Storming Crab – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Archaeologists believe there’s a scientific explanation for contemporary  humankind’s  predilection for seaside vacations and trips to the beach.  Evidence–stone tools used to cut through animal flesh–seems to support the theory that the first humans migrated out of Africa by following the eastern coastline.  This, the theory posits, would have led to Australia being discovered before Europe.  As noted by Professor Chris Stringer, the head of human origins at the Natural History Museum in London: “The earliest evidence of modern humans in Europe is 40,000 years old whereas we find evidence dating to 60,000 years ago in Australia.  This (migrating along Africa’s eastern coastline) provides a possible explanation.” In addition to the tools used by our beachcombing ancestors, the archaeologists found the remains of several edible marine animals, including oysters, mussels and crabs.  Whether or not this also explains humankind’s pescatarian propensities, many of us are passionate about seafood–and not in the way Dolly Parton meant when she proclaimed “I’m on a seefood diet.  I see food, I eat it.”  According to Seafood Source, “on average, Americans consumed 16.1 pounds of seafood in 2018, a per capita consumption rate of 16.1 pounds,  the highest since 2007.”  Shrimp remains the most popular…

Taco Bus – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Perhaps no mobile conveyance in the Land of Enchantment has ferried as many interesting people on as many colorful journeys as the “Road Hog,” the psychedelic bus which shuttled its passengers from Haight-Ashbury to Woodstock to Llano Largo, New Mexico. The Road Hog’s 1969 arrival in Llano Largo heralded the start of the “summer of the hippie invasion” as The Taos News called it. There unwashed masses settled into a Utopian agrarian commune they called the Hog Farm. The Road Hog with its familiar duck hood ornament and Grateful Dead-style tie-dyed design became a common sight in Peñasco, my childhood home.   Everyone–from sanctimonious adults to horny teenagers–visited the Hog Farm.  The former feigned shock and outrage at the audacity of the hippies frolicking in their altogether.  The latter gaped in astonishment at the nubile nymphs parading a boldness exceeding the rather benign porn of the time.  By road, our home was several miles away from the Hog Farm.  By hiking over the river, through the woods and up the hills behind our home we could easily walk to the Hog Farm.  My friends and I grabbed many an eyeful and a good education in anatomy and biology every time we…

Waffology – Corrales, New Mexico (CLOSED)

FROM WAFFOLOGY’S FACEBOOK PAGE: We regret to announce our final closing. We fought hard and we appreciate all of you who came alongside us. February 5th will be our last day serving from 9am-6pm. In an article for New Mexico Magazine, scintillating four-time James Beard award-winning author Cheryl Alters Jamison proclaimed “Pity the folks who think breakfast is a bowl of cornflakes or some granola and yogurt—talk about starting the day with a yawn! I’m here to tell you that the best, most bodacious wake-up food, bar none, is New Mexico’s breakfast burrito. It doesn’t just break the fast, it blasts it.”  Cheryl may not have called out other American breakfast staples.  She didn’t need to. When my friend Bruce “Sr. Plata” Silver (who grew up in Los Angeles but has lived in New Mexico almost half his life) invited me to join him for breakfast at Waffology in beautiful downtown Corrales, we discussed the challenges of breaking the New Mexico breakfast paradigm.  Most New Mexicans enjoy an occasional breakfast of crepes, pancakes, French toast and waffles, but given our druthers we prefer breakfast burritos by just about the same margin with which George Washington won the country’s inaugural Presidential…

Busy Bee Frozen Custard – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw has been credited with the aphorism “England and America are two countries separated by the same language.” My Kim and I had no idea just how different the Queen’s English is from the English spoken by the colonists until we were assigned to Royal Air Force Fairford. As part of the newcomers orientation, we were required to attend a course in which those vast differences between American English and England English were explained. Many of those differences were rather comedic, but we were warned, “if Yanks aren’t careful, we could perpetuate the dreaded “ugly American” stereotype widely held in some parts of Europe.” We learned, for example, that if an American serviceman walks up to an English lady and introduces himself with “Hi, I’m Randy,” he’s likely to get slapped in the face. Randy has an entirely different connotation in England where it means “frisky.” It surprised me just how many terms had sexually suggestive connotations.  Terms such as shag, fag, beaver and spunk mean entirely different things in England than they do in the United States.  The double-entendre wasn’t one sided.  We learned that if offered “spotted dick” we shouldn’t create an international incident…

