AlbuquerqueJapaneseNew MexicoRamen

Naruto – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:31 PM

During a 2015 episode of the Travel Channel’s Delicious Destinations, glaborous host Andrew Zimmern articulated what may be the very best–or at least most comprehensive–definition of comfort food ever. “Comfort food,” he explained, “makes us feel good. Every culture has its favorites–satisfying classics carried throughout the generations. Simple recipes loaded with carbs and full of love. It’s the taste of a feeling: warm, cozy, hearty and homey. Comfort foods satisfy more than physical hunger. They’re the feel good favorites that connect us to our past, family and cultural classics that fill us with sustenance and warm feelings at the same time.” At first browse, it appears that Zimmern’s definition applies solely to the act of consuming comfort foods, however, read closely and nowhere within that definition is it explicitly stated that comfort foods have to be eaten in order to be warm, cozy, hearty and homey. Nor do we have to masticate, graze, sup or savor comfort foods in order to feel good or to satisfy more than our physical hunger. Whether deliberate or unintentional, Zimmern’s definition can also apply to acts other than eating one’s food. Indeed, for some of us, the sense of warmth, coziness and comfort from…

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Friends of Gil (FOG) Dinner: A Gathering of Gastronomes

Gil Garduno6:24 AM

Next week the Pueblo Harvest Cafe within the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center will host a number of events during the world-renowned Gathering of Nations, but on Friday, April 22nd at 6:30, the venue belonged to the Friends of Gil (FOG) who convened for dinner at the spectacular cafe. This Gathering of Gastronomes included ten first-timers who joined us for an evening of fun, food and friendship. A good time was had by all. Though we were invited to enjoy music and dancing on the patio after our dinner, several of us lingered in the dining room where we continued to enjoy great conversation and even better people. This wasn’t the first FOG Dinner in which we closed the restaurant. So what do Friends of Gil talk about? Being a well-traveled group of gastronomes, several of us swapped tales of travel to Australia. John and Kay Lucas lived there for eight years while Mary and Mack Kroner just returned from a two-week excursion. Mary, who did a tremendous job organizing the event, brought back a number of delicious Australian cheeses which she and Mack graciously shared with Kim and me. First-timers Jim and Sylvia Westmoreland also spent time in the Land…

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Old Martina’s Hall – Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno11:11 AM

Between the years 2000 and 2014, The Taos News had the prestigious distinction of being named the best weekly newspaper in the United States by the National Newspaper Association. Although the most famous words in American journalism–“all the news that’s fit to print”–don’t grace its masthead, The Taos News has fairly and objectively reported news of events and personalities that seemingly can exist only in Taos county. Readers like me marveled at the periodical’s ability to refrain from punchline-pocked cynicism when, for a couple of years, three topics perhaps more appropriate for Jerry Springer or The National Inquirer ostensibly dominated the front page. One topic was the dysfunctional shenanigans of the Questa school board, the behavior of whom warranted a state-mandated suspension. Another was the hubris and arrogance of the five-member Taos County Commission who, despite a spate of unpopular decisions, thought enough of themselves that they named three new buildings in their own honor (so Bill Richardsonesque). The third topic which graced The Taos News repeatedly was that Commission’s refusal to issue a beer and wine license for Old Martina’s Hall in Ranchos de Taos, an absurd, self-serving drama that dragged on ad-nauseum. Obviously the second and third most…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2019Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoVietnamese

Que Huong – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:18 PM

“Wisdom oft comes from the mouth of babes.” ~George R.R. Martin After far too many meals at restaurants in which children are either screaming at the top of their lungs, throwing hysterical tantrums or wandering unsupervised around the dining room, our inaugural meal at Que Huong proved a very pleasant surprise. Across the dining room, we espied a Vietnamese family with several young children. Theirs was the quietest table in the restaurant. All of them were completely focused on their meals. When my Kim commented on how well behaved Vietnamese children are, I reminded her of at least one Vietnamese child who doesn’t always behave as well as the children Kim was idealizing. In fact, that child is as candid and unfiltered as some adults, the antithesis of the precious little angels at Que Huong. When her adoptive parents took Lily Pritchett-Tucker to a Vietnamese restaurant so they could teach her about her heritage, Lily became stubborn and outspoken….a true little diva. She refused her parents attempts to teach her anything about Vietnam. When her daddy told her about a “special soup called pho (pronounced “fuh”),” she responded “you told me not to say that word.” After repeated efforts to…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2017Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoRating: ExcellentSoul FoodSouthern

