2020 James Beard Foundation - "Best Chef - Southwest" Semifinalist2025 James Beard Foundation Finalist: Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages ProgramAlbuquerqueBreakfastFine DiningJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersNew MexicoRating: Outstanding

Campo at Los Poblanos – Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:59 PM

A simple day laborer at a wealthy estate, Ysidro began his days by rising early and attending Mass. His fellow laborers complained that they had to do some of his share of the work because he lingered in church. After hearing the complaints of his farmhands, the land owner visited his fields while Ysidro was at Mass. To his astonishment, he saw two angels guiding Ysidro’s plow in his absence. Later when Ysidro returned to work, the angels stood next to him and plowed alongside. Ysidro was essentially doing twice as much work as he would have on his own and while at Mass, his work was getting done, too. One snowy day when taking wheat to the mill to be ground, Ysidro passed a flock of pigeons scratching fruitlessly for food on the hard surface of the frozen ground. Taking pity on the birds, he poured half his sack of wheat upon the ground, giving the pigeons the sustenance they needed to survive. Passers-by witnessing his kindness mocked him. When he reached the mill, however, Ysidro’s bag of wheat was full and when it was ground, it yielded twice the expected amount of flour. During his simple life, several…

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Green Chile Cheeseburger Smackdown 2018 – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno7:15 PM

New Mexico’s storied history will recall that 2009 was the year of the green chile cheeseburger.  It all started in May when Bobby Olguin, the gregarious owner of San Antonio’s Buckhorn Tavern bested Food Network celebrity chef Bobby Flay in a “green chile cheeseburger throwdown.”  Capitalizing on the momentum, Governor Bill Richardson called for a statewide green chile cheeseburger challenge to be held at the New Mexico State Fair in September.  Two months later, four-time James Beard award-winning author, the scintillating Cheryl Jamison spearheaded the development of the New Mexico  Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail, the first of the state Tourism Department’s Culinary Trails initiatives designed to further attract savvy visitors who make travel choices based on food. Not only did these initiatives garner nationwide (if not worldwide) acclaim, they became the impetus for the dawning of a new and even more exciting period for the state’s sacrosanct green chile cheeseburger.  Creative chefs across the length and breadth of the Land of Enchantment’s 33 counties conceived of new and inventive ways of preparing and serving burgers, deploying unique and delicious ingredient combinations to complement New Mexico’s official state vegetable.  For the past six years, the catalyst for this new green chile…

AlbuquerqueAmericanRating: Very Good

Christy Mae’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno1:38 PM

If you want to know the best places to eat in any part of any town, don’t buy a tourist guide. Don’t even consult Yelp or the local restaurant critic (even if it is a blogger gastronome). Your best bet is to ask a policeman because “everybody knows that cops always know the best places to eat.” That’s the advice of Chris Cognac, a police detective for a South Bay police department in Los Angeles. Walking his beat gave him the opportunity to investigate off-the-beaten path and hole-in-the-wall restaurants that usually only locals know about–the real local gems. Aside from being a police detective, Cognac was an “informant” for the Daily Breeze newspaper in Los Angeles. He was the Daily Breeze restaurant critic, authoring a column entitled The Culinary Detective. In 2006, Cognac began parlaying his culinary detective skills in a Food Network program appropriately entitled “The Hungry Detective.” In half-hour episodes, he expanded his jurisdiction to cities across America in his mission to uncover the best hidden gems in each city.  The Hungry Detective was short-lived, but very much appreciated by adventurous diners. About a decade ago, I came to believe Cognac that cops always know the best places…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBar & GrillDog FriendlyNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009Rating: Very Good

Alien Brew Pub – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:09 AM

“If the government is covering up knowledge of aliens, they are doing a better job of it than they do at anything else.” ~Stephen Hawking An alien walked into the Alien Brew Pub and says, “take me to your liter.” Okay, that joke is admittedly a groaner. It probably wouldn’t even work in one of those countries which use the metric system, but it might work in some other planet where advanced lifeforms are ostensibly more civilized.  I say ostensibly because frankly, we don’t really know what to expect from alien lifeforms.  While the politically correct stereotype is of a benevolent and benign race singing Kumbaya with us awestruck and primitive terrans,  Stephen Hawking took a contrarian view about extraterrestrial beings.  He suggested that “such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonize whatever planets they could reach.”  The notion of hostile aliens is hardly novel.  A Twilight Zone episode titled “To Serve Man” (a paraprosdokian title if ever there was one), is an exemplar of alien hostility veiled by benevolence.  An alien race known as Kanamit lands on Earth, promising peace and prosperity.  As promised, their technology ends hunger and solves the world’s energy crisis and other…

