AlbuquerqueMediterraneanRating: Good

Yasmine’s Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno5:44 AM

Never mind an Emmy.  If the Hollywood Reporter and the Huffington Post have their way, comedian Larry David might qualify for the Nobel Peace Prize.  That is if a 2011 episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm can do what diplomats and politicians have failed to do over the years.  In the episode, entitled Palestinian Chicken, Larry discovers a Palestinian restaurant that serves the tastiest chicken in Los Angeles.  The problem is that the restaurant is owned and operated by anti-Semitic Palestinians and Larry is Jewish.  Now, Larry could hardly be considered a peace-maker by any stretch of the imagination.  In fact, his lusty ardor for both the chicken and the restaurant’s proprietor, override his loyalty to Judaism and the local Jewish community.  The episode so impressed Alan Dershowitz, appellate adviser to O.J. Simpson’s defense team, that he sent a copy to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu with the suggestion that he invite Palestinian President Abbas over to watch it with him.  Dershowitz’s theory: “maybe if they both get a good laugh, they can begin a negotiating process.” Negotiating world peace over dinner isn’t exactly a novel concept.  A New York group named World Peace, One Falafel at a Time aims to bring…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2023Gone But Not ForgottenItalian

Caruso’s Italian Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno3:39 AM

The 1924 publication of Edgar Rice Burrough’s fantasy novel The Land That Time Forgot regaled readers with the notion of what might happen when contemporary humans stumble upon a lost world in which evolution has progressed much more slowly. Step into Caruso’s Italian Restaurant on Menaul and you just might be entering Albuquerque’s version of the Italian restaurant that time forgot. Ask friends or family to name ten or even fifteen Italian restaurants in Albuquerque and it’s likely Caruso’s won’t be on that list. Remind them Caruso’s isn’t on their list and their likely response will be “oh yeah, I forgot about Caruso’s.” At more than four decades of age, the venerable Caruso’s doesn’t have the pristine veneer or the effusive, over-the-top flamboyance of the chains that dominate the Duke City’s Italian restaurant scene. This august family owned restaurant is showing signs of age and its menu reflects the defiance of a proprietor who holds fast to tradition against a tide of trendy chains which serve portions which would bloat a bovine and whose saccharine service is as transparent as glass. Caruso’s doesn’t feature the latest Northern Italian culinary concept nor does its wait staff belt out operatic arias while…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2014Gone But Not ForgottenPeruvian

Taste of Peru – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno10:17 AM

Early in 2013, the National Restaurant Association took the pulse of more than 1,800 professional chefs and nearly 200 professional bartenders with its annual “What’s Hot” culinary survey designed to predict restaurant menu trends for the coming year. Considered the definitive forecast of culinary inclinations, the survey’s “Ethnic Cuisines and Flavors” category was topped by Peruvian cuisine which is not only hot, it’s cool. It’s hip, swanky and trendy. It’s so “happening” that even New Mexico, which is sometimes years behind culinary trends, has embraced it. Since 2011, three Peruvian restaurants have launched in the Duke City. Peruvian cuisine is so diverse–recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the nation with the most local plates, some 491 officially registered dishes in all–that there is very little cross-over among the three Duke City denizens of Peruvian food. The antecedent for hopefully several other Peruvian restaurants is the highly acclaimed Pollito Con Papas which, thanks to arguably the best rotisserie chicken in Albuquerque, had to triple its real-estate within a year of its 2011 launch. The most centrally-located of Albuquerque’s three Peruvian restaurants is Sara’s Pastries & Deli, ensconced in the increasingly familiar Journal Center Market Place launched in February, 2013.…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2020Gone But Not ForgottenSandwichVietnamese

Sai Gon Sandwich – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno9:51 PM

If ever there was a culinary Kobayashi Maru (for the non-Trekkies among you, that’s a no-win scenario), it might well be naming the best sandwich (or best food of any kind) in the world. Imagine the challenge. There are potentially hundreds of thousands of delicious candidates, many worthy of acclaim as the very best in their block, city, state or province…but the world’s an awfully big place. A lifetime might not be enough to sample but a few thousand sandwiches. Any sandwich you select would undoubtedly be disputed vehemently. Surely, you say, no authoritative source exists which would possibly have the temerity, much less breadth of knowledge, to name just one sandwich as the very best in the planet. Such hubris would invite derision and debate. Perhaps then it’s appropriate that the most recent source to declare one sandwich as definitively the best in the world comes from the island nation in which was born the man (the Earl of Sandwich) for whom the ubiquitous sandwich is named. That source is The Guardian, one of the most respected periodicals in the United Kingdom (even though it doesn’t feature “Page 3” girls). According to The Guardian, the “world’s best sandwich isn’t found…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2016DonutsGone But Not ForgottenSpecialty

