AmericanFarmingtonNew MexicoNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011Rating: N/R (Not Rated)Sushi

Clancy’s Pub – Farmington, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:42 PM

Characterized by writer Tom Wolfe as the “Me Decade” and derided by cynics as the “Disco Era,” the 1970s witnessed an explosion of copycat fast food chain restaurants and the birth of innovative fusion cuisine in many contemporary restaurants. Fusion cuisine is the inventive combination of diverse, sometimes disparate culinary traditions, techniques and ingredients to form an entirely new genre. In large metropolitan areas, particularly throughout California, the fusion of different cuisines became commonplace. Restaurants featuring the melding of French and Chinese cuisine were especially popular. Still other restaurants had their own ideas as to what constituted fusion cuisine. Instead of intermixing ingredients, they featured menus showcasing the cuisine of several genres. One such restaurant is Clancy’s Pub in Farmington, New Mexico. Though its name practically screams “Irish pub,” Clancy’s Pub is so much more. Founded in 1978, Clancy’s offers one of the most diverse and comprehensive menus you’ll find anywhere in New Mexico. It’s East meets West, surf meets turf, vegetarian meets meat lover, sweet meets savory, and so much more. Now, if you’re wondering if Clancy’s Pub is just another one of those restaurants which endeavors to “be all things to all people” and falls woefully short of…

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Gil’s Best of the Best for 2013

Gil Garduno12:00 PM

The advent of 2014 is nigh. It’s with great fondness and more than a little (blush) salivation that I bid adieu to auld lang syne and the most memorable dishes of 2013. These are the dishes which are most indelibly imprinted on my memory engrams…the first dishes that come to mind when I close my eyes and reflect on the past year in eating. “But this is New Mexico,” you might exclaim after you read that eight of the very best dishes I enjoyed in 2013 were seafood dishes. That’s not supposed to happen in a high desert state. Chez Bob must not have heard this is a landlocked state because the Diver Scallops with a Buerre Blanc Sauce are as good as you’ll find along the coast. Chef, proprietor, barista, ambassador. That’s Michael Gonzales who’s not only unabashedly passionate about his Cafe Bella, but a civic-minded promoter of the City of Vision. His slow-roasted, locally smoked carne panini featured succulent pork, baby field greens, mozzarella and a mayo-based sauce. Each bite is an absolute joy and an adventure in deliciousness. Four sandwiches made my “best of 2013” list. Tia Betty Blue’s, a rollicking, quirky and all-around fun restaurant creates…

AnnouncementsRed or Green - New Mexico Food Scene is on Fire

2013: A Thrilling (And Filling) Year in Food

Gil Garduno12:59 PM

Tis the season…for year-end retrospectives in which the good, the bad and the ugly; the triumphs and tragedies; the highs and lows and the ups and downs are revisited ad-infinitum by seemingly every print and cyberspace medium in existence. It’s the time of year in which the “in-your-face” media practically forces a reminiscence–either fondly or with disgust–about the year that was. It’s a time for introspection, resolutions and for looking forward with hope to the year to come. The New Mexico culinary landscape had more highs than it did lows in 2013. Here’s my thrilling (and filling) recap. January New Mexico restaurants began garnering recognition early in January when Food & Wine compiled a list of the nation’s “best taco spots.” Tacos are apparently following the trend established by burgers then followed by pizza in which chefs are diligently trying to perfect the classics while creating avant-garde versions (kimchee and bulgogi tacos anyone?) that redefine the entree itself. The only New Mexico taco spot recognized was Mary & Tito’s for which Food & Wine acknowledged the “famed secret weapon of this mother-daughter-run operation is its fiery red chile sauce–killer with succulent braised pork in the New Mexico classic carne adovada,…

AlbuquerqueBetter Call SaulNew MexicanRating: Good

Taco Sal New Mexican Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno10:58 PM

Rachael Ray, the hyper-bubbly kitchen diva recently divulged that casinos pipe in the fragrance of cumin because it causes gamblers to lose their inhibitions and gamble without guilt. Cigarette smoke and cumin…that doesn’t sound like an olfactory arousing aroma combination to me, much less one which would lure anyone to a purlieu of poker and slots. Now, if casinos figured out how to pipe in the intoxicating aroma of chile being roasted, New Mexicans might never leave. Marcia Nordyke, the Public Relations Director for the Hatch Chile Festival believes the aroma of chile being roasted would make a wonderful air freshener. My friend Bill Resnik says it would make a great aftershave, albeit one which would leave anyone within range perpetually hungry. There’s no disputing the incomparable fragrance of of roasting chile is absolutely intoxicating, a veritable aphrodisiac to chile lovers everywhere. Why hasn’t the state legislature it adopted it as New Mexico’s official state fragrance? Alas, only in autumn is the Land of Enchantment’s clear, salubrious air perfumed by the wondrous wafting of chile being roasted. It’s the essence of enchantment for our nostrils–coming to a roadside stand or parking lot near you from late August through mid-October. For…

