Announcements

Friends of Gil (FOG) Dinner III: Magnificent Mexican Food for Fabulous Foodies

Gil Garduno5:05 PM

“People who love to eat are always the best people.” – Julia Child When Friends of Gil (FOG) get together, good food happens. So do good times and great conversation among some of the most passionate gastronomes in the Duke City area. El Norteño was the site of the most recent FOG dinner shared by nineteen. Guests included five of the ten most prolific commentators on Gil’s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog: Bob of the Village of Los Ranchos, Bruce Schor (with Lady Grayce), Jim Millington (with Janet, the Child Bride), Larry McGoldrick (with the pulchritudinous Chase girls, Barbara and Linda) and John Lucas (with fabulous Kay). We were also graced with the presence of FOG newcomers Sarah and Rolk Dolk. No strangers to the hospitality industry, Sarah and Rol own and operate the Adobe Nido Bed and Breakfast which is very close to Old Town shopping, museums and downtown night life. Joe and Kazzie Guzzardi, the much loved proprietors of Joe’s Pasta House in Rio Rancho joined just as we were about to order dessert. As far as we know, the infamous Suzie Queue was not in attendance. While some of the FOG hadn’t ever dined at El Norteño, others…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2015Gone But Not ForgottenMariscosMexicanRating: Excellent

El Norteño – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno3:33 PM

No Mexican restaurant in Albuquerque has a pedigree that approaches that of El Norteño, a venerable elder statesperson in the Duke City’s burgeoning and constantly evolving Mexican restaurant scene. El Norteño has been pleasing local diners for more than a quarter of a century as evinced by its perennial selection as the city’s “Best Mexican” restaurant. Respondents to the Alibi’s annual “best of” poll accorded El Norteño that coveted accolade against increasingly more formidable competition every year for seven consecutive years. Launched in 1986 by Leo and Martha Nuñez, El Norteño is an Albuquerque institution, a Mexican restaurant which can’t be pigeonholed for serving the cuisine of one Mexican state or another. That’s because El Norteño offers traditional Mexican specialties while staying true to the Land of Enchantment, using only peppers grown in New Mexico. In 1993, Monica Manoochehri and her husband Kamran took over the restaurant, maintaining the exceptional standards established by her parents. As consistently excellent as it has been, El Norteño became one of those restaurants even its most loyal patrons may have begun to take for granted. We all knew it was in a class by itself with incomparable cuisine; warm, friendly service and a homey…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBrunchClosed in 2025Gone But Not ForgottenRating: Outstanding

Zinc Wine Bar & Bistro – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno6:06 AM

Albuquerque’s Nob Hill district largely owes its emergence as the city’s first “suburb” to Route 66, the great Mother Road which carried Americans westward. Because of Route 66, the Nob Hill area has been, since before World War II, a thriving residential community replete with restaurants, motels, a modern movie theater, pharmacies and restaurants. Today it remains the city’s cultural heart and, thanks to the preservation of Route 66 era architecture, retains much of the charm that captivated west bound sojourners. New tenants such as Zinc Wine Bar & Bistro which launched in 2003 hold court in well preserved brick buildings and seem completely at home. Antique mirrors, distressed wood floors, stained glass and warm colors coalesce with intoxicating aromas to make this classy bistro one of the city’s best launches (and lunches) of the new millennium. The French rotisserie, visible from the main floor and the open mezzanine above, turns out some of the best meals in the city. While considered a premium fine dining destination, Zinc’s generous portions are comparatively value priced–your bill may approach three figures, but you’ll feel you got your money’s worth. Meals are well paced with appetizers and entrees brought to your table at…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2016Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicanNew Mexico

Patricia’s Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:00 PM

For nearly twenty years–from 1954 to 1972–newspaper, magazine, radio and television advertisements for Winston cigarettes deliberated whether American smokers wanted good grammar or good taste. This was in response to catchy jingles (and if you’re over 40, get ready for an ear worm) claiming that “Winston tastes good like a cigarette should.” Grammarians took umbrage with the solecism, arguing that the word “as” was more appropriate than the word “like.” From 1974 to 1991 the advertising world introduced another vexing debate: “tastes great” or “less filling.” To entice “Joe Sixpack”‘ to Lite Beer from Miller, television ads featured retired athletes, coaches and celebrities in spirited debate as to the primary benefit of the less caloric, but ostensibly still great-tasting alternative. Using the term “light” instead of “diet” appealed to the two-fisted drinkers seeking to avoid the metamorphosis of their six-pack abs into a keg-shaped beer belly. For much longer than the advertising world has manufactured good-natured debates intended ultimately to sell a product, residents of and visitors to the Land of Enchantment have been asked to declare their preference for “red or green.” So much so that several years ago, a state legislator submitted a resolution to declare “red or…

