Hello All,

We'll be n Santa Fe and ABQ for the Christmas Holidays.
As per usual, I've left making reservations until the very last second.
We fly into ABQ on the afternoon of the 22nd - dinner that night will be
at Ron's El Camino Royale on Yale (which you guys recommended years
ago), I'm hoping it is still there - I've been jonsin' for some Indian
Fry Bread for the last seven years (since the last time we were there).
We'll be in Santa Fe from the 23rd through the 26th, ABQ from the 26th
through the 29th (note taking may be necessary at this point).
Christmas eve will start with a soak at Ten Thousand Waves and then
dinner at La Casa Sena (the Cantina - it looked like a good time). I've
made no reservations for the 25th - my bad.
Generally, we're not reservation types of eaters, but around the
holidays, out of our element (Dallas area), it seems like this should be
done. Any suggestions? I'm down to the wire here and am a bit nervous
about the availability of places being open. The lovely BnB we'll be
staying at will provide breakfast....

Last time we were there, seven years ago, was at Thanksgiving - I hadn't
made any type of plans for meals - we ended up eating sandwiches that
we'd picked up the day before at a grocery store, at Bandolier National
Park. I can honestly say that it was one of the best Thanksgivings that
the spouse and I ever had.

Any suggestions for food and fun would be most appreciated. Our
anniversary is the 27th (for you non note takers, we'll be back in ABQ
then) and maybe we should do something special (not necessarily upscale,
just enjoyable).

Nothing like waiting until the very last second...

Thank you all in advance,

patrice

On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 17:36:02 GMT, patrice >
wrote:

>Hello All,
>
>We'll be n Santa Fe and ABQ for the Christmas Holidays.
>As per usual, I've left making reservations until the very last second.
>We fly into ABQ on the afternoon of the 22nd - dinner that night will be
>at Ron's El Camino Royale on Yale (which you guys recommended years
>ago), I'm hoping it is still there

I would avoid that place now. Years ago, it was good, but not anymore.
If I wanted some good NM food, I would head to Los Cuates, or Sadies.
This is a site you might want to take a look at for some current
reviews of Albuquerque places:

http://www.nmia.com/~thriller/


- I've been jonsin' for some Indian
>Fry Bread for the last seven years (since the last time we were there).
>We'll be in Santa Fe from the 23rd through the 26th, ABQ from the 26th
>through the 29th (note taking may be necessary at this point).
>Christmas eve will start with a soak at Ten Thousand Waves and then
>dinner at La Casa Sena (the Cantina - it looked like a good time). I've
>made no reservations for the 25th - my bad.
>Generally, we're not reservation types of eaters, but around the
>holidays, out of our element (Dallas area), it seems like this should be
>done. Any suggestions? I'm down to the wire here and am a bit nervous
>about the availability of places being open. The lovely BnB we'll be
>staying at will provide breakfast....
>
>Last time we were there, seven years ago, was at Thanksgiving - I hadn't
>made any type of plans for meals - we ended up eating sandwiches that
>we'd picked up the day before at a grocery store, at Bandolier National
>Park. I can honestly say that it was one of the best Thanksgivings that
>the spouse and I ever had.
>
>Any suggestions for food and fun would be most appreciated. Our
>anniversary is the 27th (for you non note takers, we'll be back in ABQ
>then) and maybe we should do something special (not necessarily upscale,
>just enjoyable).

Again, look at that site I just posted.

Christine

: >We'll be n Santa Fe and ABQ for the Christmas Holidays.
: >As per usual, I've left making reservations until the very last second.
: >We fly into ABQ on the afternoon of the 22nd - dinner that night will be
: >at Ron's El Camino Royale on Yale (which you guys recommended years
: >ago), I'm hoping it is still there

: I would avoid that place now. Years ago, it was good, but not anymore.
: If I wanted some good NM food, I would head to Los Cuates, or Sadies.

Los Cuates is very good and quite reasonably priced. Definitely recommended.
But I can't understand why ANYONE would want to go to Sadies! You'll have
to wait an hour or hour and a half just to eat bad, bland food. I'd skip
it - there are other much better places around. I'm baffled as to why
lots of folks think it's good New Mexican food.

wrote:
> : >We'll be n Santa Fe and ABQ for the Christmas Holidays.
> : >As per usual, I've left making reservations until the very last second.
> : >We fly into ABQ on the afternoon of the 22nd - dinner that night will be
> : >at Ron's El Camino Royale on Yale (which you guys recommended years
> : >ago), I'm hoping it is still there
>
> : I would avoid that place now. Years ago, it was good, but not anymore.
> : If I wanted some good NM food, I would head to Los Cuates, or Sadies.
>
> Los Cuates is very good and quite reasonably priced. Definitely recommended.
> But I can't understand why ANYONE would want to go to Sadies! You'll have
> to wait an hour or hour and a half just to eat bad, bland food. I'd skip
> it - there are other much better places around. I'm baffled as to why
> lots of folks think it's good New Mexican food.

We went to Los Cuates the last time we were there. From what I remember
( I hope I'm remembering the right place) it was very close to Tex
Mex, as opposed to New Mexican - which is very different in taste.
Tex Mex is readily available here. New Mexican spices have a very
different smell and taste - very enjoyable, and very hard to come by in
these parts.
Is Los Cuates similar to Tex Mex, or am I remembering a different place?

Christine Dabney wrote:

