Laredo’s Banana PuddingNew Mexico’s chilly spring winds had eased on the night of our interview of Jimmy ‘Laredo’ Samuels, who was celebrating his one-hundredth birthday. We met at Laredo’s Roundup on Fifth and Central SE, the downtown corner the café had anchored since Samuels gave up punching cows to open an eatery in the midst of the Great Depression. Laredo had doled out barbecued spareribs and pan-fried steaks over the next seventy-five years, confounding widespread predictions of failure. The café’s success was due to two things: good, basic ranch fare and absolutely the best banana pudding served to anyone anywhere at any time—ever!
Banana pudding? Nothing to it. A child can whip it up. My granny does it better! If that’s what you’re thinking, you’re entitled to your opinion, but u