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Gigi Italian Bistro – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno8:45 PM

“If you can go through with what Gordon Ramsey puts you through there’s nothing much more you can do. I mean the berating from that guy is unbelievable, but the reward is even greater.” ~ Chef Robert Hesse Veni, Vedi, Veci (I came, I saw, I conquered):  Chef Robert Hesse, the superstar consulting chef who launched Gigi left Albuquerque in February, 2019. The review below was based on three visits to Gigi when Chef Hesse prepared our meals.  In light of his departure, I have removed the rating of “26” I accorded Gigi and will update my review accordingly after my next visit. Chef Robert Hesse isn’t the man he used to be. In fact, he’s literally and figuratively a shadow of his former self. Once tipping the scales at over 600 pounds and espousing the attitude that you should “never trust a skinny chef,” he’s now a svelte and fit 155-pound inspiration to caloric overachievers everywhere. I didn’t recognize him when he escorted The Dude and I to Gigi’s covered patio. Later when he dropped by and visited with The Dude, I thought “wow, Gigi’s host is really kind to dogs.” Even when he ferried over a plateful of…

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Bosque Burger – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno5:01 PM

As much a social commentary as a realist novel, Grapes of Wrath by author John Steinbeck immortalized Route 66 as “The Mother Road”  and “the road to flight.”  The latter and lesser known sobriquet recalls the epic odyssey of nearly a quarter of a million people migrating to California to escape the despair of the Dust Bowl.  Route 66 not only succored Americans, it symbolized a renewed spirit of optimism and beginning anew just as the nation was coming off the Great Depression and World War I.  The 2,448 mile stretch of asphalt which traversed eight states connected remote and sparsely-populated regions with Chicago and Los Angeles, two of America’s most vital economic engines.  “The Main Street of America” also gave Americans a sense of adventure on the open road, introducing them to parts of the country theretofore found only in books.  That’s  especially true about the “wild west” of which New Mexico was a part. While most of us know that Route 66’s route through New Mexico meandered roughly east to west across the central part of the state, until 1937, Route 66 actually took a much lengthier detour.  Its initial alignment ferried motorists northward from Santa Rosa to…

AlbuquerqueAmericanNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Copper Canyon Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno7:22 PM

“The Copper Canyon of northern Mexico–a place so huge and desolate that even today there are still some native people who have never seen an automobile.” ~Victor Villasenor Beyond Rain of Gold If you’ve ever watched the classic Humphrey Bogart movie Treasure of the Sierra Madre or read Victor Villasenor’s spell-binding tome, “Rain of Gold,” you’ve got at least a passing acquaintance with Mexico’s awe-inspiring Copper Canyon. Hidden in the Northern part of Mexico lies an astonishing system of gorges comprised of six vast canyons wider and deeper than the Grand Canyon. Although copper is mined in parts of the canyon, this geological wonder is named for the bronze-like patina of the canyon walls. The magnificent Copper Canyon landscape stretches 900 miles across Mexico and has become a very popular destination for adventurers.  Inquiries to friends and colleagues about the Duke City’s Copper Canyon Café gave me the impression it was as far distant and remote as the canyons for which it was named. My friend Bruce “Sr. Plata” Silver joked that perhaps because the Café is located in Albuquerque’s International District, diners may have surmised that a passport is needed to visit. A solid four star rating on 53…

AlbuquerqueDog FriendlyFood TruckNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Street Food Institute – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno5:43 PM

