Monthly Archives: March 2016

El Paso Mexican Restaurants 1980

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This list is presented for anyone who is interested in the Mexican restaurants which were in El Paso in 1980.  It grew out of a project I did to write down a list of all the Mexican restaurants from the telephone directory and then to make notes about the ones I tried.

Although the list was strictly for my own benefit, I think it might be of some historical use today.  It certainly provides a clue about the longest running restaurants in the city, since very few of the restaurants which were open in 1980 survive today.

These restaurants were listed under the “Mexican restaurants” section in the telephone directory. I believe that it is not a complete list of all the Mexican restaurants which existed, but it is at least 80 to 90 percent complete.

Many restaurants served the style of food I call “El Paso” style. This is a modification of New Mexican cuisine (the enchiladas are similar) combined with Chihuahua style Mexican food (such as tacos, chicken mole, caldo de res, and breakfast dishes, to name a few).

Looking back, I think I rated some of the restaurants too low, but this was mainly due to having very high expectations (and at some restaurants I may have tried the wrong thing).

The restaurants I visited are in bold.  All others were simply copied from the phone book to give me possible places to try.

RATING RESTAURANT ADDRESS PRICES COMMENTS
EL PASO
Acapulco 219 S. El Paso
Alberto’s 109 Castellano
star 3 Alexandro’s 309 E. Overland Cheap
Alexandro’s II 7720 North Loop
star 2 Arnold’s 2030 E. Yandell Mod
Bernadette’s 412 E. San Antonio
Burger Boy 5500 El Paso Dr.
Caballero 6400 Montana
star 2 Carmen’s Cafe 8257 Alameda
star 4 Casa Calderon 8450 Alameda Mod
star 4 Casa Jurado 226 Cincinnati Mod
star 2 Chicken Fiesta 3701 Montana Mod
Chico’s Tacos 4230 Alameda
star 2 Chico’s Tacos 5305 Montana Cheap
star 2 Chico’s Tacos 3401 Dyer Cheap
star 1 Chico’s Tacos 1235 McRae Cheap
Ciro’s Flautas 3203 Alameda
star 4 Cocina Arrambide 5908 Alameda Mod Also known as “Pepa’s”
Conchita’s 6933 Alameda
Coney Island 4121 N. Mesa
star 1 Del Camino 5001 Alameda Exp
Delicious Mexican Food 3314 Fort Blvd.
star 3 El Abajeno 9639 Dyer Mod
El Carioca 2104 E. Yandell
El Conquistador 4950B Hondo Pass
El Delfin 4822 Montana
star 3 Elmer’s 6305 Montana Mod
El Nido 6932 Gateway East
El Nopal 2314 Wyoming
El Palenque 705 1/2 S. El Paso
star 3 El Paseo 1611 Montana Cheap
El Ranchito 2030 E. Paisano
El Rancho Escondido 14549 Montana
El Rapido Cafe 617 S. El Paso
El Taquito Place 909 N. San Marcial
El Zarape 819 S. El Paso
star 3 Forti’s 321 Chelsea Mod
star 3 G & R 401 E. Nevada Mod
Grandma’s Tamales 7682 Alameda
Grandma’s Tamales 6041 N. Mesa
Grandma’s Tamales 1212 Yarbrough
star 4 Griggs 5800 Doniphan Mod
star 4 Griggs 9007 Montana Mod
Hamburger Hut 3700 Alameda
Hamburger Hut 8764 Alameda
Hamburger Hut 8541 Alameda
star 1 Imperial Cafe 510 Myrtle Mod
star 2 Jasper’s 2200 Yarbrough Mod
star 3 Julio’s 1201 N. Mesa Exp
star 4 Kiki’s 2719 N. Piedras Mod
La Casita 3333 Yarbrough
La Feria 419 S. Mesa
star 4 La Hacienda 1720 W. Paisano Cheap
star 2 La Paloma 1017 Delta Cheap
star 3 La Paloma 9415 Dyer Mod
La Pastora 7705B North Loop
La Posada 307 E. Overland
Las Casuelas 1310 Magruder
La Tapatia 8941 Old County
star 2 La Terraza 315 Mills Mod
Leo’s 7872 North Loop
star 2 Leo’s 6232 N. Mesa Mod
star 3 Leo’s 5103 Montana Mod
star 1 Leo’s 5003 Alabama Mod
star 2 Leo’s 5315 Hondo Pass Mod
Leo’s 2285 Trawood
Lily’s 4315 Dyer
Linda’s Jet 6211 Airport
Los Compadres 800 N. Zaragoza
star 2 Lucky Boy 4130 Montana Cheap Also called “Beto’s”
star 2 Lunch Box 527 Giles Cheap
Lupe’s Coffee Shop 2919 Pershing
Lupe’s Rushfair Center
Lupita’s 8929 Alameda
star 3 Lupita’s 1230 Myrtle Cheap
star 1 Mexican Cottage 904 Texas Mod
Mi Amiga 501 1/2 E. 3rd
star 1 Michael’s 122 S. Mesa
Miguelito’s 1500 Lomaland
star 4 Moe’s 6298 Alameda Exp
star 2 Montezuma 211 1/2 S. Kansas
Palmera Cafe 2301 Olive
star 3 Pancho’s 5229 Sanders Mod
RB’s 3905 Broaddus
Rachel’s 2138 Cypress
Raphael’s Missouri & Kansas
star 2 Riviera 5218 Doniphan Mod
star 3 Royal 2905 Alameda Cheap
Sarita’s 5541D Alameda
Sierra’s Cafe 3027 Alameda
Sixto 7227 Alameda
Sunset Inn 4532 N. Mesa
Super Burro 5901 Dyer
Taco Burger 1414 Airway
Tampico 119 W. Paisano
star 2 Tenampa 310C S. Florence Cheap
Taquito House 915 Myrtle
star 2 Tony’s 706 N. Piedras
star 3 Victor’s 5000 Doniphan Cheap
Villa Taxco 205 S. El Paso
ANTHONY
Adrian’s Anthony
CANUTILLO
Canutillo Tortilla Factory Canutillo
SOCORRO
Old Adobe Socorro
star 4 Riverside Saloon Socorro
AREA WIDE
star 1 Taco Bell 9 Locations