AlbuquerqueBakeryBreakfastClosed in 2016Gone But Not ForgottenJewishNew Mexico

Nosh Jewish Delicatessen & Bakery – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:01 PM

You see, Elaine, the key to eating a black and white cookie is that you wanna get some black and some white in each bite. Nothing mixes better than vanilla and chocolate. And yet still somehow racial harmony eludes us. If people would only look to the cookie, all our problems would be solved. ~Jerry Seinfeld While creative personnel and television promos touted Seinfeld as the “show about nothing,” the truth is every episode of the half-hour comedy offered a number of complex plots, sub-plots and plot twists. So much of the hilarity centered around food moments that readers of Chow declared Seinfeld the “show about food.” It makes sense. In its nine year run, Seinfeld introduced or reintroduced into American pop culture and vernacular such foods and food terms as pastrami, the most sensual of all the salted, cured meats; the really big salad; make and bake our own pizza; vegetable lasagna; Papaya King hot dogs; the soup Nazi and many, many more. While Albuquerque has become increasingly cosmopolitan, it wasn’t until the August, 2013 launch of Nosh Jewish Delicatessen & Bakery that Duke City diners could discover for themselves some of the iconic foods mentioned on the “show…

AlbuquerqueBurgersClosed in 2022Gone But Not Forgotten

B2B Bistronomy – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:02 PM

Marshall: Just a Burger? Just a burger. Robin, it’s so much more than “just a burger.” I mean…that first bite—oh, what heaven that first bite is. The bun, like a sesame freckled breast of an angel, resting gently on the ketchup and mustard below, flavors mingling in a seductive pas de deux. And then…a pickle! The most playful little pickle! Then a slice of tomato, a leaf of lettuce and a…a patty of ground beef so exquisite, swirling in your mouth, breaking apart, and combining again in a fugue of sweets and savor so delightful. This is no mere sandwich of grilled meat and toasted bread, Robin. This is God, speaking to us in food. Lily: And you got our wedding vows off the Internet!? ~How I Met Your Mother: “The Best Burger in New York” As that episode illustrated, men are inspired to rhapsodize romantically about truly outstanding burgers. We’re similarly compelled to masterful oratory when discussing our favorite National Football League team. Our passion for fine, fast cars elicits a facile fluency with words. We can discuss our 60-inch flat screen television with the eloquence of a bard. It makes our wives and girlfriends wonder how we can…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBar & GrillBreakfastClosed in 2021Dog FriendlyGone But Not Forgotten

Kelly’s Brew Pub – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:34 PM

“If you ever plan to motor west Travel my way, take the highway that’s the best A-get your kicks on Route sixty-six It winds from Chicago to LA More than two thousand miles all the way Get your kicks on Route sixty-six.” ~Nat King Cole With a population of approximately 30,000, Albuquerque had just about as many people in 1939 as Alamagordo has today. In 1939, life in the Duke City centered around Central Avenue and 4th Street where F.W. Woolworth’s Department Store (Albuquerque’s first national chain store) was situated. That year Route 66, the fabled Mother Road, saw a peak in the migration to California (and the promise of a better life) of destitute Oklahoma sharecroppers. In 1939, on Second Street just north of Central, New Mexico native Conrad Hilton built the first of his eponymous hotels–and the first modern high-rise–in the state of his birth. Further east on Central Avenue in the Nob Hill area (Albuquerque’s first sub-division) construction began on the De Anza Motor Lodge. In 1939, with the threat of war imminent in Europe, the Army Air Force established a pilot training center (today called Kirtland Air Force Base), setting the stage for Albuquerque’s biggest boom…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2017ColombianGone But Not ForgottenMexicanNew Mexico

Panchito’s Restaurant & Bakery – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:35 PM

