I’ve been told that it is totally normal to shoulder shimmy when you’ve just tasted something delightful. I’ve done it before—a little wiggle when my partner pulls something perfect off the grill—but it was at a breakfast back East with my best friend that I learned the full-body reaction has a name. The involuntary shoulder shake, “yummm” to the sky, and hand flutter near the face—all of it, apparently, is just what happens when your taste buds hit something special.
That same reflex followed me to a lesser-traveled stretch of Historic Route 66 in western New Mexico, where two stops—one rooted in scratch-made comfort food, the other in smoke, steel, and blues—delivered meals worth moving your shoulders over.
Thatz Good Eden
What started as a bright yellow food truck in Albuquerque has taken root as a brick-and-mortar favorite in Milan. A hop and skip westward found me, one fine Sunday, at the counter of Thatz Good Eden. I was met by a team of women who immediately gave vibes of nurturing, fun, and family. We laughed together before I took the first bite.
Thatz Good Eden calls its menu multicultural, which is an on-the-nose way of saying that this crew is all about down-home cooking and can serve up anything from a burger to spaghetti to Haitian barbecue, from Caribbean stew and Southern fried fish to meat and cheese empanadas. These women are not intimidated by a recipe because they are working off spice, soul, and sisterhood…