Description: Garduño’s is a small chain of restaurants limited to a handful of Southwestern cities and specializing in New Mexican cuisine. With locations throughout the city, Garduño’s is popular for lunch or an evening out. Reservations are not taken, and Friday and Saturday evenings are particularly busy, so plan on experiencing a wait for service.
The Garduño’s menu offers little for those who do not enjoy the regional dishes of the Southwest. But for those who do, it’s a place where one can expect reasonable authenticity and consistent quality. As a "restaurant and cantina," guests can expect to find their favorite cocktails as well as dinner or lunch. I favor margaritas and Mexican beer at Garduño’s. A margarita on the rocks with salt and Cuervo Gold is my "usual."
Meals are served with piping hot sopapillas (a fried puffy bread for which I have a particularly fondness), and guests can select from all the traditional Southwestern dishes, including tacos, enchiladas, tamales, burritos, chimichangas, taquitos, pasole, etc. Be sure to try the guacamole; it’s about the best I’ve eaten anywhere. Chile rellenos and stuffed sopapillas represent my favorite entrées. Most main dishes are served with a red or green chile sauce—or Christmas if you’d like a bit of both.
If you’re a newcomer unaccustomed to a chile-based diet, tell your server. These dishes are often spicy hot, and if you don’t enjoy that sort of food, get some guidance that will allow you to have a meal more to your taste.
Lunchtime features a buffet that includes most items on the regular menu, and often a few items that are not. For the novice at local cuisine, Garduño’s luncheon buffet is a good place for sampling, allowing you to an opportunity to discover what works and what doesn’t for your pallet. In my experience, the buffet is geared toward the lowest common denominator on the hot-and-spicy scale, so these dishes are less likely to blow out your spice meter than would offerings taken from the regular menu.
For dessert, if you have room left, try the flan. It’s another traditional regional dish. As a custard, it’s both a relatively light sweet and an effective counterpotion to the spicy entrées.
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