Corrales Bistro Brewery – Corrales, New Mexico (CLOSED)

What is it about French words that make them sound haughty and pompous to some people and elegant and refined to others? Think I’m kidding? In Massachusetts, I knew a guy who for two years sported the nickname “Le Cochon” like a badge of honor before someone had the heart to tell him it meant “the pig.” He had thought that sobriquet was a testament to his prowess with the ladies (on second thought, maybe it was). Still questioning my observations on French words? Take an informal poll of men (women are smarter) in the office and ask them what the word “bistro” means. I did and most respondents gave me some variation of “snobbish, hoity-toity, fancy, upscale” restaurant. In truth, a bistro is a small restaurant which typically features simple fare and sometimes provides entertainment. So, if you’re looking for a fancy, upscale French brewery when you see the name “Corrales Bistro” you’ll be in for a disappointment. If, however, you’re looking for terrific sandwiches, burgers, New Mexican food and more you’ll be pleasantly surprised. The Corrales Bistro Brewery (“The Bistro” for short) opened shortly after New Years Day on 2007 at the former site of Essencia, a wonderful…

Nomad’s BBQ – Albuquerque, New Mexico

As a spindly teenager who hadn’t yet metamorphosed into my (then) scrawny 6’1″ stature, I had grand delusions of someday playing basketball for the University of New Mexico (UNM) Lobos.  There could be no greater aspiration for a twelve-year old from the mountains than to wear the cherry, silver and turquoise and play for UNM Coach Norm Ellenberger.  Back then Coach Ellenberger could do no wrong in my eyes…or in the eyes of every Lobo fan.  A 1974 Sports Illustrated article described him as “the Newman-Redford among coaches, a man of such striking looks and charisma that his picture, hanging in Albuquerque restaurants, must be guarded lest it be defaced with scribbled I love hims.” When my Uncle Fred introduced me to the legendary coach,  I brazenly told him I’d someday play for the Lobos (obviously that didn’t pan out).  I was so starstruck when Coach Ellenberger shook my hand and spoke with me that it’s a wonder I didn’t tell him that I’d never wash that hand again.  That’s just not something aspiring Lobo basketball players do.  Over the years I’ve met and befriended many people I’ve admired and respected, but have never uttered the platitudinous phrase “I may…

Indian Pueblo Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico

>Pedro de Castaneda, a Spanish explorer who chronicled Coronado’s expeditions through the southwest from 1540 to 1542 observed that corn, beans, and squash were the main staples of the pueblo diet. Of the three, which have come to be known as “Three Sisters,” corn was the most important. It was boiled whole, toasted on the cob, or dried and ground into a fine powder easily cooked as bread or gruel.  Every day female family members knelt before metates (grinding stones), grinding corn to feed their gods, fetishes and kin. One crushed the maize, the next ground it and the third ground it even finer. Castaneda observed that the women worked joyfully at this task.  The three sisters of corn, beans and squash remain an integral part of the pueblo diet. Think “pueblo harvest” and the first image the term evokes is likely of the classical “horn of plenty” motif depicting a bountiful cornucopia in which corn, beans and squash spill out of a goat’s horn.  This rich symbolism of pueblo life also represents the cuisine at the Indian Pueblo Kitchen (formerly known as Pueblo Harvest), a restaurant which celebrates the culinary traditions of New Mexico’s nineteen Indian pueblos and showcases…