> On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 17:36:02 GMT, patrice >
> wrote:
>
>
>>Hello All,
>>
>>We'll be n Santa Fe and ABQ for the Christmas Holidays.
>>As per usual, I've left making reservations until the very last second.
>>We fly into ABQ on the afternoon of the 22nd - dinner that night will be
>>at Ron's El Camino Royale on Yale (which you guys recommended years
>>ago), I'm hoping it is still there
>
>
> I would avoid that place now. Years ago, it was good, but not anymore.
> If I wanted some good NM food, I would head to Los Cuates, or Sadies.
> This is a site you might want to take a look at for some current
> reviews of Albuquerque places:
>
> http://www.nmia.com/~thriller/
>
>
> - I've been jonsin' for some Indian
>
>>Fry Bread for the last seven years (since the last time we were there).
>>We'll be in Santa Fe from the 23rd through the 26th, ABQ from the 26th
>>through the 29th (note taking may be necessary at this point).
>>Christmas eve will start with a soak at Ten Thousand Waves and then
>>dinner at La Casa Sena (the Cantina - it looked like a good time). I've
>>made no reservations for the 25th - my bad.
>>Generally, we're not reservation types of eaters, but around the
>>holidays, out of our element (Dallas area), it seems like this should be
>>done. Any suggestions? I'm down to the wire here and am a bit nervous
>>about the availability of places being open. The lovely BnB we'll be
>>staying at will provide breakfast....
>>
>>Last time we were there, seven years ago, was at Thanksgiving - I hadn't
>>made any type of plans for meals - we ended up eating sandwiches that
>>we'd picked up the day before at a grocery store, at Bandolier National
>>Park. I can honestly say that it was one of the best Thanksgivings that
>>the spouse and I ever had.
>>
>>Any suggestions for food and fun would be most appreciated. Our
>>anniversary is the 27th (for you non note takers, we'll be back in ABQ
>>then) and maybe we should do something special (not necessarily upscale,
>>just enjoyable).
>
>
> Again, look at that site I just posted.
>
> Christine

THanks for the site! I'm enjoying reading the reviews.

I believe it's Ron's El Camino Real - sorry. What happened to ROn's?
We really did enjoy the place and I'm wondering why it's to be avoided now.

patrice

On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 22:51:51 GMT, patrice >
wrote:


>Is Los Cuates similar to Tex Mex, or am I remembering a different place?

I think you might be remembering a different place. Los Cuates is
classic New Mexican, as far as I know

If you want good New Mexican, you can go to Maria's in Santa Fe as
well.

Christine

On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 22:54:34 GMT, patrice >
wrote:

>I believe it's Ron's El Camino Real - sorry. What happened to ROn's?
>We really did enjoy the place and I'm wondering why it's to be avoided now.

It was good when his wife was with him: she has been his ex for a long
time. I think she was the main cook behind it when it was good.

How long ago were you there?

Christine

On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 22:54:34 GMT, patrice >
wrote:

>I believe it's Ron's El Camino Real - sorry. What happened to ROn's?
>We really did enjoy the place and I'm wondering why it's to be avoided now.

I was googling about it just now, and it seems it may have changed
hands, and is no longer where it used to be.

I was just in Albuquerque over the summer, and I saw it on Yale, but
it did look different.

I would say, sure go ahead and try it out. But from the reports I
have heard, you can do better, if you want classic New Mexican.

One good one is Pereas, which is on Central..but they only serve
breakfast and lunch.

I know there are others, and a friend took me to one in September, but
the name escapes me now. It was really good.

Christine

M&Js Sanitary Tortilla Factory, on 2nd downtown, for lunch
Garcias Kitchen, any location, for huevos or for dinners

Old Town on Christmas Eve for the farolitos (luminarias)

I'm jealous and homesick! I don't get to go back til next summer.

On 19 Dec 2005 16:49:51 -0800, "Jude" > wrote:

>M&Js Sanitary Tortilla Factory, on 2nd downtown, for lunch
>Garcias Kitchen, any location, for huevos or for dinners
>
>Old Town on Christmas Eve for the farolitos (luminarias)
>
>I'm jealous and homesick! I don't get to go back til next summer.

The Sanitary Tortilla Factory is no more. It closed a while back.

Christine

Patrice wrote:

> We'll be n Santa Fe and ABQ for the Christmas Holidays.
<snip>
> Any suggestions for food and fun would be most appreciated.

I have the cookbook from El Farol, and if it's any indication, the
restaurant is fantastic.

Bob

Christine said:The Sanitary Tortilla Factory is no more. It closed a
while back.

Oh no! I will never forget that place. M&J's. Short for Mary &
Joseph's. If you'd go there between November and january, they would
offer you a free calander with a choice of pictures on it. You could
choose from religious icons of Mary, Joseph, or Jesus, or the Aztec
Love God theme with half-naked guys in feathered headdresses sweepinh
busty maidens off their feet.

They were hard core about the 'sanitary' part, too. The honey for the
sopas was only available in the little single serving platic packets. I
remember asking them about the cost-effectiveness and environmental
impact of that, and them reminding me of all the little kids licking
honey off the bottle in the non-Sanitary restaurants.

Awesome lunch specials. You could order the Monday special any day of
the week, it was just NAMED the Monday special. Same for the Tuesday,
Wednesday, and etc.

I know I went there last summer (2004). Never heard about them closing.
<sigh>

My other recommendation is to be sure to get to the Frontier for some
people-watching, sticky sweet rolls, and the vat of green chile salsa
to ladle over everything, the best being the Western Style Hash Browns
with an egg on top.

And of course, for pure unadulterated green chile, I used to go to the
lunch counter at Duran's pharmacy and get a bowl of green with cheese,
and one of their nice thick fluffy handmade tortillas.

I want to move back just for the FOOD!! I'm about halfway through my
sack of green chiles from this fall, but it's such a pain always having
to peel, seed, and chop, never just order.

Was up in Santa Fe in the Spring, had a yearning for Japanese/Sushi, and
went to Osaka on Cerrillos Rd. The Sushi was superb, and rivaled any
top Sushi bar I've been to in Chicago. A little bit expensive, but I
enjoyed it very much.
Mark

Christine Dabney wrote:

> On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 22:54:34 GMT, patrice >
> wrote:
>
>
>>I believe it's Ron's El Camino Real - sorry. What happened to ROn's?
>>We really did enjoy the place and I'm wondering why it's to be avoided now.
>
>
> It was good when his wife was with him: she has been his ex for a long
> time. I think she was the main cook behind it when it was good.
>
> How long ago were you there?
>
> Christine

I'm pretty sure it was seven years ago, give or take a year.
Someone from this list recommended it (Hubba Bubba? I'm a Bubba?
Something like that.). We really enjoyed the place. I had way too much
fry bread - some with the honeybutter and more with lettuce, cheese and
beans. I think they called it Indian pizza. Spouse had pork in adobado
sauce and was mighty happy. I remember there being posole with his meal
also. I'm not a meat eater at all, so my meal was great (I'm trying to
lie to myself that the beans weren't made in lard.) We've joked for
years that we should just hop a flight out and have lunch there - didn't
happen. Guess that's what it's disheartening to hear that it's not that
great anymore.
Something very similar would suffice I'm sure.

