AlbuquerqueBreakfast BurritosNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: Very Good

Papa Felipe’s Mexican Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno5:24 PM

In 2009, James Beard Award-winning food journalists Jane and Michael Stern published a terrific tome entitled 500 Things to Eat Before It’s Too Late. Despite the ominous (some might say fatalistic) name, the book is actually a celebration of the best dishes that are unique to this country. The Sterns, who have been focusing on quirky All-American food haunts since 1977, describe in delicious detail, the best dishes proffered at roadside stands, cafes, street carts throughout the fruited plain. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Michael Stern was asked if the inclusion of the words “too late” in the book’s title referred to the “death of the small eatery, or the reader’s impending doom from eating too much fried chicken, French fries and fried fish.” He indicated he was referring to “the impending onslaught of the nutrition police who will make all of this stuff illegal one of these days.” He also warned of the loss of “some variety and some local specialties that were once easy to find and are now hard or impossible to find due to chain restaurants.” Despite the onslaught of the ubiquitous national food chain, Stern was optimistic that “Americans have become more…

AmericanBurgersNew MexicoRating: Very GoodSocorro

Yo Mama’s Grill – Socorro, New Mexico

Gil Garduno1:05 PM

Such was my bumpkinly naivete that my virgin ears weren’t subjected to a “yo mama” joke until shortly after my 19th birthday. The site was the Non-Commissioned Officer’s (NCO) club at Royal Air Force (RAF) Upper Heyford in England. The event was an irreverent ninety-minute show featuring brazen comedian Redd Foxx whose explicit brand of humor both shocked and thrilled the American-culture-starved audience. Foxx’s repertoire included lampooning nearly every ethnic group in the audience, invective-laden raunchiness that would make a stripper blush and a unique take on virtually every social taboo of the time. It was truly the antithesis of political correctness. Still, it was the “yo mama” jokes that shocked me most. As an unabashed mama’s boy, it rankled me that anyone would mock the sacred institution of motherhood. Subsequent research revealed that “yo mama” jokes have been fashionable almost since time immemorial. Several sources confirm that the oldest “yo mama” joke is approximately 3,500 years old. The progenitor to Redd Foxx was a student in ancient Babylon who inscribed six riddles on a tablet. Although the riddles lose much in translation, one of them certainly poked fun at the promiscuous proclivities of someone’s mother. After Stephen Colbert failed…

2024 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Southwest" SemifinalistBreakfast BurritosJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersNew MexicanNew MexicoNew Mexico Culinary Treasures TrailRating: Excellent

Chope’s – La Mesa, New Mexico

Gil Garduno4:00 PM

During my Kim’s inaugural visit shortly after we retired from the Air Force in 1995, we ran into a former Las Cruces resident now living in the nation’s capital. His near teary-eyed testimony about how much he missed Chope’s was more powerful than a Sunday sermon.   When he kissed the hallowed ground in front of Chope’s, we knew he meant it.  An elderly gentleman recounted the time Chope’s salsa was so hot it made him hiccup for three days.  A middle-aged woman from Las Cruces rhapsodized about Chope’s chile rellenos, her testimony practically eliciting involuntary salivation in the impromptu audience of queued patrons.  Chope’s has had a similar effect on most its guests for six generations. Perhaps the consummate mom-and-pop operation, Chope’s had the most humble of beginnings.  Nearly a century ago,–1915 to be precise–Longina Benavides began selling enchiladas to her neighbors in the farming community of La Mesa.  A   kerosene lantern hanging outside the front door of the circa 1850s family home signaled the availability of  enchiladas just off the stove.  When Longina’s son Jose inherited the home, he and his wife Lupe continued the family tradition of feeding their neighbors.  They named the family business “Chope’s,” the…

2023 James Beard Foundation - "Best Chef - Texas" Semifinalist2024 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Texas" Semifinalist2025 James Beard Foundation - "Best Chef - Texas" SemifinalistJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersMexicanRating: OutstandingTacosTexasUnited States

ELEMI – El Paso, Texas

Gil Garduno11:01 PM

My friend Steve Coleman, owner of the well-written and impeccably researched Steve’s Food Blog has become quite a culinary anthropologist.  Not only does he provide his readers with comprehensive reviews of restaurants throughout the fruited plain, he explores the genesis of the foods he writes about.  One of his passions is to define what constitutes El Paso style Mexican cuisine–its provenance and the cultural role that cuisine has played over the generations.  As he’s discovered, El Paso style Mexican style is still evolving and redefining itself.  Some of that has occurred organically as other cultures have influenced dynamic changes.  Evolution has also been forged by the rediscovery of ancient ingredients and cooking techniques, some of which may once have been traditional. To Steve’s dismay, El Paso’s restaurant scene doesn’t seem to garner the type of adulation and respect accorded to more voguish and dynamic Texas cities such as Austin, Dallas and Houston.  It’s disconcerting to him that even when El Paso restaurants and chefs are nominated for James Beard awards, those restaurants make it no further than the semi-finals.  Steve has traveled extensively throughout Texas and is familiar with the culinary offerings at the chic, anointed cities.  In his estimation,…

