{"id":84407,"date":"2026-06-30T00:01:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T06:01:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=84407"},"modified":"2026-06-29T13:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T19:30:00","slug":"spicy-junction-albuquerque-new-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=84407","title":{"rendered":"Spicy Junction – Albuquerque, New Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"
Spicy Junction, a True Fusion Restaurant Showcasing Pizza, Venezuelan, Middle Eastern and Indian Food<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While perusing the menu at Spicy Junction, you might hearken back to The Dream<\/strong><\/a>, 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\u2019s menu, \u201che\u2019s serving Mexican, Italian, Chinese. He\u2019s all over the place<\/em>.\u201d 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 \u201call over the place\u201d makes great sense in that the chef worked as a chef at the location’s previous tenant, El Chamo Arabe<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Dining Room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 2023, El Chamo Arabe introduced Duke City diners to a melange of Venezuelan and Mediterranean foods all in one menu.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 They’re both Indian, but rather than serve Indian food exclusively, they decided to retain the existing menu and have added pizza.\u00a0 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 and enticing the menu is.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Doesn’t This Look Vaguely Familiar?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Spicy Junction is located in the space previously occupied by El Chamo Arabe, El Alwan Cafe <\/strong><\/a>and before that\u00a0Need A Pita<\/strong><\/a>. \u00a0 Some of you might even remember that location as the former home of\u00a0Bayti Mediterranean Delicacies<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 Spicy Junction assumed the space in January, 2026 and has been welcoming converts since day one.\u00a0 During our inaugural visit, we were actually handed three menus.\u00a0 A large plastic menu still bore the name “El Chamo Arabe” while another listed Indian food options.\u00a0 The third menu, a wrinkled paper sheet listed four pizza options the likes of which you probably haven’t seen.\u00a0 Our delightful hostess apprised us that all three menus will soon be consolidated.<\/p>\n

Spicy Junction has retained much of its predecessor’s Venezuelan art work…at least for now.\u00a0 One of the more intriguind pieces bears a striking resemblance to New Mexico’s Zia flag symbol.\u00a0 This artwork features a vibrant red and yellow geometric design reminiscent of a traditional Andean Chakana symbol.\u00a0 Whether its contemporaneous with or predates the Zia symbol isn’t known.\u00a0 Several flat screen televisions occupy other space on the walls.\u00a0 One was tuned to what (to us) appeared to be an Indian MTV program playing videos of Indian nationals frolicing like Americans do on similar videos.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Parmesan wings with Fries<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Classifying the menu isn’t easy.\u00a0 Except for the pizza and burgers, both prepared “Indian-style,” it certainly isn’t “fusion” in that the multicultural dishes aren’t blended in unique ways to create innovative and novel dishes.\u00a0 \u00a0The menu does, however, offer a number of specific categories from which you can select:\u00a0 Venezuelan and Mediterranean, Kids, Snacks and Chaat, Indo-Chinese starters, Paratha (with butter), Rice, Pulao, Raitas and Yogurt,\u00a0 \u00a0Indian-style burgers, Indian-style pizza, Sides, Desserts and Beverages.\u00a0 Perusing the menu will take some time so you’re well advised to enjoy a mango lassi<\/strong><\/em> while you do so.<\/p>\n

With an avian appetite and an aversion to spicy foods, my Kim is not able to enjoy the entirety of Spicy Junction’s menu.\u00a0 Couple that with a lack of adventurousness and she’s always likely to order foods with which she’s familiar.\u00a0 Still, chicken wings as an entree?\u00a0 Aargh!\u00a0 Spicy Junction offers a variety of sauces and rubs for their wings.\u00a0 While my choice would have been Buffalo hot sauce, my Kim preferred the Parmesan wings<\/strong><\/em> which were both sauced and dusted with a garlicky Parmesan.\u00a0 These wings were of the “hummingbird-size” variety and didn’t offer much meat.\u00a0 At six to an order, many of us would consider the wings a light snack.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Mediterranean Sampler<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the Chamo Arabe section of the menu, you’ll find the Mediterranean Sampler<\/strong><\/em> (three falafel, two pita bread, three dolmas, hummus, baba ghanoush and a side of house garlic sauce).\u00a0 \u00a0 It’s about as generous and good as any Mediterranean starter platter you’ll find anywhere in the city.\u00a0 Most noteable is the pita bread which is made in-house (so is naan).\u00a0 Fresh out-of-the-oven, the pita bread is warm and pliable.\u00a0 Fashion it into “spoons” and scoop up the smoky baba ghanoush for a special treat.\u00a0 Both the baba ghanoush and the hummus are sprinkled with a copious amount of sumac, my favorite Middle Eastern spice.\u00a0 Three falafel, roughly the size of golf balls, are enriched with herbs and spices that give them real personality.<\/p>\n

Indian-style pizza, a unique fusion that tops classic pizza dough or naan with traditional Indian curries, spices, and ingredients has not made significant inroads in the Land of Enchantment.\u00a0 In fact, the first time we learned of it was on an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives when host Guy Fieri visited Curry Pizza <\/a><\/strong>in Utah.\u00a0 Naturally I cursed New Mexico for being late to the party…again.\u00a0 Spicy Junction actually offers four Indian-style pizzas.\u00a0 My inaugural foray into the Indian-style pizza world was with the Junction Tika Paneer Pizza<\/strong><\/em> (Medium size. Creamy tikka sauce, marinated paneer, onions, bell peppers and mozzarella cheese, ginger, garlic, tomato, green chilli and cilantro).\u00a0 Not surprisingly, it’s quite delicious.\u00a0 Though as thin as New York-style pizza, it’s a bit on the stiff side.\u00a0 There’s no floppiness to it so you probably wouldn’t be able to fold it in half lenthwise.\u00a0 There’s also no cornicione (the Italian term for the raised, airy outer edge or rim of a pizza crust) meaning it’s flat all the way around. Tikka sauce offers up a rich, velvety blend of tangy tomatoes, savory caramelized onions, and heavy cream, balanced by a warm, aromatic spice profile. It’s got more depth of flavor than most pizza sauce.\u00a0 The green chilli (SIC) gives this pie a piquant persoanlity you can respect.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Junction Tikka Paneer Pizza<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Spicy Junction may have the most diverse menu of any restaurant in Albuquerque, maybe in New Mexico.\u00a0 It’s the type of restaurant you should visit if your cravings are all over the map…just like the menu.<\/p>\n