Christine Dabney wrote:

> On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 22:54:34 GMT, patrice >
> wrote:
>
>
>>I believe it's Ron's El Camino Real - sorry. What happened to ROn's?
>>We really did enjoy the place and I'm wondering why it's to be avoided now.
>
>
> I was googling about it just now, and it seems it may have changed
> hands, and is no longer where it used to be.
>
> I was just in Albuquerque over the summer, and I saw it on Yale, but
> it did look different.
>
> I would say, sure go ahead and try it out. But from the reports I
> have heard, you can do better, if you want classic New Mexican.
>
> One good one is Pereas, which is on Central..but they only serve
> breakfast and lunch.
>
> I know there are others, and a friend took me to one in September, but
> the name escapes me now. It was really good.
>
> Christine

Think Christine, think!

Jude wrote:

> Christine said:The Sanitary Tortilla Factory is no more. It closed a
> while back.
>
> Oh no! I will never forget that place. M&J's. Short for Mary &
> Joseph's. If you'd go there between November and january, they would
> offer you a free calander with a choice of pictures on it. You could
> choose from religious icons of Mary, Joseph, or Jesus, or the Aztec
> Love God theme with half-naked guys in feathered headdresses sweepinh
> busty maidens off their feet.
>
> They were hard core about the 'sanitary' part, too. The honey for the
> sopas was only available in the little single serving platic packets. I
> remember asking them about the cost-effectiveness and environmental
> impact of that, and them reminding me of all the little kids licking
> honey off the bottle in the non-Sanitary restaurants.
>
> Awesome lunch specials. You could order the Monday special any day of
> the week, it was just NAMED the Monday special. Same for the Tuesday,
> Wednesday, and etc.
>
> I know I went there last summer (2004). Never heard about them closing.
> <sigh>
>
> My other recommendation is to be sure to get to the Frontier for some
> people-watching, sticky sweet rolls, and the vat of green chile salsa
> to ladle over everything, the best being the Western Style Hash Browns
> with an egg on top.
>
> And of course, for pure unadulterated green chile, I used to go to the
> lunch counter at Duran's pharmacy and get a bowl of green with cheese,
> and one of their nice thick fluffy handmade tortillas.
>
> I want to move back just for the FOOD!! I'm about halfway through my
> sack of green chiles from this fall, but it's such a pain always having
> to peel, seed, and chop, never just order.
>

I'll put the Frontier and Duran's on my list of places to try. Thanks!

Mark D wrote:

> Was up in Santa Fe in the Spring, had a yearning for Japanese/Sushi, and
> went to Osaka on Cerrillos Rd. The Sushi was superb, and rivaled any
> top Sushi bar I've been to in Chicago. A little bit expensive, but I
> enjoyed it very much.
> Mark
>

Thanks for the recommendation!

GQ wrote:

> On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 17:36:02 GMT, patrice >
> wrote:
>
>
>>Hello All,
>>
>>We'll be n Santa Fe and ABQ for the Christmas Holidays.
>>As per usual, I've left making reservations until the very last second.
>>We fly into ABQ on the afternoon of the 22nd - dinner that night will be
>>at Ron's El Camino Royale on Yale (which you guys recommended years
>>ago), I'm hoping it is still there - I've been jonsin' for some Indian
>>Fry Bread for the last seven years (since the last time we were there).
>>We'll be in Santa Fe from the 23rd through the 26th, ABQ from the 26th
>>through the 29th (note taking may be necessary at this point).
>>Christmas eve will start with a soak at Ten Thousand Waves and then
>>dinner at La Casa Sena (the Cantina - it looked like a good time). I've
>>made no reservations for the 25th - my bad.
>>Generally, we're not reservation types of eaters, but around the
>>holidays, out of our element (Dallas area), it seems like this should be
>>done. Any suggestions? I'm down to the wire here and am a bit nervous
>>about the availability of places being open. The lovely BnB we'll be
>>staying at will provide breakfast....
>>
>>Last time we were there, seven years ago, was at Thanksgiving - I hadn't
>>made any type of plans for meals - we ended up eating sandwiches that
>>we'd picked up the day before at a grocery store, at Bandolier National
>>Park. I can honestly say that it was one of the best Thanksgivings that
>>the spouse and I ever had.
>>
>>Any suggestions for food and fun would be most appreciated. Our
>>anniversary is the 27th (for you non note takers, we'll be back in ABQ
>>then) and maybe we should do something special (not necessarily upscale,
>>just enjoyable).
>>
>>Nothing like waiting until the very last second...
>>
>>Thank you all in advance,
>>
>>patrice
>
>
> Enjoy yourself. I live in the southern part of the state and it is
> cold down here too. LOL

We're really looking forward to going back. Our last trip there was
most enjoyable. Since then, I've started knitting, and we're even
plannig a trip out to an alpaca farm.
Of course, all the wonderful New Mexican type foods top my list for why
I want to go back.

Christine Dabney wrote:

> On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 22:51:51 GMT, patrice >
> wrote:
>
>
>
>>Is Los Cuates similar to Tex Mex, or am I remembering a different place?
>
>
> I think you might be remembering a different place. Los Cuates is
> classic New Mexican, as far as I know
>
> If you want good New Mexican, you can go to Maria's in Santa Fe as
> well.
>
> Christine

I'm glad to hear that I'm remembering somewhere else. I'm positive that
we went to Los Cuates - I distinctly remember the large picture of the
namesakes (the twins) that hung in the front area of the place. Since
we didn't have a bad meal the whole time we were there it must have been
fine.
Having said that, we actually did have a bad meal, really bad, in ABQ.
It was the night of Thanksgiving when we got settled into the BnB in
ABQ. Seems like everything was closed and the sandwiches that we'd
eaten in Bandolier had worn off hours before. We went to a place called
the Cooperage - it was miserable. I've completely blocked out what the
meals were, and to top it off, the rest rooms were filthy.

I will put Maria's on my list, where is it located in Santa Fe?

On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 04:50:59 GMT, patrice >
wrote:

>I will put Maria's on my list, where is it located in Santa Fe?

It is on Cordova Road, I think. It is fairly well known, so just ask
around. Supposedly killer Margaritas as well... I have gotten
wonderful food there.