 

The four-star rating system was as follows:
star 4 Very Good.
star 3 Good.
star 2 Fair.
star 1 Poor.
 

El Paso has always been the “Mexican Food Capital of the United States” even though it has only claimed this title for itself recently.  In 1980 I would say that Mexican restaurants composed the majority, or at least a good portion of all restaurants in the city.  Most of these were mom and pop restaurants with budget prices and the standard dishes found in Mexican cuisine.  Most restaurants had at least one dish which was a standout, but the ones that had at least three or four are the ones with a three or four star rating on this list.

Today El Paso has many more Mexican restaurants than existed in 1980, but I think the number would fall far short of 50% of the city’s total number of restaurants.  There are many more styles of Mexican food available than in the past, representing several Mexican states in addition to the always popular Chihuahua style cuisine.  What has not changed very much, though, is that restaurants still tend to be mom and pop establishments with fairly low prices and food which is familiar to the general population.  There are more health conscious restaurants now, and in general I think the choices are much better now than they used to be.

Some notes about individual restaurants are as follows:

  • Arnold’s served the same food as Leo’s, but was owned by a different family member.
  • Casa Jurado–a brother opened the Casa Jurado on Doniphan (which is still operating).
  • Del Camino at one time was one of the best restaurants in the city, but in 1980 it was going through severe problems that led to its closing a short time later.
  • Forti’s is largely unchanged today from the way it was in 1980, except that I think they have added some more good dishes.
  • Griggs on Doniphan was my favorite restaurant in the city.  Other Griggs family members operated La Posta in Mesilla, NM and El Pinto in Albuquerque.  However, I thought the food at Griggs was the best of the three.  The Griggs recipes are now served at Peppe’s Restaurant in Canutillo (on Doniphan Dr.)
  • La Hacienda was another favorite of mine.  Amigos Restaurant at 2000 Montana opened after La Hacienda closed, and served the food from La Hacienda.  As far as I know this food is still available.
  • La Terraza was another “Leo’s” restaurant.
  • Lupita’s on Myrtle at one time was my favorite place for lunch because they served home style Mexican plates (it changed every day, and you had very little choice about what was served, but it was so good it changed my thinking about what was “authentic” Mexican food).  By 1980 it had changed more to the standard restaurant model, though.
  • Moe’s was great, and one of its secrets was that it used lard in the food (it still had many loyal patrons until the time it closed).
  • Montezuma was known for its breakfasts, and many people picked up burritos to take to work with them.
  • Pancho’s was good in El Paso at the same time it was bad to terrible just about everywhere else.  Once I got to eat at the original Pancho’s (that was either on Alameda or Paisano), but I’m not sure if it was still open in 1980.  The original Pancho’s had the best food of any of the locations I tried.
  • Canutillo Tortilla Factory is today known as the Little Diner, and is well known on many national hole in the wall food guides.  In truth, though, the food then and now is not much different from at least a couple of dozen other restaurants that are listed here.