AlbuquerqueAmericanClosed in 2017Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

Delish – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno5:42 PM

Rachael Ray may be the most reviled celebrity cook or chef on network and cable television. While adoring fans admire her perkiness and down-to-earth approachability, it’s those traits grumpy detractors (including other celebrity chefs and food writers) seem to find most offensive. Well, that and the way she punctuates sentences with one of her many trademark catchphrases. Entire blogs are dedicated to disparaging her use of “Rachael Rayisms” with heated discussions revolving around the most annoying of her cutesy (or not so very much, depending on your perspective) catchphrases. It’s a true testament to her popularity that one of those catchphrases was selected for inclusion on the 2007 edition of the Oxford American College Dictionary. Thanks largely to the effervescent phenom, EVOO (short for extra-virgin olive oil) is now officially part of the American lexicon. In a list of the seven most annoying Rachael Rayisms compiled by the Huffington Post, EVOO ranked only seventh for “annoyingness.” At the top of the list as the most cringe-worthy catchphrase was “yummo” (which has been used on this blog three times and no, I’m not a Rachael Ray clone). When Mary Ann Spencer, a long-time friend of this blog, told me about a…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2017Gone But Not ForgottenItalianPizzaRating: Excellent

Nicky V’s Neighborhood Pizzeria & Patio – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno2:32 AM

Just when you think you’ve seen it all and you think nothing else can possibly been done to exploit the versatility in pizza, something comes along which surprises you. One such example is the “make your own pie” proposal by the entrepreneurial Kramerica Industries, a proposal which prompted extensive water cooler discussions. Flamboyant CEO Cosmo Kramer envisioned a pizzeria in which “we give you the dough, you smash it, you pound it, you fling it in the air; and then you get to put your sauce and you get to sprinkle it over your cheese, and they–you slide it into the oven.” His attempts at securing funding falter over a dispute as to whether cucumbers can be pizza toppings. The aforementioned scenario transpired in an episode of Seinfeld, the “show about nothing.” While the “make your own pie” concept has some fundamental flaws (people shoving their arms into a 600-degree oven), it does illustrate one of the few things that haven’t actually been done with pizza in the United States. Nicole “Nicky” Villareal didn’t have any uncommon business model in mind when she and her husband set out to launch Nicky V’s Neighborhood Pizzeria & Patio. She wanted a true…

AlbuquerqueAmericanClosed in 2014Fine DiningGone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

Bouche – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno9:44 AM

Career paths do not always unfold as stereotypes might dictate. Heavily recruited out of Mission, Texas, a high school football hotbed, Frans Dinklemann, a 6’6″ 241-pound defensive end, signed with the University of New Mexico where his Lobo teammates included perennial National Football League (NFL) All-Pro Brian Urlacher. By his senior year, Frans had grown to 6’7″ and 270 pounds and moved to the offensive line where he set the team weight room record for offensive linemen with a 33-inch vertical leap. The stereotype of the offensive lineman is of a brutish behemoth heavy on brawn and light on brain, a misanthrope with very little personality or charisma. In his inimitable manner, Hall of Fame NFL coach and longtime television analyst John Madden stereotypes the offensive lineman as a “big ol’ mean and nasty guy who tries to knock the snot out of the guy across from him.” With these stereotypes, you might surmise that after his Lobo career ended, Frans Dinklemann would become a nightclub bouncer or pursue some other similar profession requiring muscle and mass. Coach Madden, however, also pointed out that offensive linemen tend to be neat and precise, to be polite and have well-ordered lockers. This…

AmericanClosed in 2015CorralesGone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

The Spot Cafe – Corrales, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno6:56 AM

