Tag: Small Plates

AlbuquerqueFine DiningJames Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Southwest" Semifinalist - 2024James Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersNew MexicanNew Mexico

Ex Novo Brewing Co. – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

“What if this is the new luxury food?”  That’s the rhetorical question Chef Marc Quiñones posed to diners at New York City’s legendary James Beard House as he introduced his revolutionary New Mexican ranch-inspired menu during a dinner service on September 28, 2024.  He elaborated the goal of his new restaurant gig at Ex Novo Brewing Company in Albuquerque is to make wonderful food approachable, something everyone can enjoy.  Having worked at high-end, fine-dining establishments for nearly two decades, Chef Quiñones is a virtuoso in the art of fine-dining.  Instead of another exorbitantly priced menu beyond the reach of many diners, he created a superb menu centered around the highest quality food at a price point for everyone–served in a…

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Whiptail – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

We all know New Mexico has an official state aroma (green chiles roasting),  an official state cookie (biscochito),  official state vegetables (chile and pinto beans), but did you know the Land of Enchantment has an official state reptile?  Chastity Bustos does.  In fact, in she named her new eatery  in honor of that reptile, the New Mexico whiptail (Aspidoscelis neomexicanus).  When I asked Chastity if she knew the New Mexico whiptail is a female-only species that doesn’t need male lizards to reproduce, she jokingly replied “it’s all about girl power.” Don’t get the impression that Chastity subscribes to the slogan popularized by feminist icon Gloria Steinem: “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.”  Chastity and her husband…

AmericanDog FriendlyNew MexicoTaos County

Medley – El Prado, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

You’re probably expecting my review of an El Prado restaurant named “Medley” to start with a musical theme, maybe likening the menu to “a musical composition made up of a series of songs or short pieces.”  That would be an easy way to do it, but it would also be slightly disingenuous.  Medley isn’t named for anything having to do with music and though the menu is akin to a composition, the restaurant and wine shop are named for Chefs-Owners Colleen and Wilks Medley.  Medley is also, according to the restaurant’s website is a philosophy–“something good, for everyone.” That something good absolutely starts with its incomparable setting.  Almost equidistant between Taos Plaza and the Taos Ski Valley, Medley is situated…