 |
Since the release of RUSH on feb 3rd, it's been a nonstop journey for
bg. We flew home to NYC to rock snowscrapers for a few thousand of our
ny homies in below freezing temps, had an awesome time recording a live
performance for the super nice peeps at AOL (coming soon!), spun some
of our fave records at angels & kings, performed an acoustic
version of shine live on the air on ny's raddest radio station WRXP,
flew back to LA to record a new bg song called "the holy fool," then I
personally flew solo back to nyc to shake some tambourine and smack
some snare for my dear friend M. Ward on lettterman, and finally flew
back in dangerous winter weather to albuquerque to rendezvous with the
bg boys to start our tour. Whew.
On that harrowing midnite flight to NM, watching lighting bolts fly
through the clouds just outside my window, only one thing was on my
mind: New Mexican food. One must keep one's eyes on the prize, you
see. If you've happened to stumble upon bg's guide to LA Mexican food,
you know how insanely passionate we are. Is it weird to daydream about
the perfect chile relleno, tomatoe-y rice, and divine beans when your
plane feels like it's gonna do a nosedive?
My mexi-lust was so bad that I gave into a not-to-be named chain
"mexican" restaurant during my weather delayed layover in atl. Huge
mistake. This horrible tease just made me more lustful for the real
deal.
When I finally landed, it was late so I had to wait til the next day. I
awoke, ready to conquer with an hour before the boys picked me up. I
asked no less than three Albuquerque-ans where I could score. All three
were nice as can be and some even walked several blocks with me as I
picked their brains. "Check out anita's," said one kind lady. Anita's
sounded great but she was miles away and not walkable. My time was
running out so I caved again, this time to a chainy looking place that
flaunted "fresh roasted NM chiles." "Ok," i thought, "maybe it will be
good even though it looks like a chain joint." It was fucking
horrendous. Piles of tasteless cheesy goo do not a new Mexican meal
make. I felt betrayed, as if the Green Chile Gods were laughing at me.
0 for 2, newmexicus interruptus.
At this point, I was desperate. The crowd at the Launchpad that night
was warm and supportive so I asked for suggestions in the middle of our
set. "Frontier! It's open late!," screamed an clearly enthused dude.
"El Nido!," insisted another. Bg loves NM-the peeps of NM are the shit!
Alas, we had to head straight back to the hotel after the show. I
wanted to die. This is never gonna happen-we had to head out early next
morning to Colorado.
At 10am, we were off Then, randomly while we stopped for gas in las
vegas NM, I saw a sign right across the street-"the original 'johnny's
kitchen' a family tradition. Serving authentic new Mexican cuisine."
Oh Green Chile Gods, please shine upon me!
Upon entering, all signs were good-homey, comforting décor, sweet-faced
locals wearing the coolest stetsons sitting down to huge plates adorned
with gorgeous green and red sauces, antique pix of old cowboys, a
flourescent glass case displaying strange medicinal mexican herbs next
to automatic knives for sale, a golden mirror with a unicorn on top.
The man behind the counter said that his dad opened up the place 28
years ago. His mom and sister were in the kitchen, his kids waiting
tables. Then his dad walked out. This dude was as real as it gets.
Formidable sideburns, head to toe western wear and a oversize silver
southwestern ring that would have made morrissey blush.
The menu was vast and vegan friendly to boot. I went for it and
ordered the #1, the largest combo on the menu. It came with a burrito,
a chile relleno, a veg taco, a cheese enchilada, whole beans, pozole
(stewed hominy!), sopapillas (Indian fry bread served with honey),
fresh salsa and your choice of green or red chile sauce.
OMG, I'm in heaven. The pozole, which I've never tasted before because
it's usually not vegetarian, was so amazing that I almost cried. The
sopapillas were light and crispy, perfect for dipping into the chile
sauce or the side of honey for dessert. The beans were rich but not
lardy, firm but not mushy. The green chile sauce was flavorful and
tasted truly homemade. BLISS.
As my eyelids began to droop uncontrollably, lulling me into my heavenly siesta, a spotted a sign from outside our van:
"You are now leaving new Mexico. Hasta la vista!"
Please stop by johnny's kitchen if you are rolling through beautiful NM! 717 grand ave, las vegas, NM 87701. BG loves U.
10:50 PM
Powered by  | | English | | Albanian | | Arabic | | Bulgarian | | Catalan | | Chinese | | Croatian | | Czech | | Danish | | Dutch | | Estonian | | Filipino | | Finnish | | French | | Galician | | German | | Greek | | Hebrew | | Hindi | | Hungarian | | Indonesian | | Italian | | Japanese | | Korean | | Latvian | | Lithuanian | | Maltese | | Norwegian | | Polish | | Portuguese | | Romanian | | Russian | | Serbian | | Slovak | | Slovenian | | Spanish | | Swedish | | Thai | | Turkish | | Ukrainian | | Vietnamese |
|