2025 - James Beard Foundation Seminfinalist in the "Outstanding Wine and Beverage ProgramMexicanRating: N/R (Not Rated)TacosTexasUnited States

Taconeta – El Paso, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

The meme below purports to show where the highest quality of tacos in Texas can be found.    Study the map and you’ll get the impression the meme’s creator believes tacos are “nonexistent” throughout about half of the Lone Star State.  That includes the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex as well as all of West Texas.   Most of what the meme’s creator believes are the Lone Star State’s “best tacos” can be found only in San Antonio and the South Texas Plains as well as in portions of the Texas Hill Country.  A “best tacos” designation is also accorded to the El Paso area. There is, of course, no official sanctioning of this (or any other) Texas Taco Map.  It’s just someone’s opinion, perhaps someone well traveled and conversant in the exploration of taco greatness.  Much more highly regarded and as close-to-official as it comes is Texas Monthly Magazine’s “50 Best Tacos in Texas” listing.   Compiled by the Magazine’s “Taco Editor” Jose Ralat, who traveled around 14,000 miles, from Amarillo to Brownsville and El Paso to Texarkana, it actually validates that great tacos are to be found throughout the state.  Contrary to the Texas Taco Map, great  tacos aren’t the exclusive source…

BurgersDog FriendlyNew MexicoRating: Very GoodRio Rancho

Laguna Burger – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:59 PM

For the second year in a row, Livability.com has named Rio Rancho as one of the “top 100 places to live in America.”  The City of Vision ranked 81st with a “LivScore” of 714.  That measure takes into consideration eight broad categories:  Economy, Housing  and Cost of Living, Amenities, Transportation, Environment, Safety, Education, and Health. Santa Fe was the only other city in New Mexico to make the top 100 list, ranking 98th with a LivScore of 694.  In 2023, the City of Vision earned a ranking as the 86th place to live based on the Livability’s quality of life score. Theories abound as to what accounts for the improvement–from 86th to 81st–in Rio Rancho’s ranking.  I’ve got my own theory.  In February, 2014, Laguna Burger announced its expansion to Rio Rancho where it will be housed within the sprawling Latitudes complex.   Latitudes,  the first store of its kind in the metropolitan area, combines the elements of a neighborhood market and a convenience store with competitive gas prices.  Until early in 2024, Latitudes housed Mac’s Steak In The Rough. Laguna Burger’s Rio Rancho space is the 3,000-square-foot restaurant previously occupied by Mac’s.  It’s situated on Rio Rancho Blvd. near Westside…

AsianBarbecueFusionRating: N/R (Not Rated)TexasUnited States

Loro Asian Smokehouse & Bar – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

An average person spends 52 days of their life standing in line (queueing) and that not just at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The most notorious offenders are, of course, supermarket lines, public transportation, the post office, airports and barbecue joints in the great state of Texas.  Okay, that last one may not be true though it certainly feels that way.  Franklin BBQ in Austin has nothing short of a cult following–and probably the longest lines of any barbecue joint in Texas.  Standing in line is part of the Franklin BBQ experience.  Online sites advise that “wait times during the week at Franklin Barbecue are typically 2-3 hours and on weekends closer to 4 or 5 hours.”  Smoked meat savants recommend showing up even earlier.  Female Foodie recommends “be willing to spend the better part of your day (or at least the first half) waiting in line and making an experience out of it.” Since its launch in 2009, Franklin Bbq has sold out of brisket every single day.  That lengendary brisket is credited for much of the great success of Franklin Bbq.  In 2013 and 2017, Franklin BBQ captured the number one and number two spots, respectively, on…

