Tag: Hot Plate Award

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Tully’s Italian Deli & Meats – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

The sense of smell, more than any of our other senses, influences our ability to recall past events and experience. From among the five senses, fragrance is considered the most potent medium for conjuring up memories. True enough, some of the most enduring sensory memories of my years in the Boston area are reawakened thanks to the amazing aromas that greet me each time I visit Tully’s Italian Deli & Meats on San Mateo. It is with increased rarity that you find an authentic Italian deli which greets you at the door with the incomparable aroma of pastas, meatballs or sausages simmering in a perfect marriage of tomato sauce, garlic, basil and oregano. It’s also rare to find an Italian…

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Restoration Pizza – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

My dad taught me very early on that all people have inherent worth and dignity and are deserving of respect and kindness. A lifelong educator, he had a knack for reaching students deemed incorrigible or unteachable–students the “system” would just as soon discard. During his funeral nearly forty-five years ago, these were the students who cried hardest. They had just lost their biggest advocate, a teacher who believed in them, at times more than they believed in themselves. What set my dad apart from other teachers is that he demanded–and consequently received– no less than the best effort a student could put forth. He tried to instill that attitude in all students–demand the best of yourself, strive to achieve as…

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Nexus Brewery – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

Set in Albuquerque, Breaking Bad, AMC’s critically acclaimed television series may have left viewers with the impression that the Duke City is a haven for meth cookery and fried chicken joints.  Had the fair city been more accurately typecast, it would have have been portrayed as a mecca for microbreweries.  The Albuquerque Beer Scene blog says it best: “It’s like Portland, but with sun,”  a comparison which shows just how much the city’s microbrewery and brewpub scene has grown–and not just in terms of sheer numbers.  Duke City breweries have accorded themselves so well at the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup that the city may soon be re-christened “Albeerquerque.” When the New Mexico Tourism Department launched the…

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Duran’s Central Pharmacy – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

In an early episode of the Andy Griffith Show, while contemplating a job offer in South America, Andy tried to assuage his son Opie’s concerns about leaving Mayberry. Instead, he wound up confusing Opie by explaining that people in South America ate something called tortillas. Opie wondered aloud why anyone would eat spiders (tarantulas). Had Opie ever tasted the delicious, piping hot, just off the comal 10-inch buttered orbs at Duran’s Central Pharmacy, it’s unlikely he would ever confuse those grilled spheres with any arachnid. That’s because Duran’s features some of the very best tortillas of any restaurant in New Mexico. These are not the flavorless, paper-thin, production-line, machine-fashioned orbs you find at some restaurants (can you say Frontier Restaurant).…

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Frank’s Famous Chicken & Waffles – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

If one measure of success is having the wherewithal to pursue those things you love most, Frank Willis has led a very successful life. A towering skyscraper of a man, Frank has had four great loves in his life: family, basketball, music and chicken and waffles. They’ve been his passions and his raisons d’être. Maybe that’s why he’s done them all well. You might remember Frank Willis as a heavily coveted recruit who played basketball for the University of New Mexico Lobos, then the only game in town. At 6’8” and 260 pounds, he was a physical presence down on the post, helping the Lobos win the Western Athletic Conference championship in 1994. Knee injuries kept him from achieving the…

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The Frontier Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

Most college and university areas have at least one restaurant that transcends the “student hang-out” label to become a popular dining destination among all demographics, whether or not the diners matriculated at the nearby institution of higher learning. In Albuquerque that dining destination is the Frontier Restaurant. In its fifty plus years of serving the Duke City, the Frontier has gone beyond providing the quintessential college eatery experience. Some contend it may well be THE quintessential New Mexican restaurant. Serving Albuquerque since February, 1971, the commodious, barn-like Frontier Restaurant occupies half a city block (quite remarkable considering it started out as a small, one room eatery), seats more than 300 patrons and features an impressive gallery quality art collection which…

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Meraki Coffee + Market – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

“I saw Sisyphus in violent torment, seeking to raise a monstrous stone with both his hands. Verily he would brace himself with hands and feet, and thrust the stone toward the crest of a hill, but as often as he was about to heave it over the top, the weight would turn it back, and then down again to the plain would come rolling the ruthless stone. But he would strain again and thrust it back, and the sweat flowed down from his limbs, and dust rose up from his head.” ~Homer, The Odyssey Even those among us most satisfied with our jobs sometimes feel work is our personal Sisyphean ordeal.  That’s especially true on days in which work seems…

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M’tucci’s Italian Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

“Sometimes the spaghetti likes to be alone..” —Stanley Tucci as Segundo in Big Night With a name like M’Tucci’s Italian Restaurant, you might wonder if the Italian restaurant on the intersection of Coors and Montano is named for Academy Award nominated actor Stanley Tucci. After all, Tucci co-starred in Big Night and Julie & Julia, arguably two of the very best food movies in recent years. Initially christened M’tucci’s Kitchina, the “Kitchina” part of the restaurant’s name was obviously a whimsical play on “cucina,” the Italian term for kitchen, but was spelled more similarly to Kachina, the Hopi ancestral spirits. In any case, if the amusing name and fun, casual ambiance don’’t ensnare you, the food certainly will. Step into…

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Ironwood Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

I’m not sure Matt Moody could sell milk to the lactose intolerant or ice to an eskimo, but it would be hard to bet against him. The genial owner of the Ironwood Kitchen on Albuquerque’s sprawling far northwest, Matt has a rare enthusiasm for both his restaurant and his recipes.  He won’t just describe a dish on the menu, he’ll tell you how it’s prepared and may even give you the genesis of its ingredients. That type of enthusiasm and confidence is infectious. Matt is also wise and experienced enough to understand the customer is always right…even if he doesn’t agree with them.  When my friend Bill Resnik and I practically accused him of being a “Cuminista” for using cumin…

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Indigo Crow Cafe – Corrales, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

Now I lay myself down to sleep I pray oh lord my soul to keep Cause if I should die before I wake I hope up in Heaven they’ve got lobster and steak It’s a sin if Heaven ain’t got an Indigo Crow Best food down here up there they’ve gotta know. A Sin if Heaven ain’t got an Indigo Crow But if they don’t then why the hell should I go. Now I’ve tried every joint around here I’ve had green chile stew, I’ve had had my root beer But when I want to treat my taste buds right I know this place is drop-dead tight It’s a sin if Heaven ain’t got an Indigo Crow Best food down…