Bucketheadz – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno4:44 AM

“I think it’s easy to dismiss Southern food as nothing but grease and grits. I happen to like both grease and grits, And if you call them lardo and polenta, no one would have a problem with it.” ~John T. Edge Author John T. Edge acknowledges that negative stereotypes are rampant about Southern food, crediting some of those perceptions to how Southern food is marketed. Instead of Southern food being presented as one of America’s great culinary traditions, all too often it’s presented as bumpkinly and backwater. Instead of focusing on its soul-warming deliciousness and comforting properties, it’s presented as fatty, fried and laden with butter. It could well be argued that Southern cooking is the Rodney Dangerfield of American cuisine; it gets no respect. Credit media, particularly the aptly named “boob tube” for perpetuating unsavory—and often inaccurate–stereotypes. If you were a product of the ‘60s and 70s, your perceptions of Southern cuisine were probably gleaned from such television shows as The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, The Andy Griffith Show and The Waltons. While these programs were generally family-oriented and depicted homespun values, they often portrayed Southern food in a condescending light. Who, for example, can ever forget the typical…

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ABC Chinese Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno4:03 PM

NOTE:  The site which housed ABC Chinese for nearly four decades is now the home of ABC Cajun Seafood & Noodle House. Hungry sojourners venturing east on Menaul between Wyoming and Eubank will discover two of the dining options on this stretch are among Albuquerque’s elder statesmen in the Duke City’s Chinese restaurant community. You’ll first espy Ho Lo Ma, a venerable institution launched in 1972 and well on its way to a half-century of serving the Duke City. A couple blocks later lies a comparative newcomer named ABC Chinese which has been in business only since 1988. Both restaurants are anachronisms with many of the stereotypical trappings that typified Chinese restaurants in the 1960s and ’70s. Though showing their age, both have legions of devotees. Both also have their vocal detractors. Among the latter are a persnickety bunch who can’t get past the timeworn ambiance at ABC Chinese. Read their comments on Yelp and TripAdvisor and some commenters would have you believe you’ll be dining in the restaurant equivalent of Oscar Madison’s bedroom. On the same crowd-sourced review sites, you’ll read glowing praise from diners whose sole focus is the menu, its authenticity, variety and the deliciousness of the…

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Karibu Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno7:15 PM

During the dry season in Africa, the protective shade of majestic trees casting their cooling shadows are prized–and not only for their impressive and assiduous statures. For generations, the “palaver tree” has served as a meeting place in which the community comes together to discuss issues of common interest, listen to stories and resolve problems and conflicts. Unlike many of the conference room melees…er, meetings of contemporary work life, meetings under the palaver tree are conducted with the utmost of mutual respect and trust. The palaver tree is a symbol of peace and reconciliation, symbolizing the spirit of acceptance and compromise. Much of village life—weddings, rituals and rites, and sharing of news—takes place under the palaver tree. Among Swahili speaking people, visitors to the palaver tree are greeted with the salutation “karibu” which translates to English as “welcome.” Under the palaver tree, the contribution of each member is welcome, driven by a common search for what is real, true and good. While the concept of the palaver tree may not be alive and well in Albuquerque, you’ll find the welcoming spirit of the palaver tree at a restaurant in the Northeast Heights. Fittingly known as the Karibu Café, it serves…

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Cheesy Street – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno5:26 PM