Oklahoma City Mexican Restaurants 1983

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This list is a transcription of notes I took about Mexican restaurants in Oklahoma City in 1983.  The full list includes restaurants I copied from the telephone directory (and which were listed as “Mexican restaurants” in the yellow pages).  Star ratings are for the ones I visited.

Oklahoma City had a much greater percentage of one-star and two-star restaurants than other cities included in this series of historical posts.  In this respect I think Oklahoma City was actually representative of most cities in the United States at the time.  It had more Mexican restaurants than most cities, but to me the quality seemed much lower than in Texas and New Mexico cities.

Some of the one-star restaurants had pure Anglo style food that did not even rise to the level of the Tex-Mex served at the majority of restaurants.  There is term which is now used called “Okie-Mex,” and I think this also would describe most of the Mexican food in 1983.  I did find some restaurants on the south side (Capitol Hill) that served more authentic Mexican food, either exclusively or in addition to the Tex-Mex menu.  I remember Las Rositas as having some dishes I had found in El Paso at some of the better restaurants there.

I remember A&T Garcia’s as being the best Mexican restaurant in town, and this seemed to be a combination of California and New Mexico style Mexican food (with red and green chile used in place of the brown gravy-like “chili” used in Tex-Mex restaurants).  Mostly, though, I thought they just had better quality food.

The difference between 1983 and today for Mexican food in Oklahoma City is striking, and I would say authentic styles of food are prevalent in the central and south areas of the city.  A large number of restaurants serve Aguascalientes (Calvillo) style food, although many also offer American style dishes on the menu.  You are probably more likely to find truly authentic food if you go to a take-out restaurant, taco truck, etc. than in a sit-down restaurant where they serve you at the table.

In the lists I made for Austin and Albuquerque, I could see how the regional Mexican styles which had developed in the area (Tex-Mex and New Mexican cuisine, respectively) had seemed to make the population more accepting of authentic Mexican food which came along later.  Oklahoma City did not have its own regional style of Mexican food, but early restaurants such as El Charrito made Tex-Mex the preferred style here.

The more authentic Mexican food served in a number of restaurants now may be largely due to an influx of immigrants from Mexico, but a large number of long time residents have become fans of this food as well.  In these and other ways I think Oklahoma City is very representative of a number of U.S. cities.

My goal for this article is not only to provide nostalgia but also to allow trends to be observed about how Mexican food has changed in the U.S. over a relatively short period of time.

RATING RESTAURANT ADDRESS PRICES COMMENTS
DOWNTOWN
star 4 A&T Garcia’s 409 W. Reno Exp
Chicano’s 1203 W. Main
Chuy’s 401 W. Sheridan
Delgado’s 1135 N. Hudson
star 3 La Roca
 412 S. Walker Very Exp Too expensive
Que-Pasa 100 W. Main
star 2 Yolanda’s
 1021 N. Western Exp Fairly authentic
NORTHWEST
Casa Bonita 3601 NW 39
star 2 Chi-Chi’s
 4239 NW Hwy Exp
star 2 Don Serapio’s
 11109 N. May Exp
El Chico 2226 N. Bdwy
star 1 El Chico 2909 Paseo Exp
El Chico Villa Prom
star 1 El Chico 6014 N. May Exp
star 1 El Fenix Quail Spgs Mall Very Exp
El Zocalo 4600 W. Reno
star 1 JC Garcia’s 3000 W. Britton Rd. Exp
star 2 Las Chalupas
 825 NW 23rd Mod
star 2 Last Cafe of San Jose
 2625 W. Britton Rd. Exp Too expensive
star 3 Monterey House
 4533 NW 39th Mod
star 1 Nino’s 6509 NW Hwy Exp
Papagayo’s 12100 N. May
star 3 Taco Palace
 4200 NW 39th Mod
CAPITOL HILL
Chi-Chi’s 1024 SW 74th
El Chico Esplanade Shopping Center
El Rancho Sanchez 5804 S. Western
star 2 El Chalan 3325 S. Robinson Mod
La Roca 948 SW 36th
star 3 La Roca
 333 SE 29th Mod  Changed to Mino’s
star 3 Las Rositas
 2608 S. May Mod
Los Tacos 1311 SW 44th
Los Trillo 2608 S. Robinson
star 3 Mi Tierra Cafe
 1412 S. Walker Mod Open weekends only
Monterey House 705 SW 59th
star 2 Ninos 7220 S. Walker Exp
Ninos 5425 S. Penn
star 3 Pablo’s
 1408 SE 15th Exp Too expensive
Pancho’s 5733 S. Western
Pizarro’s 2908 SW 59th  Out of business
Tacoville 3502 Newcastle Rd.
MIDWEST CITY & DEL CITY
Casa de Zamudio 6308 E. Reno
Chi-Chi’s 6100 Tinker Diagonal
Del Taco 4320 SE 15th
El Chico Heritage Park Mall
Hacienda Hernandez 4733 SE 29th
Hernandos 11211 NE 23rd
Pancho’s 1224 S. Air Depot
EDMOND
star 1 Acapulco 400 S. Bryant Mod
star 1 Pepe’s 1701 S. Broadway Mod
MOORE
La Roca 111 S. Broadway
Moore’s Little Mexico 1743 N. Broadway
NORMAN
Border Crossing 606 W. Main
star 1 El Palacio
 120 E. Main Mod
Johnny’s Mex Food 1118 N. Berry
Taco Fiesta 2110 W. Lindsey
Zamudios 428 W. Robinson
YUKON
star 3 Poquito de Mexico 422 W. Main Mod Enchiladas excellent. Tacos & hot sauce are lousy
TUTTLE
Cisco’s Tacos 813 Main
AREA WIDE
Taco Bell 13 locations
Taco Bueno 12 locations
Taco Mayo 5 locations
Taco Tico 5 locations

