Category: James Beard Foundation – “Best Baker” Semifinalist – 2023

AlbuquerqueDog FriendlyFine DiningJames Beard Foundation - "Best Baker" Semifinalist - 2023New Mexico

Level 5 Rooftop Restaurant at Hotel Chaco – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

The Hotel For a nearly four-hundred year period, the Anasazi civilization which preceded New Mexico’s Pueblo cultures achieved the pinnacle of its technological and cultural advancement at a magnificent,  deep gorge called Chaco Canyon. Within the walls of Chaco Canyon, construction of multi-level buildings sprung up, some structures accommodating as many as  800 rooms. Not surprisingly, lower walls had to be made massive in order to support heavy stone walls up to five floors high.  It took remarkable planning to locate doors, passageways, kivas and other architectural features.  At five stories high,  Pueblo Bonito was the largest structure and the inspiration for Hotel Chaco’s spectacular venue in Albuquerque’s Sawmill District. In 2017, local developer Heritage Hotels launched Hotel Chaco on…

AlbuquerqueBakeryDog FriendlyJames Beard Foundation - "Best Baker" Semifinalist - 2023James Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersNew Mexico

Ihatov Bread and Coffee – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

“The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight.” ~ M.F.K. Fischer A colleague who was recently struck with a second bout of the Cabrona virus confided that while he could tolerate the malaise, coughing and body aches, what bothered him most was temporarily losing his sense of smell and taste.  He shared that he couldn’t live with not being able to imbibe the aroma of freshly baked bread right out of the oven.  That aroma is almost universally loved.  For many of us, it promotes a Pavlovian response and catapults us back to very specific points in our formative years.  These “odor-cued” memories may take place at…