Christine

Christine Dabney wrote:
> On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 04:50:59 GMT, patrice >
> wrote:
>
>
>>I will put Maria's on my list, where is it located in Santa Fe?
>
>
> It is on Cordova Road, I think. It is fairly well known, so just ask
> around. Supposedly killer Margaritas as well... I have gotten
> wonderful food there.
>
> Christine

Thanks!

patrice wrote:
>
> GQ wrote:
>
> >
> > Enjoy yourself. I live in the southern part of the state and it is
> > cold down here too. LOL
>
> We're really looking forward to going back. Our last trip there was
> most enjoyable. Since then, I've started knitting, and we're even
> plannig a trip out to an alpaca farm.
> Of course, all the wonderful New Mexican type foods top my list for why
> I want to go back.

Any of the cafes along south 4th street in ABQ serve decent NewMex food.
The Hispanic Cultural Center at Bridge and 4th SW has a cafe supposedly
very good.

You certainly can go to the Frontier but it's really just a burger place
across from the University.

Bea's over at Zuni has slightly gringoised New Mexican food, but the
decor is fun.

Duran's is OK but definitely overpriced.

The Albuquerque Tortilla Factory on North 4th Street has a snackbar sort
of place but the food can be very good and the tortillas are cheap.

Didn't know the Sanitary Tortilla Factory closed; that must have
happened recently. Ate there last year. Might check when you get into
town.

Dos Hermanos is supposed to be good; also 4th street NW

The best New Mexican food is in the neighbourhood cafes; be adventurous.

Arri London wrote:
>
> patrice wrote:
>
>>GQ wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Enjoy yourself. I live in the southern part of the state and it is
>>>cold down here too. LOL
>>
>>We're really looking forward to going back. Our last trip there was
>>most enjoyable. Since then, I've started knitting, and we're even
>>plannig a trip out to an alpaca farm.
>>Of course, all the wonderful New Mexican type foods top my list for why
>>I want to go back.
>
>
> Any of the cafes along south 4th street in ABQ serve decent NewMex food.
> The Hispanic Cultural Center at Bridge and 4th SW has a cafe supposedly
> very good.
>
> You certainly can go to the Frontier but it's really just a burger place
> across from the University.
>
> Bea's over at Zuni has slightly gringoised New Mexican food, but the
> decor is fun.
>
> Duran's is OK but definitely overpriced.
>
> The Albuquerque Tortilla Factory on North 4th Street has a snackbar sort
> of place but the food can be very good and the tortillas are cheap.
>
> Didn't know the Sanitary Tortilla Factory closed; that must have
> happened recently. Ate there last year. Might check when you get into
> town.
>
> Dos Hermanos is supposed to be good; also 4th street NW
>
> The best New Mexican food is in the neighbourhood cafes; be adventurous.

Thank you for all of your suggestions!

We are pretty adventurous with restaurants when we travel. We ask to be
sent to "where the locals eat" when we stop in visitors centers. Since
we generally stay in BnBs, owners are often great sources for places to
eat. The Inn we're staying at in Santa Fe apparently has owners that
stay off site, which is fine, but they may not be as accessible to ask
for recommendations - admittedly, we've been fortunate enough to never
have stayed at a bad BnB, but some owners/hosts are infinitely more
knowledgeable and offer more suggestions than others. This is why I
often come to this newsgroup when looking for good places to eat. (Just
got back from an amazing, though too short a trip, to Wales and southern
England, but we stayed with locals, so all my questions got answered by
a dear old friend.)

patrice

Again, I appreciate you taking the time to make suggestions!

patrice wrote:
>
> Arri London wrote:
> >
> > patrice wrote:
> >
> >>GQ wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>>Enjoy yourself. I live in the southern part of the state and it is
> >>>cold down here too. LOL
> >>
> >>We're really looking forward to going back. Our last trip there was
> >>most enjoyable. Since then, I've started knitting, and we're even
> >>plannig a trip out to an alpaca farm.
> >>Of course, all the wonderful New Mexican type foods top my list for why
> >>I want to go back.
> >
> >
> > Any of the cafes along south 4th street in ABQ serve decent NewMex food.
> > The Hispanic Cultural Center at Bridge and 4th SW has a cafe supposedly
> > very good.
> >
> > You certainly can go to the Frontier but it's really just a burger place
> > across from the University.
> >
> > Bea's over at Zuni has slightly gringoised New Mexican food, but the
> > decor is fun.
> >
> > Duran's is OK but definitely overpriced.
> >
> > The Albuquerque Tortilla Factory on North 4th Street has a snackbar sort
> > of place but the food can be very good and the tortillas are cheap.
> >
> > Didn't know the Sanitary Tortilla Factory closed; that must have
> > happened recently. Ate there last year. Might check when you get into
> > town.
> >
> > Dos Hermanos is supposed to be good; also 4th street NW
> >
> > The best New Mexican food is in the neighbourhood cafes; be adventurous.
>
> Thank you for all of your suggestions!
>
> We are pretty adventurous with restaurants when we travel. We ask to be
> sent to "where the locals eat" when we stop in visitors centers. Since
> we generally stay in BnBs, owners are often great sources for places to
> eat. The Inn we're staying at in Santa Fe apparently has owners that
> stay off site, which is fine, but they may not be as accessible to ask
> for recommendations - admittedly, we've been fortunate enough to never
> have stayed at a bad BnB, but some owners/hosts are infinitely more
> knowledgeable and offer more suggestions than others. This is why I
> often come to this newsgroup when looking for good places to eat. (Just
> got back from an amazing, though too short a trip, to Wales and southern
> England, but we stayed with locals, so all my questions got answered by
> a dear old friend.)
>
> patrice
>
> Again, I appreciate you taking the time to make suggestions!

NP Sorry I have no suggestions for Santa Fe. We rarely go up there and
most of the food is overpriced anyway.

"Bubbabob" > wrote

> Stay away from the Frontier unless you enjoy being videotaped while you
> eat. Same goes for Saggio's Pizza around the corner.

What's up with the videotaping?

nancy

Nancy Young wrote:
>
> "Bubbabob" > wrote
>
> > Stay away from the Frontier unless you enjoy being videotaped while you
> > eat. Same goes for Saggio's Pizza around the corner.
>
> What's up with the videotaping?
>
> nancy

The Frontier is right across from the University. They often have
trouble inside and out. The owner decided to tape customers openly.
Other places proabably do it surreptiously anyway.