“The more street food we have, the more it’s embraced by every income strata, the better world we have.” ~Anthony Bourdain Jonathan Gold, the first restaurant critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for criticism, called food trucks “the new incubators of culinary innovation.” Indeed, chefs and entrepreneurs who ply their talents in food trucks and express themselves through  distinctively creative cuisine aren’t just fostering culinary trends.  They’re doing so at a rate at which their brick-and-mortar counterparts couldn’t conceive, much less execute. Food trucks are exposing consumers to unorthodox flavor combinations and ingredient fusions, creating a growing demand for more novelty and culinary diversity. Add fast and inexpensive to the mix and you’ve got a trifecta of reasons food trucks continue to expand. Every day across the planet, street food is consumed by 2.5 billion people. Across the fruited plain alone, food trucks generated 1.2 billion in revenue in 2015, a 12.4 percent growth over the previous five years. One industry publication projects an annual growth rate of about 9.3 percent for the next ten to fifteen years. Coupled with much lower start-up costs than brick-and-mortar restaurants, food trucks may sound like a lucrative proposition as well as a culinary…

AlbuquerqueBreakfastMexicanRating: Very Good

Acapulco Tacos & Burritos – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno1:09 PM

Acapulco–just the name evokes images of pristine sandy beaches, translucent blue waters, a comfortable climate, luxury hotels, and world-class gourmet cuisine. There are many reasons Acapulco has earned its nickname of the “Mexican Riviera,” after the famous French resort area. It’s unlikely Albuquerque’s three Acapulco Tacos & Burritos restaurant will ever be mistaken for one of Acapulco’s pricey and sometimes pretentious three- and four-star restaurants. There’s absolutely nothing pretentious about Acapulco Tacos & Burritos. To the contrary, this humble denizen of deliciousness seem to symbolize the wonderful simplicity of Mexican food in the finest and most complimentary sense of the term. Okay, maybe the crossed palm trees and bright sun painted on the restaurant’s colorful facade might be a bit over the top, but that’s the extent of its veneer and polish. This restaurant is little more than a food stand specializing in take-out orders. Tiny picnic tables is where hungry patrons park themselves and wait for their orders to be filled. The restaurant truly lives up to its name with an extensive menu of homemade burritos and tacos. Wood signage boasts “our famous homemade burritos built our business!” It’s a business that’s been going strong for more than a…

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The Point Grill – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno11:18 AM

“Get to the point!” Archie Bunker, the irascible curmudgeon on the 70’s sitcom All in the Family frequently chided his doting wife Edith with the epithet “Get to the Point, Edith!” One of the series occasional and most memorable bits depicted Archie’s pantomime suicides, carried out while Edith rambled on and on in her nasal high-pitched voice, wholly oblivious to his dramatic gestures. In one episode Archie did himself in by tying a noose and hanging himself as Edith prattled on incessantly. Archie also play-acted suicide by Russian roulette, overdosing on pills and slashing his wrist. His facial expressions at the moment of death were priceless, often portraying him with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Some visitors to Gil’s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog have echoed Archie’s sentiment. “Get to the point, Gil” they’ve expressed. They tell me they don’t want to wade through details or read the clever (okay, that’s debatable) introductions that preface my restaurant reviews. Others, such as my friend Ryan “Break the Chain” Scott actually look forward to my roundabout way of introducing a restaurant, my efforts at being a racounteur. For them as well as those who would rather I employ a more formulaic…

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Walker’s Popcorn Company – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno5:14 PM

Who doesn’t love popcorn? Along with hot dogs, apple pie, hamburgers and barbecue, it’s been an American favorite–or should I say tradition–for generations. A humble treat, popcorn can grow in other parts of the world where other corn can’t. It was grown in the Americas, China, Mexico and India long before Columbus journeyed to America. According to urban myth, it was brought to the “first” Thanksgiving” (at least the one taught about in history books) by the Iroquois and since then, a tradition has existed of bringing popcorn to peace negotiations as a token of good will. Today Americans consume over seven billion quarts of popcorn every year. For generations, throngs of Chicago residents have stood in long lines to get the world’s best popcorn at Garrett Popcorn Shop. A resilient lot, they stand there regardless of frosty air, oppressive humidity, turbulent winds and every other way in which Mother Nature vents her wrath. The popcorn at Garrett is transformative.  It’s life-altering.  It’s a religious experience.  After each visit to Chicago, we crave Garrett for months and though there is no equal, Albuquerque has a popcorn shop which does  assuage our craving. Walker’s Popcorn Company has been serving Albuquerque since…