Tomasita’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Much as I like and respect Bob of the Village of Los Ranchos (BOTVOLR), the most prolific commentator on Gil’s Thrilling…naming this blog for him has never been a consideration.  Like Bill Richardson, the former governor of the great state of New Mexico, most of us would like to see our names immortalized on the side of a building, newspaper article or in my case, a thrilling (and filling) food blog.  Call it ego or self-aggrandizement, it’s just human nature to want our names recognized, preferably in large print and not for some act of ignominy.  That’s what makes the story of Georgia Maryol and Tomasita Leyba so compelling. That Georgia would name her new restaurant venture for her long-time friend and chef speaks volumes about both of them.  Their stories–Georgia’s and Tomasita’s—are chronicled on Tomasita’s website, told far better than this blogger is capable, but here’s just an example of a very unique and wonderful relationship:  In the early 70s when the opportunity to lease the historic former terminus of the “Chile Line” in Santa Fe’s Railyard presented itself, Georgia jumped at the chance. Nay-sayers, both press and public, predicted gloom and doom. Concerned that she’d made a mistake…

MAS Tapas Y Vino – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

From Mas Tapas Y Vino’s Facebook Page: It has been a magnificent run, and we’ve been delighted to serve you. However, the time has come for us to close our doors and reimagine our restaurant. Please stay tuned as we unveil an exciting new concept by Hotel Andaluz. Had Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra written Don Quixote in the 21st century instead of in 1605, the title character’s quest in life might not have been to revive the chivalric virtues and values of adventurous knights. His quests might well have instead taken him on tapas bar-hopping adventures throughout Madrid, Spain. In his edible escapades, he would have fought the incursion into Spanish tapas traditions. Instead of tangling with windmills, he would have squared off against golden arches and a creepy crown-wearing burger mascot. Quixote’s sidekick Sancho Panza would have certainly earned his surname. Madrid, perhaps even more than Ernest Hemingway’s beloved Paris is a “moveable feast.” The practice of chasing after those diverse and delicious little dishes known as “tapas” is called a “tapeo” and no city does tapas bar-hopping as well as Madrid. In Madrid tapeos have achieved near cult status. They are a cultural event, a rite of passage…

Antojitos Lupe – Bernalillo, New Mexico

Gustavo Arellano, the brilliant and hilarious author of Ask a Mexican, an erstwhile syndicated satirical weekly newspaper column published mostly in weekly alternative papers, used to be one of my go-to sources of entertainment and information, particularly regarding our common and beloved Spanish lexicon. His inimitable wit and perspective is amusing and enlightening. Take for example his translation of the word “antojitos.” in an article published in his then parent newspaper, the Orange County Weekly, Arellano observed that “the Spanish menu entry antojitos translates as “appetizers,” but the expression connotes more than mere snacks. It derives from the noun antojo, which describes the cravings unique to pregnant women. Antojitos, then, is “little cravings,” and Latinos know that their before-the-main-meal bites should be so appetizing that expectant females snarl at husbands to seek these delights at ungodly hours.” Expectant mothers snarling! Ungodly hours! Obviously antojitos should be good enough to elicit the type of carnal response usually reserved for something more than special…something great. One could surmise that in a sense, antojitos are the Mexican equivalent of dim sum, but where antojitos translates to “little cravings,” dim sum translates to “a bit of heart” or “heart’s delight.” In either case, Mexicans are…

Cocina Azul – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Ever the lexicologist, my first inclination at seeing the mantra “panza llena, corazon contento” emblazoned on any restaurant’s menu is to ponder the veracity of the audacious claim that filling the belly can leave diners contented. The venerable New Mexican dicho which translates from Spanish to “full belly, happy heart” was, after all, conceived at a time when food wasn’t nearly as plentiful as it is today. Enchanting as it may be, New Mexico is a land which can be harsh and unforgiving as my forefathers found out when, for centuries, they eked out a meager subsistence from an austere terrain amidst the ravages of climatic extremes. As the popularity of buffets serving humongous helpings of pitiful pabulum will attest, any restaurant can accomplish the “full belly” feat, but it takes something special to truly make the heart happy. February, 2010 saw the launch of a New Mexican food restaurant which has been accompanying that feat since its opening. Fittingly Cocina Azul, the “blue kitchen” not only uses the slogan “panza llena, corazon contento” on its menu, its exterior signage invites diners to “get your chile on.” The original Cocina Azul is located in the venerable building that for generations…