The owners of the newly updated and finally tasty again Luna Mansion in Los Lunas were taking a nice little respite in Chile when the earthquake hit.

After a long bout of fear, a ton of agog staring at the damage around them, and thanking the stars for their fortune, they are back in town and ready to spread some generosity – a special dinner Thursday night to benefit the relief effort.

NOW is the time to check out Luna Mansion all over again, for the food (and this event if your schedule is free).

I can’t quite come up with a more appropriate title for this post, so I’ll get to the point.

Holy.  Fudgin’.  Shite.

Yeah, it was the most expensive meal of my life.  But when you get all pragmatic about it, in terms of dollars per minute per molecule of enjoyment, it was a bloody bargain.

The French Laundry is a bargain.   Yes, yes it is.  It has been a bargain since it opened over a decade ago, it was all through those intervening  years with visits from foodies and aspiring gastronauts, and it still is.

Now, away from the pragmatism, I’ll give you a very brief degustation with as little gushing as possible.

Rose, salmon, gougeres, caviar, panna cotta, fois gras, endive, black bass, sea urchin, scallops, Shiraz, veal tongue, pork belly, lamb roast, camembert, carrot cake, passionfruit sorbet, peanut butter chocolate mousse, citrus sorbet w/ olive oil, almond tart, mignardeses.

Yowch.  I do not feel the pain of overindulgence, nor do I feel any pain of sticker shock.  All is appropriate, all is perfection. No less than two dozen people had a hand in making my meal divine, including about a dozen in the kitchen.  They all earned it, especially my server who recommended the perfect wines and even chatted with me graciously about running and his own marathon training plans.  Unlike at a standard chain restaurant, I never got his name, so I can only say, Good luck!!!

The other thing I can say to those who balk at a several-hundred-dollar meal is this:

How much did you spend the last time you got on a plane to visit relatives for the holidays, or see a friend, or (forbid) take a business trip?  Was *that* four hours of your life enjoyable?  And how many times per year or decade do you spend that kind of money on transportation?  I rest my case.

Eat well.  Be well.  Take care.

Well, it might have been inevitable, but Garduno’s Mexican Restaurant(s) is moving towards their steamy, chile-laced end.

As of yesterday, three of five locations are closed for good, and the corporation is filing for Chapter 11.

I reported on this news previously, and wondered how they could recover in their fight against the state, which now looks like it is a fight against a former employee.  They’re having a hard time tracking him down???  Don’t records exist with social security numbers, etc – especially if it was an employee there long enough to be able to steal over a million dollars.  That seems bizarre to me.

In any case, if you actually do appreciate their food and festive atmosphere, do go enjoy it while it lasts.

So…. there’s a pretty well regarded chain of “upscale” burgers moving into Albuquerque.  Not sure about their prospects, given that the Duke City already has a huge number of really good burger places where we can get our fix of either gooey green chile cheese or the truly squishy and delicious Otis Burger at Standard Diner (fried egg and all).

Per the NMBW, “For hamburger aficionados hungering for gourmet beef chains to arrive in New Mexico, the wait is over. Five Guys Burgers and Fries, a fixture on the East Coast, is invading the Land of Enchantment with 15 restaurants over the next five years.”

So what can Five Guys do that we already cannot?  (Apparently one thing they do that I applaud is print their nutrition info – that’s one thing that the chains have been browbeaten into doing in recent years and I don’t think it is a bad move.)

My hope is that if they do well, it is not at the expense of gems like Little Red Hamburger Hut and Bubster’s and heck, even places that are more refined like Independence Grill and Route 66 Malt Shop (yes, I called them refined – its the burger, not the atmosphere, that I’m assessing).

So where is it?  In that weird little nexus of Louisiana, San Pedro, and Paseo Del Norte that I had very little reason to frequent previously (Trader Joe’s) and now I’m pretty much never up there.  Guess I’ll be making another visit.

I’m shocked and appalled that I have not yet blogged about this!  Coming up in just one week, Albuquerque Restaurant Week will showcase a ton of local favorites, special menus, and no-fuss pricing for complete meals.  Most restaurants – which are scattered all over town for your dining convenience – are using the $25/person model, with only two squeaking in for $25/couple (Flying Star and Sandiago’s at the Tram).

Are all of those meals screaming bargains for the $25?  Not necessarily.  That’s not the point, though you will find some respectable discounts relative to just ordering the same food off the menu, especially at places like Prairie Star, Lucia, and Casa Vieja, where your $25 meal would be in the 35+ range or so.

But again, that’s not the point – many of these restaurants are showcasing their most recent creations and I think there are just a few that have crafted an entirely new set of flavors just for this event.  Who’s doing that?  I’ll do the research and report back – stay tuned!

There are even some special events and dinners outside of the “regular” $25 specials, so make sure you take a peek at those.

So, what is the point? Simply, it is to get you all out eating at our local establishments.  Inspire passion and appreciation for those hard working cooks and chefs who put out food that would be respected in any major city, food that gets you fumbling for your phone so you can try to take a blurry photo or text your best friend to convey the wonderfulness that is happening in your mouth and on your plate.

Get out, enjoy our restaurants, and eat glorious food.  Perfect.