johansen as the “doyenne of UNM IT.”\u00a0 Linda is such an absolutely brilliant technologist that you might believe her doctorate is in information systems but it’s actually in Psychology.\u00a0 It didn’t dawn on me until after our meal what Linda must have thought about my sinister answer to her word association question regarding the term “Smothered.”\u00a0 My association hearkened back to our previous shared meal when a high-pitched child’s ear-piercing screams made other diners cringe.\u00a0 I joked “Smothered” is what one elderly woman looked like she wanted to do to that child.\u00a0 Hmm, I must have been chaneling my inner Ted Bundy when coming up with that gem.…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=69976\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nmgastronome\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-21T06:01:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-02T03:22:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Smothered08-scaled.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2068\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gil Garduno\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gil Garduno\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=69976#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=69976\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Gil Garduno\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/423b9c3eeeb199e43ab4f1f584fa67bf\"},\"headline\":\"Smothered – Albuquerque, New Mexico\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-21T06:01:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-02T03:22:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=69976\"},\"wordCount\":2129,\"commentCount\":3,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=69976#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/Smothered08-scaled.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"A Flight of Bacon; Baked Buttermilk Biscuits With Whipped Goat Cheese\",\"Brunch\",\"Buttermilk Waffle\",\"Caponata Toast\",\"Central Avenue\",\"Redberry Rosemary Jam and Red Chile Honey Butter\",\"Smothered Chicken and Waffles\",\"Smothered Golden Beet Chilaquiles\",\"Vinaigrette\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Albuquerque\",\"Breakfast Burritos\",\"Brunch\",\"New Mexico\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=69976#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=69976\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=69976\",\"name\":\"Smothered - Albuquerque, New Mexico - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=69976#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=69976#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/Smothered08-scaled.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-21T06:01:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-02T03:22:10+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=69976#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=69976\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=69976#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/Smothered08-scaled.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/Smothered08-scaled.jpeg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":2068},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=69976#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Smothered – Albuquerque, New Mexico\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog\",\"description\":\"Follow the Culinary Ruminations of New Mexico's Sesquipedalian Sybarite. 1,522 Restaurant Reviews, More Than 14,900 Visitor Comments...And Counting!\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\",\"caption\":\"Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/423b9c3eeeb199e43ab4f1f584fa67bf\",\"name\":\"Gil Garduno\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/140571d25459ad5954bce10ffc2f8c8d21c92edf345ea30e6145c3e68a417af1?s=96&r=pg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/140571d25459ad5954bce10ffc2f8c8d21c92edf345ea30e6145c3e68a417af1?s=96&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/140571d25459ad5954bce10ffc2f8c8d21c92edf345ea30e6145c3e68a417af1?s=96&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Gil Garduno\"},\"description\":\"Since 2008, the tagline on Gil\u2019s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog has invited you to \u201cFollow the Culinary Ruminations of New Mexico\u2019s Sesquipedalian Sybarite.\u201d To date, more than six million visitors have trusted (or at least visited) my recommendations on more than 1,300 restaurant reviews. Please take a few minutes to tell me what you think. Whether you agree or disagree with me, I'd love to hear about it.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/%20\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/nmgastronome\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/nmgastronome\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Smothered - Albuquerque, New Mexico - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=69976","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Smothered - Albuquerque, New Mexico - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog","og_description":"Until she retired in November, 2024, I referred to my friend Linda Johansen as the “doyenne of UNM IT.”\u00a0 Linda is such an absolutely brilliant technologist that you might believe her doctorate is in information systems but it’s actually in Psychology.\u00a0 It didn’t dawn on me until after our meal what Linda must have thought about my sinister answer to her word association question regarding the term “Smothered.”\u00a0 My association hearkened back to our previous shared meal when a high-pitched child’s ear-piercing screams made other diners cringe.\u00a0 I joked “Smothered” is what one elderly woman looked like she wanted to do to that child.\u00a0 Hmm, I must have been chaneling my inner Ted Bundy when coming up with that gem.…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=69976","og_site_name":"Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nmgastronome\/","article_published_time":"2025-04-21T06:01:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-05-02T03:22:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":2068,"url":"http:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Smothered08-scaled.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Gil Garduno","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gil Garduno","Est. reading time":"11 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=69976#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=69976"},"author":{"name":"Gil Garduno","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/423b9c3eeeb199e43ab4f1f584fa67bf"},"headline":"Smothered – Albuquerque, New Mexico","datePublished":"2025-04-21T06:01:44+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-02T03:22:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=69976"},"wordCount":2129,"commentCount":3,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=69976#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Smothered08-scaled.jpeg","keywords":["A Flight of Bacon; Baked Buttermilk Biscuits With Whipped Goat Cheese","Brunch","Buttermilk Waffle","Caponata Toast","Central Avenue","Redberry Rosemary Jam and Red Chile Honey Butter","Smothered Chicken and Waffles","Smothered Golden Beet Chilaquiles","Vinaigrette"],"articleSection":["Albuquerque","Breakfast Burritos","Brunch","New Mexico"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=69976#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=69976","url":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=69976","name":"Smothered - Albuquerque, New Mexico - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=69976#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=69976#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Smothered08-scaled.jpeg","datePublished":"2025-04-21T06:01:44+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-02T03:22:10+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=69976#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=69976"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=69976#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Smothered08-scaled.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Smothered08-scaled.jpeg","width":2560,"height":2068},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=69976#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Smothered – Albuquerque, New Mexico"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/","name":"Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog","description":"Follow the Culinary Ruminations of New Mexico's Sesquipedalian Sybarite. 1,522 Restaurant Reviews, More Than 14,900 Visitor Comments...And Counting!","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/#organization","name":"Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog","url":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"","contentUrl":"","caption":"Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/423b9c3eeeb199e43ab4f1f584fa67bf","name":"Gil Garduno","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/140571d25459ad5954bce10ffc2f8c8d21c92edf345ea30e6145c3e68a417af1?s=96&r=pg","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/140571d25459ad5954bce10ffc2f8c8d21c92edf345ea30e6145c3e68a417af1?s=96&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/140571d25459ad5954bce10ffc2f8c8d21c92edf345ea30e6145c3e68a417af1?s=96&r=pg","caption":"Gil Garduno"},"description":"Since 2008, the tagline on Gil\u2019s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog has invited you to \u201cFollow the Culinary Ruminations of New Mexico\u2019s Sesquipedalian Sybarite.\u201d To date, more than six million visitors have trusted (or at least visited) my recommendations on more than 1,300 restaurant reviews. Please take a few minutes to tell me what you think. Whether you agree or disagree with me, I'd love to hear about it.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/%20","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nmgastronome\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/nmgastronome\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=69976"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70000,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69976\/revisions\/70000"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/69984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=69976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=69976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=69976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}