There once was a sandwich with cheese, That quickly brought me to my knees. Toasted, roasted. Oh sweet bliss. I’d be completely remiss Not to say, I’ll take two please. ~Ode To Grilled Cheese Courtesy of Clean Eats, Fast Feets Comedian Rodney Dangerfield used to joke that “I’m at the age where food has taken the place of sex in my life. In fact, I’ve just had a mirror put over my kitchen table.” Masterfully delivered in his inimitable perennial loser persona, that joke followed the thematic formula of his landmark 1980 album “No Respect.” With that joke, the pudgy bug-eyed comic unabashedly hinted at the importance of food porn in his life without actually uttering the term. Fittingly, Dangerfield, who based his entire comedy routine on getting no respect, isn’t even given the respect and credit for first suggesting the notion of food porn. In fact it wasn’t until 1984 that the term “food porn” was coined when author Rosalind Coward wrote in her groundbreaking book Female Desires: How They Are Bought and Packaged: “Cooking food and presenting it beautifully is an act of servitude. It is a way of expressing affection through a gift… That we should aspire…

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Fat Squirrel Pub & Grill – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:32 PM

The quaint names given to English pubs are sometimes nearly as interesting as the reasons for which those names were bestowed. Take for example what is arguably England’s oldest pub, the Trip to Jerusalem. Built into the rock face under Nottingham Castle, the brewhouse has been offering sustenance and sanctuary to weary sojourners since before 1189. The genesis of its name comes from the fact that the inn served as a travel lodge in which crusaders relaxed–no doubt with a pint or eight–before heading off to battle the Saracens in the Holy Land. Thee Fat Squirrel Pub & Grill in Rio Rancho, which launched in 2008, explains the genesis of its name this way: “The name Fat Squirrel comes from the old Turtle Mountain days. One of the brewers discovered that a squirrel had been stealing the grain from the alley and by the dumpster after brews were done. Gorging on the spent grain, the squirrel quickly became so fat that she had a hard time running around the parking lot and had taken to lying on her belly in the shade under cars. After the first winter she returned with her babies for the free and easy meals. In…

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Kasey’s Restaurant & Pub – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno7:25 PM

Thematically, it’s usually pretty easy to tell what some restaurants have to offer. Seafood restaurants, for example, tend to have nautical-themed “tells” such as fish nets, buoys and oars designed to evoke the salty, briny look and feel of the sea. The “template” for barbecue restaurants seems to include red and white checkered cloth tablecloths adorning oak tables, cute ceramic pig figurines on the counters and country music blaring from a tinny stereo. Irish pubs typically are accentuated with dark woods and perhaps more importantly, Guinness draft imported directly from Dublin where it is brewed. By design and deliberation, the overarching concept of theme restaurants touches the architecture, decor, music, menu and the overall “feel” of the place. Unfortunately, in far too many cases the food appears to be a secondary consideration, taking a backseat to the faux and fantasy of all-encompassing theme. Much like an amusement park, the theme often brings in customers based solely on their expectations for an implied experiential premise (we’re so easily entertained). On Washington, about half a mile south of Central, stands a curiously out-of-place edifice that can only be described as barn-like. (albeit sans weather vane). There is no exterior signage that tells…

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Placitas Cafe – Placitas, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno3:11 PM

While it does have a nice ring to it, “beautiful downtown Placitas” probably won’t catch on the way “beautiful downtown Burbank” did when the catch phrase (and quite often, punch-line) was made famous first on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In then on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Located just a few miles northeast of Hollywood, beautiful downtown Burbank is 34-blocks of retail, office, residential and entertainment destinations that include more than 200 shops and 90 restaurants. Beautiful downtown Placitas, on the other hand, is pretty much limited to the Homestead Village shopping center which is surrounded on all sides by capacious open space in a charming village back-dropped by the reddish Sandias. Instead of the high-density urban sprawl of Burbank, beautiful downtown Placitas is graced by panoramic views of hills dotted with dessert flora, weather-worn mesas and verdured mountains. The term “beautiful downtown Placitas” isn’t some sort of ironic inside joke among the village’s 3,000-plus citizens. Nor will you find the term splayed on Placitas real estate brochures or touristy village literature. Where you’ll most often read this term of endearment is on the Placitas Cafe’s blog. The Placitas Cafe is one of two restaurant anchor tenants within the Homestead…