Duke City Donuts – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno1:37 PM

If you love donuts (and who doesn’t), you might want to consider being just a bit more generous when you see the ubiquitous Salvation Army bell-ringers and their familiar kettles standing in the chilly winter air to solicit donations.  The Salvation Army didn’t invent the first donut, but you can certainly credit much of their popularity to this philanthropic group. During World War I, the “lassies” in the Salvation Army prepared donuts for thousands of soldiers, an act which along with their compassion endeared the group to the American public.  It also stimulated a taste for donuts which hadn’t existed before the war among the American public. In 1938, the first Friday in June was established as “Salvation Army Donut Day” in Chicago, not only to honor the Salvation Army but to help raise much-needed operating funds for the group.  It was also set aside as a tribute to the Salvation Army lassies who made and served the donuts during World War I.  Although the spelling has been shortened from “doughnut” to “donut” over the years, by any spelling the donut has been the Salvation Army’s trademark since World War I. In recent years, donuts and their high-carb brethren have…

AlbuquerqueRating: N/R (Not Rated)Steak

High Noon Restaurant & Saloon – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno8:53 PM

“Oh, to be torn twixt love and duty Supposin’ I love my fair haired beauty Look at that big hand movin’ round Nearin’ high noon.” ~ Tex Ritter The 1952 Academy Award winning movie High Noon follows taciturn marshal Will Kane as he single-handedly prepares to face a posse of murderers hellbent on revenge when the clock strikes twelve. Though the memorable showdown between Marshal Kane and the villainous scourges lasts only a few minutes, viewers are held spellbound by the movie’s black-and-white cinematography and hauntingly relentless soundtrack which accentuate the clock’s inexorable ticking down toward the confrontation at high noon. The minute hand on the wooden clock facade at the foyer of the High Noon Restaurant & Saloon is on its upward trajectory, scant seconds away from high noon. Instead of tension, your mood will be one of eager anticipation to discover for yourself whether the flavors of the restaurant’s dishes are as welcoming as the aromas which greet you at the door. Since the restaurant was launched in 1974, locals and tourists alike have been beckoned by those alluring aromas to enter and dine at the popular Old Town restaurant. The timeworn adobe edifice which houses The High…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2014Gone But Not ForgottenVegetarian/Vegan

Mint Tulip Vegan Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno8:00 PM

“Once a year during a certain holiday in November, meat-eaters use the hollowed-out rectum of a dead bird as a pressure cooker for stuffing. And people think vegans are weird because we eat tofu?” ~Gary Yourofsky In the spirit of the much debated question of “nature or nurture,” my inaugural visit to The Mint Tulip Vegan Restaurant prompted my own philosophical contemplation, “are veggie haters born or made?”  The answer is probably a little of both. Many of us were–as children–traumatized by well-intentioned parental chiding or threats regarding vegetables: “Eat Your Vegetables!”   “You’re not leaving this table until you eat your rutabaga!”  “No dessert until you finish all your vegetable medley!” Then there are those of us who were once served a mushy bowl of peas, an overcooked plate of carrots, spinach suffering from freezer burn and the like.  Others of us may have, in an effort to lose weight, endured a fad diet consisting solely of certain vegetables.  Whatever the reason, it’s no wonder so many people become veggie-haters.  The problem with hating vegetables is that they are, almost inarguably, the most healthful food group on Earth.  Vegetables are an amazing source of antioxidants, fiber, phytochemicals. potassium and other…

