Red or Green - New Mexico Food Scene is on Fire Archives - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog

Red or Green–New Mexico’s Food Scene Was on Fire in 2023

Gil Garduno — Mon, 01 Jan 2024 06:03:24 +0000

2023: The Year In Review T’was the year that was, a banner year for Gil’s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog with more milestones having been achieved. Most significantly to your friendly neighborhood restaurant review blogger was the continued dialogue–your sharing of comments noting contentment, humor, news or displeasure with me or some other food topic. There are now 13,869 comments on 1,370 reviews, an increase of 619 comments and 59 new reviews over 2022. My edacious publicist Bob of the Village of Los Ranchos (BOTVOLR) retains the lifetime commenter achievement award with well over 1200 comments over the life of the blog. In 2023, however, he was supplanted by the always clever and witty Lynn Garner as the year’s most prolific…

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Red or Green–New Mexico’s Food Scene Was on Fire in 2022

Gil Garduno — Sun, 01 Jan 2023 06:01:46 +0000

New Mexico’s restaurant owners ended 2022 with a sigh of relief after yet another tough year. While the number of guests has rebounded (to some extent), already slim profits were diminished even further. Restaurateurs faced ongoing struggles from inflationary pressure on food costs, hiring and retaining staff, along with supply chain issues and availability of key items. Restaurateurs felt the pressure on the bottom line in actual earnings. These challenges made staying in business a difficult proposition. A significant number of restaurant closures transpired during the year. On the flip side of the coin, it was a banner year for New Mexico restaurants with the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives crew featuring restaurants in Santa Fe, Albuquerque and…

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Red or Green–New Mexico’s Food Scene Was on Fire in 2021

Gil Garduno — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 06:02:18 +0000

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a cautious reemergence into a world where “normal” is constantly being redefined. New Mexico’s restaurants continue to push boundaries, shift paradigms, and invent new and better ways to serve their guests. 2021 saw the proliferation of the “ghost kitchen” concept. Bold restaurateurs began pushing back against parasitic delivery companies that misrepresented alliances with the very restaurants whose profits they usurp. Branded meals–ingredients, recipes and pre-cooking started by a restaurant and finished at home–became a part of the fabric that is dining out. So is the ever-increasing shift to off-premises dining and the growing popularity of food trucks. Menus were increasingly streamlined, in part to supply chain issues and staffing shortages. Most diners agree 2021 was an improvement…

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