"Arri London" > wrote

> Nancy Young wrote:
>>
>> "Bubbabob" > wrote
>>
>> > Stay away from the Frontier unless you enjoy being videotaped while you
>> > eat. Same goes for Saggio's Pizza around the corner.
>>
>> What's up with the videotaping?

> The Frontier is right across from the University. They often have
> trouble inside and out. The owner decided to tape customers openly.
> Other places proabably do it surreptiously anyway.

Ah, gotcha. Yeah, I assume wherever there is money, there is
a camera. Thanks.

nancy

: Los Cuates is very, very average.

: Check out the Garcia's on Central just east of Old Town if you're looking
: for the real thing.


Los Cuates is _considerably_ less expensive than the majority of other
"equivalent" restaurants, which make it ABOVE average. There's nothin
wrong with the food, you can't go wrong by eating there.

Bubbabob wrote:
> GQ > wrote:
>
>
> > And even though they have video they had a piece of artwork stolen a
> > while back. They did get it back but the video means nothing
> > apparently.
> >
>
> It may be stretching the definition of 'artwork' to apply it to 30 square
> feet of John Wayne's mug.

Buyt said John Wayne is made entirely out of nail heads....THATS art!

Bubbabob wrote:
> Christine Dabney > wrote:
>
>
>>On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 17:36:02 GMT, patrice >
>>wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Hello All,
>>>
>>>We'll be n Santa Fe and ABQ for the Christmas Holidays.
>>>As per usual, I've left making reservations until the very last second.
>>>We fly into ABQ on the afternoon of the 22nd - dinner that night will be
>>>at Ron's El Camino Royale on Yale (which you guys recommended years
>>>ago), I'm hoping it is still there
>>
>>I would avoid that place now. Years ago, it was good, but not anymore.
>>If I wanted some good NM food, I would head to Los Cuates, or Sadies.
>>This is a site you might want to take a look at for some current
>>reviews of Albuquerque places:
>>
>
>
> Ron closed the restaurant two years ago.
>
> Los Cuates is very, very average.
>
> Check out the Garcia's on Central just east of Old Town if you're looking
> for the real thing.

We're here in Santa Fe at the moment having a bit of down time.
As most good technoDallasites, we brought ye olde wireless laptop with us.
First night we got in late to ABQ and ate at Cervantes - we enjoyed it,
it was tasty, with no discernible "tex mex" flavor. I had a vegetarian
plate with red and green chile salsa on top - very nice. Spouse had
carne adovado (his fave, which you'll see appearing again in this post)
which was fall apart tender. The rest of the accompanying stuff was
average, but not bad. I had a really nice prickly pear margarita -
quite nice. For breakfast we went to Grandma's K n (and?) I on
Broadway, which was recommended by a gentleman at the airport during an
extended stopover in Amarillo. What a great little hole in the wall. I
had two (well, I finished about three quarters of them) monster sized,
delicious pancakes. Spouse had a breakfast burrito with carne adovado -
he was one happy camper.
Yesterday, we arrived in Santa Fe (love Madrid on the Turquoise Trail -
this is our second time going through. This time we got a lesson in
glass blowing). Ate at Tomasita's for dinner - it wasn't horrible, but
was nothing outstanding. Okay, their sopas were wonderful, but it
wasn't really worth the hour wait.
Today was breakfast at the BnB (eh) and then a wonderful chocolate
croissant at The French Bakery. Tonight is dinner at La Casa Sena
Cantina. (after a dip in the baths at Ten Thousands Waves). Tomorrow
lunch at Anasazi and then a late dinner at Trattoria Nostriani (I may
have the Nostriani part wrong).
Off to ABQ on Monday morning (after a trip out to an alpaca ranch in
Mora)...
Garcias in ABQ? Okay - sounds doable.
Another place was recommended, but I'm not entirely sure of the
name...it's on the square in Old Town, and you have to walk though a
kitchy tourist shop to get to it. It may have been La Hacienda....

I probably told you all way more then you wanted to know about our trip
thus far, but it's been a blast.

As always, thanks for all of your suggestions.

patrice

Bubbabob wrote:
> patrice > wrote:
>
>
>>Another place was recommended, but I'm not entirely sure of the
>>name...it's on the square in Old Town, and you have to walk though a
>>kitchy tourist shop to get to it. It may have been La Hacienda....
>>
>
>
> Yes, that's La Hacienda. The old part is the butchered, truncated remains
> of the Blueher mansion, once the most ornate and beautiful Victorian in
> New Mexico. All of the gingerbread was hacked off and stucco applied to
> the bricks to make a fake adobe in the early '50's, when the formerly
> residential neighborhood was taken over by developers. They also
> plastered over a genuine Tiffany window that was only discovered by
> accident 30 years later.
>
> Only three or four of the many supposedly adobe buildings in Old Town
> actually are adobe. Most of them are plastered over, cut down remnants of
> other styles and periods.
>
> As for their food, La Hacienda has made many modulations from abysmal to
> sublime and back again over the last 40 years. I have no idea how good or
> bad it is at the present time. Locals tend not to eat there.
>
> It was gutted by a fire about 15 years ago. I watched Albuquerque's
> wonderful fire department get into a squabble about whose job it was to
> hook up the hoses that delayed them from fighting the fire for almost
> half an hour. They couldn't have done a worse job if they had been paid
> to (which is a possibility).

Not painting a lovely picture of the ABQ fire dept. Kinda sad actually.

Thanks for the history lesson on La Hacienda. Hmmm, if locals don't go
there, it's doubtful we'll go.

We're in ABQ now. The BnB is very nice.

This morning we went to an alpaca ranch in Mora - what a great time.
Okay, lunch was spent eating a grilled cheese sandwich at the Sonic in
Las Vegas (NM). So sue me, I like their grilled cheeses and we wanted
to hit the road back to ABQ. Tasted exactly the same as ones I've eaten
for the very occasional breakfast on the run in Dallas - this is good.

