Interestingly, Chris and Pete Martinez, under the new ownership, will start up a subsidiary company to sell salsa and BBQ sauce. It will be called The Authentic New Mexican and is something they feel they can make money on, unlike tortillas which are suffering from high raw materials costs that have devastated many all across Mexico in the last few years, causing tortillerias to close en masse and families to feel the pinch. If “the authentic New Mexican” is the kind of folk that adds their family-owned long term business into the sludge pile of a multinational conglomerate, then I suppose they are doing OK.
GRUMA also could have an influence on the high prices of corn that are sending all these little tortillerias out of business, as stated in the article, “In 2009 GRUMA controlled an estimated 75 percent of the strategic corn flour market in Mexico”
Who’s left for the locally owned? Just one, from what I know: La Mexicana Tortilla Company. They have a downtown restaurant and are some of the nicest people I’ve talked to in a long time. Stop by and say hello, and have some fantastic chips and salsa.
Los Cuates, one of the stalwarts in our NM food scene, is expanding to a new location in Santa Fe – good for them! They’ll be inside the newly renovated Santa Fe Lodge hotel with a grand opening scheduled for early May. Another local opening will be at the Sunport, taking over the Garduno’s spot after winning the bid over El Pinto. The “Twins” will soon be quadruplets!
Next month was the deadline for a bunch of local restaurants to install really crazy expensive new sprinkler systems, and no one is happy about it – not the restauranteurs nor the city officials who will have to enforce the law, so they granted another 90 day extension to the businesses. I’ll be on the look out for closings over the summer due to small establishments not being able to pony up the $100K to update their systems. Ouch.
Really good restaurants often do well, that’s what I love to see. Here’s my quote of the week: “Recession? What recession?” – Christophe Descarpentries, one of the owners of P’tit Louis Bistro, with one downtown location and another opening up in Nob Hill. Well deserved, guys!
One of the heroes of my early days as a foodie here in Albuquerque is leaving town for family reasons – Chef Sam Etheridge, with a storied history in landmarks like Portabello, Bien Shur, Kanome, Ambrozia, and Nob Hill Bar & Grill had a decade to make you all happy with duck tacos, lobster corndogs, amazing Sunday brunches and the weirdest food innovations this town has seen in years, many of which are now standard menu items at your favorite restaurants. He spent the last several years as a writer for the Local IQ, tending to his cooking and his family. I wish him the best.
Aye Carumba, there has been some crazy food-related news here in the Duke City as of late. First of all, if I were going to get into an altercation (with rocks!) over some stolen food it might be oysters or chocolate or red chile . . . but a muffin? And, (sorry guys), but really – a muffin from Copper Canyon Cafe, which may very well have come from Costco?
It only gets more interesting and sordid after that. Garduno’s continues to splinter, after the current creditors decided that the remaining family owners were more trouble than they were worth and canned the lot of them. Henrique Valdovinos is the head of the current ownership-group and he wants the much-slashed chain to remain open and viable for years to come, especially if someone steps in and buys the business. Anyone got $1.75mil?
Readers voted over the course of a month, and the BIG honkin’ list is now out from the Local IQ, the upstart little alternative newspaper that continues to succeed. I applaud them, I hope they stay around for awhile, and make sure you visit the businesses featured on the list!
Some personal faves, where the readers at large and I agree:
Most Romantic Restaurant
Blades’ Bistro
221 State Highway # L, Placitas, 505.771.0695 bladesbistro.com
Blades is under-appreciated for their tucked away location, their gracious hosts, and the “wow” factor for special meals. Everyone knows about Antiquity and Jennifer James 101 – Blades is something new and nifty for most Duke City diners.
Best Place to get a Chocolate Fix
Chocolate Cartel
315 Juan Tabo NE, Ste. A, 505.797.1193 chocolatecartel.com
Hells Yeah! Even if it is only one of the two original brothers, I’ll still take the confections that come from any cute tall man, especially when the flavors are delicious and weird and the chocolate is not cheap Rocky Mountain Chain Place crap.
Best Pizza
Farina Pizzeria
510 Central SE, 505.243.0130 farinapizzeria.com
Stewart Dorris took his wine skills and pie-loving friends across the street from Artichoke and has been making sweet music with dough and tomatoes and meatballs ever since. GO.
Oh, but I disagreed with y’all (or the Local IQ) on a lot of food categories…. stay tuned for that dirt.
Oops. It helps if you actually cook the food in your buffet, and keep it nice and hot so that little critters don’t start growing in it. But that wasn’t quite happening for the AA Buffet on Juan Tabo, who got a rare RED sticker on their health inspection after an eater complained of cold food.
“Inspectors said they found raw shrimp on the buffet, chicken not kept hot enough, improper sanitizing and soiled and moist cloths on the kitchen counters.”
I’m a huge fan of raw food – WHEN it is from a clean source and meant to be served raw. That’s a big difference from a place like a buffet where dozens or hundreds of people are looking for inexpensive belly-filling sustenance.
AA Buffet also serves sushi and oysters on the half shell – something I’d be pretty wary of, not only because their sanitation is in doubt, but because the source of the (non-oyster) fish is probably factory farms and East Asian shrimperies. It’s hard to avoid, true, but when I *know* I can avoid meat of questionable origin, I still will do my best.
R.I.P. Albuquerque Tortilla Company
Interestingly, Chris and Pete Martinez, under the new ownership, will start up a subsidiary company to sell salsa and BBQ sauce. It will be called The Authentic New Mexican and is something they feel they can make money on, unlike tortillas which are suffering from high raw materials costs that have devastated many all across Mexico in the last few years, causing tortillerias to close en masse and families to feel the pinch. If “the authentic New Mexican” is the kind of folk that adds their family-owned long term business into the sludge pile of a multinational conglomerate, then I suppose they are doing OK.
