….today (and tomorrow?) are the days to get your (American) Kobe burger fix at Independence Grill.

Jerry Wright, as friendly a restauranteur as I could hope for, is closing the doors to this restaurant which has WON best burger in all of Albuquerque for his Caprese Burger, marrying juicy beef to mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil.  Albuquerque the Magazine crowned Jerry’s burger the winner over a year ago, but it was not enough to keep him going.

If you’ve never had one, stop in.  A restaurant’s closing is never good reason to just stop going – often the owner is already in debt and if you enjoy the food giving them one last vote of confidence and dollars is good for everyone.

Don’t forget his “pig wings”, one of the best porky appetizers in all the land.

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.