Dining in Santa Fe ended up being a very mixed bag. Christmas Eve
dinner was spent at La Casa Sena Cantina. I met someone at Ten Thousand
Waves (where we had an amazing soak in a hot tub prior to dinner) who
snootily said that what the wait staff lack in talent, they make up for
in enthusiasm. I genuinely thought that these folks were amazingly
talented - first song they sang was from Rent, which is a favorite.
Food was good. We both started with salads. Mine had goat cheese and a
balsamic vinaigrette on field greens (roughage on a plate) - it was very
fresh and it didn't look like whomever made it spent way too much time
touching it (that's a compliment btw). Spouse had a spinach salad with
dried figs and spiced pinons. I honestly don't remember the dressing,
but it all blended together seamlessly. For dinner, spouse had pork
tenderloin stuffed with chorizo all sitting on a bed of mashed sweet
potatoes - I'm pretty sure he'd have licked the plate if allowed to. I
had cheese enchiladas with red sauce. Mine wasn't bad, but nothing
particularly outstanding. The red sauce was a bit too spicy, but not in
a flavorful way, good refrieds, rice was tasty, but mushy. The lettuce
shredded on the plate was very fresh and crisp (I know that that's a
little piddly point, but limp, aging lettuce a big let down in my book).
Dessert was cinnamon churros (crunchy fried dough sticks that look
like they come out of an extruder) with chocolate (a half cup of
strongish hot chocolate) for dipping. THere was also a dollop of
slightly sweetened cream and a pool of caramel on the dish. It was a
very enjoyable evening. Even though our waiter sang many of the
selections (very well), he was attentive and personable.

Then there were the meals on the 25th. Breakfast at the Inn was nothing
memorable, but not bad. Lunch was a bust. I'd made reservations for a
very late lunch at Anasazi - not a typical place for us to eat, but I
figured it'd be different from what we usually do....feh.
When I made the reservations, for 2:30pm, I mentioned to the
reservationist that we had reservations elsewhere for an 8pm dinner
(Anasazi had no openings for that evening). She neglected to tell me
that they were only doing a fixed price menu for Christmas. We sat at
the table, ordered margaritas and gasped at the menu. We were told that
we couldn't order from the bar menu in the main dining room. We were
hoping for a light lunch - soup, salad and the like, not a full dinner
with appetizer. So we tossed back the house margs and left. At this
point I should mention that their house margaritas were $12 a piece!
THey were served in smallish rocks glasses with lots and lots of ice and
were nothing more than typical - guess I expected a whole lot more at
the frou frou place. Ugh. Lesson learned, stay in your comfort zone.
Which brings me to dinner.
We went to Trattoria Nostriani. I'll start by saying that service was
impeccable. Our waiter treated us as well as some of the "beautiful
people" who appear to frequent the place - there were obvious locals
eating there which I always see as a plus. I carry a really really nice
camera around, but unless he spotted it, we don't looked like the
typical folks who eat there.
On to the food...Started with bottled water, spouse had a glass of white
wine. I'm not a big fan of white wine, but this wasn't horrible - the
waiter recommended it. My guess is that he figured that we weren't
connoisseurs and that a sweetish white would be more palatable than a
dry white - he was right. For an appetizer we shared an amazing Fritto
misto. It included green beans, zucchini, pearl onions, scallops and
calamari. It was truly done to perfection in a very very light tempura
batter. The dipping sauce was a lemon aioli with minced shallots and
parmesean - heaven. The bread in the restaurant is sourdough baguette
from the La Brea. It had a fabulous flavor, but was oddly cool in the
middle - not enough to quibble about though.
The main course is where things got weird. Spouse had a stuffed turbot.
It was stuffed with Blue Crab lump meat, salt cod and potatoes - all
covered in a light lemony sauce (similar in taste to the dipping sauce
lemon aioli sans the parmesean and shallots). Spouse really enjoyed it.
The small bite I had had a very clean taste to it - no discernible
fishy flavor.
Okay, so I order dinner....this place has a primi course that they'll
basically double for a dinner portion. I had cavatelli (house made)
with tomato sauce. I don't eat meat, sometimes a bit of fish (guess I'm
a hypocrite), but that's it. The dish showed up with such a small
amount that I quietly asked the waiter if I'd gotten the primi portion
by mistake - I honestly thought that there was no way this could be
correct. Nope, this was the dinner size (At this point I'm going to
assume that you get perhaps 6 cavatelli and sauce for $20 if ordered as
the primi course). The cavatelli was great (all 12 or so of them),
maybe a bit over boiled, but the sauce - though very fresh - had been
over salted.
For dessert the spouse had a pear and raspberry tart that came with a
dollop of sweetened mascarpone cheese on top. The crust looked flaky
and there was a large chunk of pear in the middle. I didn't have any.
At the end of the meal, the waiter squatted down next to me and said
that at some point he'd been a vegetarian for ten years, and knew how
difficult it was (I don't see it as very difficult, but sometimes, a
large bowl of pasta is just necessary). I'm guessing that even he could
see that the portion of pasta was laughable at best. He said that he
was charging us for the primi portion price ($20 - really) and dessert
was on him. I told him that it wasn't necessary, but it was very nice.
After all of that, dinner was still $88, prior to a nice tip.
I don't know what to think of the place.

Tonight, here in ABQ, dinner was at Dos Amigos on 4th. I had a
sopapilla stuffed with beans and potatoes smothered in red and green
sauce and lots of cheese (jack and cheddar) - it also came with the
requisite side of beans and rice. Nothing spectacular, but I really
enjoyed the potato and bean mixture. Spouse had his usual carne adovado
- fork tender, flavorful and a bit high on the heat scale...he snarfed
it all up. Dinner came with extra sopas which I smothered in honey. It
was getting close to closing and the sopas perhaps weren't as fresh as
they could have been, but with honey drizzled on top, they were happily
eaten.

So there you have another long report - for those of you who may
actually be reading this.

patrice

patrice wrote:
Yesterday, we arrived in Santa Fe (love Madrid on the Turquoise Trail -

> this is our second time going through. This time we got a lesson in
> glass blowing).
> patrice

So I've heard evil rumors about the Mine Shaft Tavern closing down.
Arre they true?

Jude wrote:
> patrice wrote:
> Yesterday, we arrived in Santa Fe (love Madrid on the Turquoise Trail -
>
>
>>this is our second time going through. This time we got a lesson in
>>glass blowing).
>>patrice
>
>
> So I've heard evil rumors about the Mine Shaft Tavern closing down.
> Arre they true?
>

They weren't open while we were there. But I don't know if it's
permanent or just that day.

