Fine Dining Archives - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog

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

Gil Garduno — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 06:01:49 +0000

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…

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Ex Novo Brewing Co. – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 06:01:30 +0000

“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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The Compound – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 06:37:35 +0000

“It’s good…New Mexico good.” As a proud New Mexican, it galls me to hear apologists demean, denigrate and otherwise concede (quite erroneously) that restaurants in the Land of Enchantment are good, but not as good as restaurants elsewhere. It’s as if New Mexico’s restaurants can’t possibly be as good because…well, we’re New Mexico and we’re just not supposed to be very good. Look at where we rank in so many quality of life categories. It’s akin to University of New Mexico (UNM) Lobo basketball fans being content to make it to the “Sweet 16,” a goal no Lobos team has ever achieved. My counterargument is why the #$%*&! can’t a restaurant in New Mexico be considered one of, if not…

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