Big Bang Theory wunderkind Sheldon Cooper has a spot he describes as the “singular location in space around which revolves my entire universe.” That spot is the left side of his couch, a location he has placed “in a state of eternal dibs.” In scientific terms, Sheldon relates his spot as “a single point of consistency in an ever-changing world.” His attachment to that one spot borders on obsession, but he’s not the only television character that possessive of his spot. In television comedies, characters have always had their favorite spots and show little tolerance for anybody who tries to sit in them. Cheers barflies Norm Peterson and Cliff Claivin had their favorite bar stools. Jerry Seinfeld, George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer always sat at their favorite table at Monk’s Diner. Heaven help anyone who sat on Archie Bunker’s favorite chair, the most famous and only one of the aforementioned spots on display at the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. Television personalities are often based on and mimic real life characters. As such, it will be interesting to see what Corrales resident will develop an attachment to a favorite spot at its newest eatery (as of May,…

BurgersClosed in 2021Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011

Magdalena Cafe – Magdalena, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno10:50 AM

In 1863 during the height of the Civil War, soldiers on leave from Fort Craig staked claims to silver strikes in the Magdalena Mountains. Within a few years, the boom towns of Kelly and Magdalena had sprung up, eventually achieving a population surpassing even Socorro, the county seat. The first veins of metal ore given up by the rocky promontories were lead and zinc, but ultimately silver became the principal source of wealth. With the arrival of the railroad in 1884, Magdalena became a rowdy frontier mining town and one of the Southwest’s largest cattle shipping centers with its stockyards processing thousands of cattle and sheep. Magdalena became known as the “Trails End” because the spur line which originated in Socorro had its terminus in the town named for the likeness of Mary Magdalene on a nearby slope. The railroad transported cattle, sheep, wool, timber and wool. It also transported carloads of ore to a smelter outside of Socorro. No vestiges of the railroad remain, but it’s easy to imagine how spectacular the 20 meandering miles from Socorro to Magdalena must have been by train. That’s because Highway 60 approximates the route of the railroad line nicknamed “the elevator” because…

Announcements

Fubelly: Solving the Age-Old Question of “Where Should We Eat Right Now?”

Gil Garduno11:48 AM

“Panza llena, corazon contento,” the pithy Spanish saying which translates to “full belly, happy heart” is the mantra by which many restaurants in New Mexico operate. That sentiment is expressed in other parts of the country as “fubelly,” a diminutive of “full belly” with an implied tone of “happy heart.” On Monday, June 23rd, 2014, Fubelly, an online discovery platform was launched in Albuquerque with the goal of helping Duke City diners achieve fubelly. Fubelly celebrates Albuquerque’s food culture in a medium ideally tailored for story-telling, utilizing videos with a very high production value to showcase some of the Duke City’s very best restaurants, chefs and restaurateurs to help diners engage with food and drink. Through Fubelly you’ll discover places you’ve never been and rediscover places you already love by learning more about them. Eight Duke City area restaurants are currently featured, but the goal is to grow the site to about fifty local restaurants and eventually expand to Santa Fe. The restaurants featured are very high-energy venues owned and operated by very innovation restaurateurs and chefs with a passion for creativity and customer service. No chain restaurants will be featured on Fubelly. In addition to a video narrated by…

ArizonaRating: OutstandingSouthwesternUnited States

The Turquoise Room – Winslow, Arizona

Gil Garduno4:39 AM

The concept of “fast food” had a far different connotation during the Southwest’s Frontier days than it does today. This is especially true if one traveled via railroad through hundreds of miles of desolate, open country. In the more densely populated and genteel east there were often several cities between most destinations. This allowed for frequent rest and refreshment stops. Passengers rode in relative comfort in Pullman cars with dining cars. In the wide open west, only twenty minutes were allowed during each of the infrequent stops. Further, the food was as miserable as the travel conditions. According to Keith L. Bryant’s History of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, “meat was greasy and usually fried, beans were canned, bacon rancid and coffee was fresh once a week.” No doubt it was gastronomic distress that prompted the following ditty documented on the book Hear the Lonesome Whistle Blow by Dee Brown: “The tea tasted as though it was made from the leaves of sagebrush. The biscuit was made without soda, but with plenty of alkali, harmonizing with the great quantity of alkali dust we had already swallowed.” One man, an English emigrant named Fred Harvey was determined to change…