 

The four-star rating system was as follows:
star 4 Very Good.
star 3 Good.
star 2 Fair.
star 1 Poor.

Albuquerque Mexican Restaurants 1981

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This list is presented for anyone who is interested in the Mexican restaurants which were in Albuquerque in 1981.  It grew out of a project I did to write down a list of all the Mexican restaurants from the telephone directory and then to make notes about the ones I tried.

Although the list was strictly for my own benefit while I was in the city, I think it might be of some historical use today.  It certainly provides a clue about the longest running restaurants in the city, since very few of the restaurants which were open in 1981 survive today.

These restaurants were listed under the “Mexican restaurants” section in the telephone directory, and while the list seems fairly accurate, I had no way to verify it.

By “Mexican” this really meant “New Mexican,” since very few restaurants served other styles of Mexican food.

One of my favorite restaurants, El Modelo, was not on the list (but it mainly serves take-out orders and maybe the Yellow Page people did not consider it to be a “restaurant”).

The restaurants I visited are in bold.  All others were simply copied from the phone book to give me possible places to try.

RATING RESTAURANT ADDRESS PRICES COMMENTS
ALBUQUERQUE
A & B Rest 6004 Edith NE
Abeyta & Bernell’s 2805 San Mateo NE
Acapulco Tacos 5101 Southern SE
Amador Mex Food 4703 Central NW
Amigo’s Cafe 1736 Central SW
Anita’s 3314 Isleta SW
Anita’s 2105 Mountain NW
star 3 Anita’s 3206 San Mateo NE Mod Good food-not too fancy or exp
Antonito’s 5024 4th NW
Aunt Billie’s 9119 Central NE
star 4 Baca’s 3311 Central NE Mod
Backstreet Gourmet Shop 213 3rd SW
Baja Tacos 3527 Gibson SE
Bird of Paradise 5211 Gibson SE
Bob’s Fish & Chips 700 Central SE
Burrito Bar-B-Que 515 Wyoming NE
Camino Alegre 906 Park Ave SW
Camino Real 416 Yale SE
Carlos Taquitos 1634 Isleta SW
star 4 Casa Grande 2525 Central NW Mod Excellent enchiladas
star 3 Cocina de Carlos 4901 Lomas NE Mod
Comedor de Julia 2905 4th NW
Del Valle 1502 Wyoming NE
De Pinos 1435 San Mateo SE
Diner Cafe 4519 4th NW
El Amigo 208 Central SW
El Burrito 602 Broadway SE
El Camino 6800 4th NW
Eloy’s 1826 Eubank NE
star 3 Eloy’s 3617 Wyoming NE Mod
El Parador de Maria 400 San Felipe NW
El Patio 142 Harvard SE
El Patron 2266 Wyoming NE
star 3 El Pinto 10500 4th NW Exp
El Prado First Plaza NW Galleria
star 3 El Ranchito 602 Central SW Mod
El Restaurante del Valle 1411 Isleta SW
El Sinaloa 800 Iron SE
El Sombrero 801 Juan Tabo NE
Enchilada Queen 5409 4th NW
Franco’s 1510 Girard NE
Garcia’s Kitchen 1113 4th NW
Garcia’s Kitchen 125 2nd NW
Green Burrito 804 Broadway NE
Green Burrito 1508 4th SW
Indian Pueblo Cultural Ctr. 2401 12th NW
Julio’s 1408 Eubank NE
La Esquina 60 First Plaza Galleria
La Estrellita 11417 Menaul NE
La Fontana 1103 Mountian NW
La Hacienda Old Town Plaza
La Margarita 4100 San Mateo NE
La Mesa 7509 Copper NE
La Mexicana 6300 San Mateo NE
La Mexicana Tortilla Co 306 Coal SW
La Nana’s 6417 Menaul NE
La Nana’s 4801 Central NE
La Piñata 6820 Menaul NE
La Placita Old Town Plaza