Bubbabob wrote:
> patrice > wrote:
>
>
>
>>They weren't open while we were there. But I don't know if it's
>>permanent or just that day.
>>
>>
>
>
> It's been on the market for months but I don't know if they've closed down
> yet. It wouldn't surprise me if they have.

Another place that's for sale there is Java Junction. We had coffee
there on our last visit seven or so years ago. The place is still open,
but it has large for sale signs from realtors on it. (oh the temptation
to move our into the middle of nowhere and schlep tasty coffees all day).

A bit more review on the feeding frenzy front (if anyone is still
reading this saga):

Back in ABQ we ate at Le Crepe Michelle (or something vaguely similar to
that) in Old Town for dinner Tuesday night. It's a lovely, small place
that doesn't appear to do a lot of advertising. We started with soup.
The guys had french onion soup - I didn't taste it, it smelled like beef
stock had been used. Both guys made appropriate mmm mmm noises whilst
tucking into the thick swiss cheese (or was it gruyere?) and crouton all
merrily dancing around in a crock. I had a cup of potato leek soup -
it was wonderful...creamy rich and balanced. THere was no flavor that
stood out from the rest - potato, leek, cream at the butter used for the
sauté. Some salt, I'm sure, but not too much. It really was
outstanding. For dinner, our guest (it was our anniversary) had a
crepe. Honestly, I don't know what was in it (I was so enamored of my
own dinner that I didn't pay much attention) but he had no trouble
polishing it off. Spouse had lamb chops - they looked smallish, but had
a lovely glaze on them. They came with a side of veggies, but again, I
wasn't looking too closely. Then there was my dinner. Oh my oh my. A
monster sized bowl of green lipped muscles (they were one of the daily
specials) covered in a white wine cream sauce which contained shallots
and not much else. I was dumbfounded by the quantity, as well as,
quality of the meal. I grew up in NJ where ordering a cheese pie with a
side of mussels (always in a thick, glorious marinara) was standard
fare. These mussels were an achievement. Oh, there was a bit of a side
of veggies, a small amount of au gratin potatoes, finely sliced and
blanched carrots and a few haricot verts (oh hell, they were long green
beans) and each was prepared well, but they paled in comparison to the
mussels. For dessert the spouse and I shared some chocolate buche du
noel - it wasn't bad. The slice presentation was nice with a small
dollop of cream and another dollop of what had the texture and luscious
taste of ganache, but overall, the slice of log wasn't that exciting.

Lunch yesterday was at Garcia's on 4th. It took a few minutes for us to
realize that we'd eaten there on our last visit - we remember enjoying
it, and where we sat, but that was about it. This time I had blue corn
cheese enchiladas with fried potatoes (papas) and really good beans,
spouse had carne adovado with beans and rice. He originally tried to
order the posole, but for reasons that we're completely unclear of, the
waitress wouldn't let him. He asked twice and both times she discretely
steered him away from it. We're still trying to figure out why the
posole wasn't allowable. The meal was quite good for both of us -
nothing amazing, but very tasty. The star of lunch being the home made
tortilla that came with each of our plates - it was warm and chewy and
came with little tubs of margarine.

Dinner last night was spent at the Flying Skate on Seventh and Silver.
Spouse had a chicken enchilada plate with really good rice and beans. I
had a tempeh burger. The burger came on a whole wheat bun covered in a
large pickle spear, fresh cut tomato, lettuce, jack cheese and came with
a little side container of dill mayonnaise. All assembled, I was in
almost-vegetarian paradise. We also ordered a plate of mac and cheese.
This is an item not to be missed. Spiral macaroni covered in a light
cheddar sauce with shaved parmesan on top - all very well prepared. The
beverage that I had, I believe, was called red stuff. It as cranberry
juice with Red Zinger and Peppermint Tea all mixed together - very nice
combination and the mint wasn't overpowering.

We're here back in the Dallas area tonight - ordered out for Thai
food...but that's a whole 'nother post.

Thanks again for all of your help.

patrice

Bubbabob wrote:
> Le Crepe Michel has been around forever, it seems, and I've never heard a
> single complaint about their food. Good choice.
Oh yes, yes it was!
>
> The best Garcia's is the one on Central near Old Town. Each Garcias is run
> by one of Andy Garcia's kids. The one who run's the one on Central was
> trained as a butcher, buys the meat for all of them, and keeps the best for
> his own place.
Good to know for a return visit.
>
> I've never even heard of the Flying Skate. I'll have to go take a look at
> that one.
I think I meant the Flying Star.
Southwest Airlines bounced us from ABQ to El Paso to Midland to
Dallas-Love yesterday afternoon. I was mighty tired when we finally got
home.
Still, it was good food at the Flying place. They also had beautiful
baked goods in their front glass case. Apparently, they're baked at one
of the five Flying places (not the one we were eating at.) If you do
go, I'd like to know what you think of it.

The Inn that we stayed at was at was the Mauger Estate. The breakfasts
were outstanding - homemade granola (spouse is out, as we speak, getting
the ingredients for it), a spinach pie, baked french toast, fruit,
yogurt....great stuff!

Take care,

patrice

patrice wrote:
>
>
> We're here in Santa Fe at the moment having a bit of down time.
> As most good technoDallasites, we brought ye olde wireless laptop with us.
> First night we got in late to ABQ and ate at Cervantes - we enjoyed it,
> it was tasty, with no discernible "tex mex" flavor. I had a vegetarian
> plate with red and green chile salsa on top - very nice. Spouse had
> carne adovado (his fave, which you'll see appearing again in this post)
> which was fall apart tender. The rest of the accompanying stuff was
> average, but not bad. I had a really nice prickly pear margarita -
> quite nice. For breakfast we went to Grandma's K n (and?) I on
> Broadway, which was recommended by a gentleman at the airport during an
> extended stopover in Amarillo. What a great little hole in the wall. I
> had two (well, I finished about three quarters of them) monster sized,
> delicious pancakes. Spouse had a breakfast burrito with carne adovado -
> he was one happy camper.
> Yesterday, we arrived in Santa Fe (love Madrid on the Turquoise Trail -
> this is our second time going through. This time we got a lesson in
> glass blowing). Ate at Tomasita's for dinner - it wasn't horrible, but
> was nothing outstanding. Okay, their sopas were wonderful, but it
> wasn't really worth the hour wait.

