Category: Mexican

ArizonaDog FriendlyHot DogsMexicanRated 23SandwichUnited States

El Guero Canelo – Tucson, Arizona

Gil Garduno8:48 PM

If asked to participate in a word association exercise, any well-traveled foodie undergoing psychoanalysis would find it easy to name the first food that comes to mind when a city is mentioned: Philadelphia – the Philly cheesesteak sandwich; Boston – baked beans; Chicago – Italian beef sandwiches; San Francisco – sourdough bread; Milwaukee – butter burgers; San Antonio, New Mexico – green chile cheeseburgers.  You get the point.  Some foodies might not know that Philadelphia is the birthplace of liberty, but they know about Geno’s and Pat’s King of Steaks and their decades-long battle for Philly cheesesteak supremacy. You might find it strange that seemingly pedestrian foods would be the defining cuisine of burgeoning cosmopolitan cities, historically significant metropolises and…

ArizonaDiners Drive-Ins and DivesMexican

Salsa Brava – Flagstaff, Arizona

Gil Garduno2:55 PM

As the feminine form of “bravo,” brava translates from Spanish and Italian to “well done,” “excellent,” or “good.” Brava is often used to praise a female performer, often in conjunction with or preceding requesting an encore for a performance well executed.  Stemming from Italian and Spanish, brava can also be used to mean brave, angry or fierce.  I’m one of those Hispanic gents who expects…make that demands, salsa to be fierce and angry.  I want my salsa to bite me back, to reenforce through its potency and piquancy that pain is a flavor.  That’s especially true when a Mexican restaurant sports the audacious name “Salsa Brava.” Salsa Brava is a perpetual “best of the city” award-winner in Flagstaff.  It’s been…

BreakfastMexicanNew MexicanNew MexicoRated 24

Ramona’s Mexican Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, the wisdom of cookbook writers.” ~Laurie Colwin, Novelist Watch virtually any episode of Kitchen Nightmares and you might just be convinced that families can’t possibly work together in a restaurant.  Kitchen Nightmares, one of Gordon Ramsay’s eight-hundred or so television shows, is rather formulaic–Ramsay spends a week with a failing restaurant in an attempt to revive the business.  Almost invariably, the failing restaurant is owned and operated by a family.  Almost invariably, the drama falls just short of Homer strangling Bart.  Arguments on Kitchen Nightmares are loud and intense.  Copious…

MexicanNew MexicoRio Rancho

El Agave Mexican Restaurant – Rio Rancho, New Mexican

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Even the teetotalers among us recognize the importance of agave in the production of tequila and mescal.   What most of us may not fully appreciate is  agave’s diverse cultural and culinary significance, particularly in Mexico.  For example, the drought-resistant succulent plant has been used in medicinal treatments such as treating wounds, digestive ailments, and even as a remedy for coughs and sore throats.  It’s a source of natural sweetener and a healthier alternative to refined sugars.  Restaurants in Mexico use it to prepare salsas, marinades, desserts and even some traditional dishes.  Agave even plays a prominent role in indigenous cultures where it’s revered and valued.  Many of us use it to xeriscape our yards throughout the Southwest. Since October, 2017,…

AlbuquerqueMexicanNew MexicoTacos

Rotiseria Y Taqueria Alcantara – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, grocery prices have vaulted up 29% since February 2020.  Indeed, an Associated Press survey conducted in 2025 revealed that “the cost of groceries has become a major source of stress for just over half of all Americans — outpacing rent, health care and student debt.”  Very, very few grocery items have proven themselves inflation-proof.  Among those rare items is Costco’s rotisserie chicken which has remained the same price for years.  That consistently low price is a major reason Costco sells  more than 100-million ready-to-eat chickens each year. The obvious question when you peruse the menu at Rotiseria Y Taqueria Alcantara is “can a rotisserie chicken at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant possibly be six times…

AlbuquerqueHot DogsMexicanNew MexicoSandwichTacos

Dogos VIP – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Thanks largely to a 1974 Chevrolet commercial and its catchy tune, the phrase “As American as baseball, hot dogs and apple pie” has purportedly defined what Americans hold most sacrosanct.  Never mind that hot dogs are derivative of European sausages, they’re inextricably part of the fabric of the fruited plain. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (yes, there is such a thing) estimates that Americans eat seven billion hot dogs (so it’s not just me) during the unofficial summer season which runs from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. That’s 818 hot dogs per second and more than a third of the hot dogs eaten per year! July 19th has been designated National Hot Dog Day, but a case…