“Let’s get one thing straight: Mexican food takes a certain amount of time to cook. If you don’t have the time, don’t cook it. You can rush a Mexican meal, but you will pay in some way. You can buy so-called Mexican food at too many restaurants that say they cook Mexican food. But the real food, the most savory food, is prepared with time and love and at home. So, give up the illusion that you can throw Mexican food together. Just understand that you are going to have to make and take the time.” ~Denise Chavez, A Taco Testimony Despite the title of her book, A Taco Testimony isn’t a celebration of the folded, hand-held treasures of diverse deliciousness enveloping meats, vegetables and condiments. Nor is it a compilation of recipes detailing precisely how to create these homespun, rustic snacks as generations of families have enjoyed them. At a surface level, author Denise Chavez, a Las Cruces resident, writes about the familial and cultural experiences and dramas of growing up in Southern New Mexico. From an allegorical perspective, the underlying message of A Taco Testimony is that if you understand a people’s food, you can understand their culture…

AlbuquerqueBarbecueClosed in 2017Diners Drive-Ins and DivesFood Network Eats New MexicoGone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

The Cube – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno3:45 AM

Timon: [singing] Luau. If you’re hungry for a hunk of fat and juicy meat Eat my buddy Pumbaa here, ’cause he’s a tasty treat Come on down and dine on this tasty swine All you gotta is get in line Are you achin’… Pumbaa: Yup, yup, yup. Timon: For some bacon? Pumbaa: Yup, yup, yup. Timon: He’s a big pig. Pumbaa: Yup, yup. Timon: You can be a big pig, too. Oy. From Disney’s Lion King Succulent swine. Porcine perfection. Bodacious baby backs. Pulchritudinous pulled pork. Every serious barbecue aficionado should go hog wild at least once in their lives and pig out in Memphis, Tennessee, indisputably one of America’s bastions of barbecue and home of the “Memphis in May World Championship BBQ Cooking Competition.” Never mind the great gridiron gala (the championship of the National Football League), the “Superbowl of Swine” is where barbecue addicts want their fill of pigskin and Memphis is where they meat. Although Memphis prides itself on the diversity of its barbecue, traditional Memphis barbecue is primarily about “low and slow” smoked pork served one of two ways: pulled into tender, melt-in-your-mouth pieces or as meaty ribs on a slab. Those righteous ribs are available…

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Gil’s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog: 5,000 Visitor Comments…And Counting

Gil Garduno10:23 AM

On Friday, October 25th, 2013, Gil’s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog achieved a significant milestone when it received its 5000th published feedback, some sixty-one months after the blog’s launch. The main reason I migrated Gil’s Thrilling (And Filling) Web site to a blog on September 13, 2008 is because blogs are much more interactive than conventional Web sites. In our increasingly connected and shrinking world, blogs are community while Web sites are islands. Because of a blog’s interactive nature, you, my dear readers, have been able to provide comments about my reviews, recommend new restaurants, and share your experiences on dining adventures good and bad. You’ve let me know when you agree with my recommendations and when you believe I’ve totally missed the mark. Some of you have been complimentary, gracious and kind. Others…not so much, over the years accusing me of being on drugs, being a racist, questioning my parentage and threatening me with bodily harm. Through it all, the blog has championed freedom of speech. For the most part, the only comments censored from the blog have been politically oriented. What has made me most proud is the spirited dialogue between the community of diners who are just as…

BreakfastBurgersClosed in 2015Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011

Badlands Burgers & Tortas – Grants, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:00 PM

Out through the back door of Rosa’s I ran, Out where the horses were tied. I caught a good one. It looked like it could run. Up on its back and away I did ride, Just as fast as I could from the West Texas town of El Paso Out to the badlands of New Mexico. ~El Paso by Marty Robbins From the Texas cowboy immortalized in the Marty Robbins ballad to Walter White, Albuquerque’s favorite meth maker, through time immemorial whenever circumstances in the wild and rugged west have been at their most grim and perilous, even the most intrepid of heroes have escaped to the badlands of New Mexico. The badlands of New Mexico are an other-worldly expanse of naturally occurring topographical anomalies: undulating mounds, hulking hoodoos, elaborately eroding landscapes, precipitously balanced rocks of different forms and shapes in surreal color palettes. Ostensibly, the badlands make for a good hiding place. Perhaps the baddest of New Mexico’s badlands is El Malpais, a term which translates from Spanish to “the bad lands,” but which has been defined in science as an extensive area of rough, barren lava flows. El Malpais hearkens back to the geologic era in which volcanoes…