The one other great thing about Tomasita's is the green chile. It is
absolutely wonderful.
Everything else was bland, including bland ground beef. My wife liked
the entree OK, and she loved the sopas. Something interesting is that
a fast food (Del Taco) joint has reproduced MN Style green almost
perfectly

> Today was breakfast at the BnB (eh) and then a wonderful chocolate
> croissant at The French Bakery. Tonight is dinner at La Casa Sena
> Cantina. (after a dip in the baths at Ten Thousands Waves).

Nicely clothing optional. Speaking of which, if you have the courage
to drive past Los Alamos, on the side of a thousand + foot drop off (we
went all the way around through Bernalillo because of my acrophobia)
there are some nice clothing optional hot springs, one of which is only
a few minutes off the highway:
http://www.jemezsprings.org/hotsprings.html

The little town of Jemez Springs is nice, and you can get a cheap but
clean motel room.
Also, in Bernalillo my wife highly recommends the Range Cafe.
http://www.restaurant-spy.com/showre...nt-172487.html

The drive from Bernalillo to Jemez is stunningly beautiful with huge
mesas.
>
> patrice

--Bryan

On 30 Dec 2005 12:27:50 -0800, "BoboBonobo" >
wrote:

>Nicely clothing optional. Speaking of which, if you have the courage
>to drive past Los Alamos, on the side of a thousand + foot drop off (we
>went all the way around through Bernalillo because of my acrophobia)
>there are some nice clothing optional hot springs, one of which is only
>a few minutes off the highway:
>http://www.jemezsprings.org/hotsprings.html

My understanding is that it is no longer clothing optional. When I
was in Albuquerque this summer, I asked a longtime friend about the
Jemez hot springs, and she told me that the "authorities" have been
cracking down on the skinny dipping.

I used to go up there back in the early 80's, and everyone would be
skinny dipping. We would hike up there through the snow, and disrobe
completely when we got there. We had these little lights which we
would set to floating in the water. Very mellow....

Christine

In article > ,
patrice > wrote:

> I think I meant the Flying Star.

You did. It's a nice place. I frequently have two
pieces of pie and coffee there for breakfast. It's
a little much, but the pies are extremely good. A
cute feature is that they sell magazines and you can
read while you eat. Oddly, while two locations
encourage you to browse, another one has a sign that
says you have to buy before you read.

Mike Beede

BoboBonobo wrote:

>
> The one other great thing about Tomasita's is the green chile. It is
> absolutely wonderful.
> Everything else was bland, including bland ground beef. My wife liked
> the entree OK, and she loved the sopas. Something interesting is that
> a fast food (Del Taco) joint has reproduced MN Style green almost
> perfectly

Sopas were great.


Speaking of which, if you have the courage
> to drive past Los Alamos, on the side of a thousand + foot drop off (we
> went all the way around through Bernalillo because of my acrophobia)
> there are some nice clothing optional hot springs, one of which is only
> a few minutes off the highway:
> http://www.jemezsprings.org/hotsprings.html
Thanks for the link - it's now in my NM bookmark file.

Let's see...we saw Soda Damn, Battleship Rock, and were most likely in
the parking lot for Spence Hot Springs (wondered where the kids - they
were around 12 and had a parent or two with them - were going with their
towels....brrrrr).

Past all of that we drove through a town that I think was called White
Rock, saw a sign that said "overlook" and decided to follow it. I'm not
entirely sure where we were but it was an amazing, phenomenal, gorgeous
view of the Rio Grande and two small (well, they weren't Niagara, but
stunning nonetheless) water falls - one above the other. I too, am not
the biggest fan of heights, and tried desperately to get close to the
edge...got closer than I expected, but couldn't get my chubby, long legs
to walk out onto the man made, fence enclosed lookout. It looked like
the rock formations went on forever. We were entranced. On the way
back to ABQ we passed a half dozen deer - we'd just passed a sign that
we'd left the Bandolier nature preserve (this trip we didn't actually go
into the park to look at ruins). Spouse starts yelling "pull over, pull
over" so we could take some pictures. What a beautiful sight it was!

>
> The little town of Jemez Springs is nice, and you can get a cheap but
> clean motel room.
> Also, in Bernalillo my wife highly recommends the Range Cafe.
> http://www.restaurant-spy.com/showre...nt-172487.html
>
> The drive from Bernalillo to Jemez is stunningly beautiful with huge
> mesas.

Agreed.

patrice

Mike Beede wrote:

> In article > ,
> patrice > wrote:
>
>
>>I think I meant the Flying Star.
>
>
> You did. It's a nice place. I frequently have two
> pieces of pie and coffee there for breakfast. It's
> a little much, but the pies are extremely good. A
> cute feature is that they sell magazines and you can
> read while you eat. Oddly, while two locations
> encourage you to browse, another one has a sign that
> says you have to buy before you read.
>
> Mike Beede

The goodies behind the glass case were mighty tempting - but with the
additional order of mac and cheese, it wasn't an option (I'm a
goodie-a-holic, but was stuffed after a tempeh burger and some fruit for
dinner along with half the mac and cheese - spouse ate the other half,
along with his burrito thingie). I just about licked out the plate of
cheese after the curly pasta was gone. Apparently, there used to be a
bread crumb coating on the top, but folks ordering the dish for their
rug rats were complaining (I get this from my source who is apparently
addicted to the stuff) that their kids didn't like the topping.
Should probably mention that we finished off the chocolate dipped fruit
from The Candy Lady before we left for dinner. Had orange peel,
pineapple, apricot and brandied cherry - all of it delicious. The sweet
tooth had been satisfied pre-dinner. Being an adult has its plusses.

I'd imagine pie(s) and coffee makes a great breakfast. Glad we didn't
attempt to read anything - coulda gotten in trouble.

After dinner we went to the light show at the Botanical Garden - I'm
pretty sure that tonight is the last night of it. It was very pretty.
Last time we visited was at Thanksgiving seven or so years ago and they
were just beginning to set up the lights. It was nice to see what
they'd turned into. The weather was extremely mild and it made for a
nice after dinner stroll.