Cantina Nueva: Millenial Love Child of Garduños

Burqueños (Albuquerque natives) are already familiar with Garduños, the traditional New Mexican cuisine hot spot for the town. Starting as a small family restaurant, they blossomed into a chain of restaurants all over the state and eventually expanding to a Las Vegas, Nevada location. Fans of Breaking Bad may be familiar with the restaurant, as the awkward guacamole meeting between the Schraders and the Whites takes place in a Garduños restaurant.

If Garduños is the place you take your abuelita for your traditional New Mexican cuisine, like enchiladas and stuffed sopapillas, their newest creation, Cantina Nueva is the place you take your vegan twenty-something foodie friend for New Mexican food with a twist. Cantina Nueva's menu expands on the unique traditional food of the region with modern flair. The menu features inventive dishes like Tempura Avocado Tacos and Carne Brushetta. They are also sure to include a wealth of vegan and gluten free options, which is not typically the norm for New Mexican cuisine.

I had the jackfruit nachos, which arrived in a mind-bogglingly huge portion that eve three of us couldn't slay in a single sitting. I was pleasantly surprised that the vegetarian option I selected was just as flavorful and delicious as the meat nachos I remember enjoy from my childhood.

As the name would suggest, while also a new, fresh take on an old tradition, the place is also a great place to grab a drink. The coconut margarita was excellent, flavorful and strong and their drink menu is expansive with more options of tequila and mezcal than I had known existed.

On top of a great menu, the space is also open and clean with colorful artwork and every member of the staff was engaging, kind, and delightful.