PizzaRating: N/R (Not Rated)SandwichTexasUnited States

Little Deli & Pizzeria – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In the 1973 Woody Allen movie”Sleeper,” the neurotic comedian, writer, actor, and film director declaimed, “I believe there’s an intelligence to the universe, with the exception of certain parts of New Jersey.”  Comedian George Carlin pounced on New Jersey’s license plate, deriding the “Garden State” sobriquet, expressing that it should be “The Tollbooth State.”   In response to his son-in-law Michael “Meathead” Stivic’s “I hate Jersey” comment, Archie Bunker declared “Everybody hates Jersey! But somebody’s gotta live there.” New Jersey is the Rodney Dangerfield among the fifty states.  It gets no respect, especially when compared with its nextdoor neighbor New York.  Perceptions among some outsiders is that the population of New Jersey is replete with Italian-American Mafia types like Tony Soprano.  Others perceive as accurate the unwatchable MTV “reality” television series Jersey Shore which perpetuates Italian-American stereotypes of New Jerseyans.  Its gratuitous use of the ethnic slurs “guido” and “guidette” are an affront to every good and decent resident of the state. Admittedly I haven’t spent much time in New Jersey.  My first visit was just long enough to qualify on the M16 rifle before the Air Force sent me to RAF Upper Heyford, England.  Would you consider it boasting if…

2026 James Beard Foundation: "Best Chef - Texas" SemifinalistBarbecueJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersMichelin: One StarRestaurants Which Have Earned Michelin HonorsTexasUnited States

La Barbecue – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Every summer, a predictable ritual takes place. After hibernating comfortably since the previous autumn, men attired in aprons emblazoned with the slogan “kiss the cook” will selflessly volunteer to “cook” a meal. This, of course, means grilling, a decidedly masculine affectation and the only type of cooking most men can be entrusted to do. When this ritual is completed and guests are sated, lavish praise and thanks are heaped upon the “chef.” In truth, the only aspects of this ritual for which men are typically responsible is getting the grill lit, placing the meats on the grill and turning them (after our female better halves warn us that the meats are burning). Normally all the preparatory work—buying the food; preparing the salad, vegetables and desserts; preparing the meat for cooking; organizing plates and cutlery; preparing the plates—is done by our wives and girlfriends. Ditto for the post-dining rituals—clearing the table, doing the dishes and putting everything away. Insouciant clods that men are, we can’t figure out why our ladies are upset when we asked how they enjoyed their “night off.” Men love to play with fire.  Those who get really good at it–and have a lot of patience–may eventually graduate…

BurgersRating: N/R (Not Rated)TexasUnited States

JewBoy Burgers – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

With hordes of eager eaters forming lines around select restaurants–if not the block–you’d think those diners were gum-snapping Swifties clamoring to enter the venue of a Taylor Swift concert  That’s the case not only in barbecue joints anointed with Michelin star and James Beard Foundation honors, not to mention restaurants featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  Queues for ‘cue, lines for lasagna, cavalcades for calamari…that’s pretty much the way it is at all the time in Austin.  It is a foodie city after my own heart.  I loathe lines so much, I’d rather arrive half an hour early than to stand in a line for more than ten minutes. Alas, on a day in which drizzle spritzed city streets, I arrived at Jewboy Burgers fifteen minutes after it opened.  Forget what you hear about Austinites being fair weather diners.  They were there in droves with a lengthy line literally out the door.  That’s where I stood (in misty rain) for twenty minutes before making my way inside.  There was a long line inside the restaurant, too.  Sullen diners also waited for a table to come available, the more intrepid among them taking their burger bounty outdoors.  A fellow queruer related…

2022 James Beard Foundation Award for "Emerging Chef"MexicanMichelin: Bib GourmandRating: N/R (Not Rated)Restaurants Which Have Earned Michelin HonorsTacosTexasUnited States

Nixta Taqueria – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Man cannot live on barbecue alone–not even in Austin, Texas where the world’s very best barbecue is to be found.  To limit one’s self to barbecue–as transformative as it may be–is to deprive yourself of some of the best Mexican food and best fried chicken in the known world.  Though the primary purpose of my week-long visit to the City of the Violet Crown was to visit Michelin starred barbecue restaurants, to have done so have been “going deep,”  exploring just one segment of the Central Texas culinary Utopia.  “Going wide” meant exploring options beyond barbecue–options such as some of the aforementioned Mexican food joints for which Austin is renowned. At the very top of my list was Nixta Taqueria which was ranked tenth among the 50 best tacos in Texas.  That compilation was put together by Texas Monthly’s “Taco Editor” Jose Ralat who “traversed the state from the Rio Grande Valley to the Panhandle to find the most superb tacos and taquerias.”  Along the way, he discovered that “More than ever, chefs, cooks, and taqueros—often Mexican immigrants or first-generation Mexican Americans—are crafting nostalgic dishes from their blended cultures and incorporating native Texan ingredients.”  He calls the movement “New Tejano.”…