Spicy Junction<\/strong>
\n5017 Menaul Blvd., N.E.
\nAlbuquerque, New Mexico<\/strong>
\n(505) 508-1058
\nWebsite<\/strong><\/a> |
\nLATEST VISIT<\/strong>: 26 June 2026
\n# OF VISITS<\/strong>: 1
\nRATING<\/strong>: N\/R
\nCOST<\/strong>: $$ – $$$
\nBEST BET<\/strong>: Juntion Tikka Paneer Pizza, Mediterranean Sampler, Parmesan Wings
\nREVIEW #1527<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u2019s menu, \u201che\u2019s serving Mexican, Italian, Chinese. He\u2019s all over the place.\u201d 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 \u201call over the place\u201d 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 They’re both Indian, but rather than serve Indian food exclusively, they decided to retain the existing menu and have added pizza.\u00a0 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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":84413,"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":[440,523,696,141],"tags":[5790,1716,827,1122,829,5784,5789,5786,1659,828,5785,4870,5396],"class_list":["post-84407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-albuquerque","category-indian","category-middle-eastern","category-new-mexico","tag-5790","tag-baba-ghanoush","tag-falafel","tag-fries","tag-hummus","tag-indian","tag-indian-style-pizza","tag-mediterranean","tag-naan","tag-pita","tag-tika-masala","tag-venezuelan","tag-wings"],"yoast_head":"\nSpicy Junction - 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=84407\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Spicy Junction - Albuquerque, New Mexico - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"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\u2019s menu, \u201che\u2019s serving Mexican, Italian, Chinese. He\u2019s all over the place.\u201d 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 \u201call over the place\u201d 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 They’re both Indian, but rather than serve Indian food exclusively, they decided to retain the existing menu and have added pizza.\u00a0 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…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=84407\" \/>\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=\"2026-06-30T06:01:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SpicyJunction06-1024x809.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"809\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\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=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=84407#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=84407\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Gil Garduno\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/28268e3f2056794f14f3b1b033bf5cbd\"},\"headline\":\"Spicy Junction – Albuquerque, New Mexico\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-30T06:01:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=84407\"},\"wordCount\":1138,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=84407#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/SpicyJunction06.png\",\"keywords\":[\"#1527\",\"Baba Ghanoush\",\"Falafel\",\"Fries\",\"Hummus\",\"Indian\",\"Indian-Style Pizza\",\"Mediterranean\",\"Naan\",\"Pita\",\"Tika Masala\",\"Venezuelan\",\"Wings\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Albuquerque\",\"Indian\",\"Middle Eastern\",\"New Mexico\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=84407#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=84407\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=84407\",\"name\":\"Spicy Junction - Albuquerque, New Mexico - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=84407#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=84407#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/SpicyJunction06.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-30T06:01:24+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=84407#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=84407\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=84407#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/SpicyJunction06.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/SpicyJunction06.png\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":1011},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=84407#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Spicy Junction – 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. 1,526 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\\\/28268e3f2056794f14f3b1b033bf5cbd\",\"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":"Spicy Junction - 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=84407","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Spicy Junction - Albuquerque, New Mexico - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog","og_description":"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\u2019s menu, \u201che\u2019s serving Mexican, Italian, Chinese. He\u2019s all over the place.\u201d 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 \u201call over the place\u201d 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 They’re both Indian, but rather than serve Indian food exclusively, they decided to retain the existing menu and have added pizza.\u00a0 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…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=84407","og_site_name":"Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nmgastronome\/","article_published_time":"2026-06-30T06:01:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":809,"url":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SpicyJunction06-1024x809.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Gil Garduno","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gil Garduno","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=84407#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=84407"},"author":{"name":"Gil Garduno","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/28268e3f2056794f14f3b1b033bf5cbd"},"headline":"Spicy Junction – Albuquerque, New Mexico","datePublished":"2026-06-30T06:01:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=84407"},"wordCount":1138,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=84407#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SpicyJunction06.png","keywords":["#1527","Baba Ghanoush","Falafel","Fries","Hummus","Indian","Indian-Style Pizza","Mediterranean","Naan","Pita","Tika Masala","Venezuelan","Wings"],"articleSection":["Albuquerque","Indian","Middle Eastern","New Mexico"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=84407#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=84407","url":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=84407","name":"Spicy Junction - Albuquerque, New Mexico - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=84407#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=84407#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SpicyJunction06.png","datePublished":"2026-06-30T06:01:24+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=84407#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=84407"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=84407#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SpicyJunction06.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SpicyJunction06.png","width":1280,"height":1011},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=84407#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Spicy Junction – 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. 1,526 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\/28268e3f2056794f14f3b1b033bf5cbd","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\/84407","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=84407"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84407\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84567,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84407\/revisions\/84567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/84413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=84407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=84407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=84407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}