AlbuquerqueRating: Very GoodVietnamese

2000 Vietnam Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:04 PM

JERRY: “By the way Newman, I’m just curious. When you booked the hotel, did you book it for the millennium New Year?” NEWMAN: (smug) “As a matter of fact, I did.” JERRY: “Oh, that’s interesting, because as everyone knows, since there was no year zero, the millennium doesn’t begin until the year two-thousand and one.  Which would make your party one year late, and thus, quite lame.” It’s likely only Jerry Seinfeld and a few chronologically savvy people even know that “2000” and “the Millennium” are not synonymous. When it first launched and for years thereafter, a popular Duke City Vietnamese restaurant was actually named 2000 Millennium Restaurant, a semantically incorrect term. Today, the name on the marquee reflects the year in which the restaurant was launched (which also happens to be the reason behind its quaint name). Aside from its quirky, uniquely Albuquerque name and an intriguing menu (which includes a few items heretofore not found in the Duke City), what draws the most attention to the 2000 Vietnam Restaurant is the Saigon Express Emissions Testing facility in a garage attached to the restaurant. Its presence has undoubtedly engendered trite scatological references to emissions and Vietnamese food. Diners who…

AlbuquerqueRating: N/R (Not Rated)Sandwich

Al’s Big Dipper – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:45 AM

Raj: “Actually, in India, the names of constellations are different. Where you have the Big Dipper, we have the Big Curry Pot.” Summer: “You’re making that up.” Raj: “You got me. Now what are you going to do with me?” ~The Big Bang Theory On a clear night, rural northern New Mexico’s ebony night skies are punctuated with a magnificent display of heavenly beauty uninterrupted by light pollution.   Star gazers stand in reverent awe and wonder at the clarity of a celestial sphere in which the jewels of the night sky are arrayed in the fixed patterns which inspired ancient Greeks to name these constellations for mythological beings.  Back-dropped by the stellar Milky Way in the winter skies is the spectacular Big Dipper, a distinct asterism of seven stars recognized from time immemorial.  Al’s Big Dipper, a gourmet soup and sandwich shop in Albuquerque’s Downtown district isn’t named for the most famous of constellations, but for its familiar ladle (or dipper) shape.  The shop’s marquee is festooned with an orange ladle, denoting the availability of steaming hot soups ready to be poured.  Located on historic Route 66 between Fifth and Sixth Streets, the soup and sandwich shop is named for…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2023Gone But Not ForgottenMariscosMexican

Tacos Mex Y Mariscos – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno10:26 PM

The taco landscape across the Duke City may well be a tale of two tacos. At one extreme we have Zacatecas Tacos & Tequila, the upscale, gourmet taco eatery situated in fashionable Nob Hill. In February, 2013, Zacatecas Tacos was named a semi-finalist for the James Beard Foundation‘s “best new restaurant” in America honor. Zacatecas Tacos represents the “self-actualization” of tacos…tacos which are all they can be…tacos which have been elevated to the nth degree of creativity and deliciousness…tacos at a price point heretofore not achieved in Albuquerque by what is essentially a street food favorite. The antithesis of Zacatecas Tacos & Tequila may well be Tacos Mex Y Mariscos, a timeworn restaurant on heavily trafficked Fourth Street.  Situated in an edifice which previously housed everything from a Thai restaurant to a sandwich shop, Tacos Mex Y Mariscos is as humble as Zacatecas Tacos is ostentatious.  It’s as much a “cheap eat” as Zacatecas is pricy.  The menu at Tacos Mex is simple and unsophisticated compared to the complex and urbane menu at Zacatecas.  From all conceivable appearances, Tacos Mex Y Mariscos is the pauper to Zacatecas’ prince. There’s even a socioeconomic dichotomy between the customers who habituate these two…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2022Gone But Not ForgottenNational ChainPizza

Fox’s Pizza Den – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno9:53 AM

There may have been no more amusing (or, tragically, accurate) depiction of the “meat market” that was the dating scene in the 1970s than a recurring Saturday Night Live skit about two wild and crazy guys named George and Yortuk Festrunk. The Czech brothers, portrayed brilliantly by Steve Martin and Dan Akroyd, dressed in tight pants and loud, unbuttoned polyester shirts with medallions singing over their chests. They lived for “swinging” in their bachelor pad.  The hedonistic Festrunk brothers especially loved to cruise the fox bar in pursuit of swinging foxes who might just have the hots-on for them and who might let them hold on to their big American breasts. In their minds, there was no other pair of Czech brothers who cruised and swung as successfully in their tight slacks which gave them great bulges. It’s hard to believe that in the 70s, “foxes” was a term not used exclusively to describe a carnivorous animal. It was also used as a not always endearing and almost always sexist term for very attractive women. Though I don’t keep up with contemporary vernacular, I believe the modern day equivalent is “hottie.” Alas, at my age, “cruising for foxes” now has…