AlbuquerqueMexicanNew MexicoTacos

Arriba Shihuahua – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“How do they get away with using the name “Shihuahua” instead of Chihuahua,” I pondered, noting to myself that wokeism and cultural sensitivities have declared offensive virtually any term that  is perceived to diminish a culture or an individual (that perception usually being in the eye of the offended).  Surely, the National Mexican-American Anti-Defamation Committee would take umbrage at that name, much as it did more than fifty years ago when Frito Lay introduced the Frito Bandito.  For those of you not geriatrically advanced enough to remember the Frito Bandito, he was a cartoon mascot who spoke broken English and robbed people of their Fritos corn chips, a reference to the “Mexican bandit” stereotype in Western movies. As if to reinforce…

AlbuquerqueMexicanNew Mexico

Fiesta Azul Tequila House Mexican Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

TIM WALZ: “I have white guy tacos.” VP KAMALA HARRIS: “What does that mean? Like, mayonnaise and tuna? What are you doing?” TIM WALZ: “Pretty much-ground meat and cheese.” VP KAMALA HARRIS:  “Do you put any flavor in it?” TIM WALZ:  “Uh, no.  Black pepper is the top of the spice level in Minnesota, ya know” A promotional  video featuring the Democratic Presidential nominee sharing a funny exchange with her Vice Presidential pick revealed the latter’s “Midwestern tastes” which include a “white guy taco.”   Analysis of America’s voting preferences has been done for virtually every demographic category save perhaps the “taco vote.”   Sadly, in the world of politics even a video elicits rancor and outrage when it depicts candidates behaving…

AlbuquerqueMexicanNew MexicoRated 24Tacos

Rio Tacos – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In May, Mexico City’s Tacos El Califa de León, in the downtrodden San Rafael neighborhood became the first Mexican taco stand to win a Michelin star.  One of the things that makes its selection remarkable is that the taqueria is the antithesis of most Michelin starred restaurants.  It’s not elegant and its tables aren’t set with immaculately pressed white linens.  There are no sterling place-settings or fine china.   Instead, the taqueria has no tables or seats.  It’s standing room only with space for only a handful of guests and a metal counter on which they can balance their plates. Fittingly, the taqueria is all about tacos.  There’s nothing else on the menu, only four options: bistec (seared steak), chuleta…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2025Dog FriendlyGone But Not ForgottenMexicanNew MexicoTacos

Taco Santo – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

NOTE:  In July, 2025, Taco Santo ceased operating as a taqueria, reverting back to Holy Burger, long one of the city’s most popular burger joints. Jay Rayner, one of my very favorite restaurant critics and authors, has an inimitable gift for luring readers with reviews that go far beyond describing food.  His review of Santo Remedio, a Mexican restaurant in London, is one such example, starting with his astute   observation about the debate between authenticity and verisimilitude in culinary culture: “All too often in the food world, the war of expertise becomes a lumbering battle between the Real Thing and the Good Stuff. The Real Thingers have knowledge and experience on their side. They’ve eaten dishes in their place of origin,…

2023 James Beard Foundation - "Best Chef - Texas" Semifinalist2024 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Texas" Semifinalist2025 James Beard Foundation - "Best Chef - Texas" SemifinalistJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersMexicanTacosTexasUnited States

ELEMI – El Paso, Texas

Gil Garduno11:01 PM

My friend Steve Coleman, owner of the well-written and impeccably researched Steve’s Food Blog has become quite a culinary anthropologist.  Not only does he provide his readers with comprehensive reviews of restaurants throughout the fruited plain, he explores the genesis of the foods he writes about.  One of his passions is to define what constitutes El Paso style Mexican cuisine–its provenance and the cultural role that cuisine has played over the generations.  As he’s discovered, El Paso style Mexican style is still evolving and redefining itself.  Some of that has occurred organically as other cultures have influenced dynamic changes.  Evolution has also been forged by the rediscovery of ancient ingredients and cooking techniques, some of which may once have been…