La Quinta 319 5th SW
star 2 La Salita 1217 Eubank NE Exp
Las Cazuelas 4520 4th NW
M & M Cafe 1337 Bridge SW
Mac’s La Sierra 6217 Central NW
Maria Teresa 618 Rio Grande NW
Maria’s Tamale Hut 2900 Morris NE
Marty’s 108 6th SW
Mary & Tito’s Cafe 2711 4th NW
Merlinda’s 1600 Isleta SW
Mexican Carryout Kitchen 4917 4th NW
Mexican Main Foods 922 Coal SW
Mi Casita 8302 Zuni SE
Miguel’s Gibson & San Mateo SE
star 2 Monroe’s 1520 Lomas NW Exp
Monterey Inn 1000 Juan Tabo NE
Ortega’s Old Town Plaza
star 2 Pancho’s 8601 Central NE Cheap
Papa Felipe’s 8806 4th NW
star 4 Papa Felipe’s 520 Coronado Center Exp Good blue corn ench.
Phil’s Coffee Shop 80 Winrock Center
Puente Cafe 2002 Bridge SW
Pup ‘N Taco 501 Central NE
Pup ‘N Taco 4400 Central SE
Pup ‘N Taco 4011 Central NW
Restaurante de Gomez 8531 Northeastern NE
Roberto’s 4615 Menaul NE
Roberto’s 6540 2nd NW
Rutillo’s 11016 Central SE
Sadie’s Valley Bowl 6132 4th NW
Sam’s for Lunch 112 Monroe NE
star 3 Silvano’s 5016 Lomas NE Mod Excel. blue corn ench.
Silvano’s 2509 San Mateo NE
Southwest Sakari 509 Central NW
Taco Phil’s 931 Coors SW
Taco Sal 9621 Menaul NE
Taco Villa 2608 Central SE
Taco Village 4201 Central NW
Tamale Factory 121 Coors SW
Tia Maria’s 3313 4th NW
Turquoise Coffee Shop 4301 Central NE
Western Drive-In 9129 4th SW
BERNALILLO
El Charro Cafe 121 Calle del Banco
BOSQUE FARMS
Benny’s 1675 Bosque Farms
CORRALES
Casa Vieja Corrales
El Comedor de Corrales Corrales
Territorial House Corrales
RIO RANCHO
Mexican Carryout Kitchen Rio Rancho
SANDIA PARK
Pete’s Sandia Park
AREA WIDE
Taco Bell 5 Locations

 

The four-star rating system was as follows:
star 4 Very Good.
star 3 Good.
star 2 Fair.
star 1 Poor.

Additional Comments
The four-star rating system was based on my experiences throughout New Mexico, particularly in Santa Fe and Española.  Baca’s and Casa Grande were the two notable restaurants in Albuquerque which I thought could be classified as among the best in the state.

I had expected Albuquerque to be the New Mexican food mecca in the state, and I was surprised by the number of three and two star restaurants I found.  I was not really surprised, though, that several of them were in Old Town or the other tourist areas.

In looking at the big picture, I would make the following observations from this list:

  • At the time, Albuquerque had one of the highest number of Mexican restaurants per capita in the United States.
  • The restaurants were located throughout the city, and were quite prominent in the areas which I knew to have a large Anglo population.
  • Almost all of these restaurants were what we now call “New Mexican” cuisine (not south of the border Mexican style food as is more the case today).
  • Many of my expectations for New Mexican cuisine today are based on my early experiences in Albuquerque and other areas of the state.  Thus if enchiladas are rolled instead of flat, the chile does not have a really good kick, or sopapillas are served only for dessert (and not with the meal) this is just not real New Mexican food to me (although it might still be good).  Also, they really should use blue corn tortillas (although in 1981 only about 50% of the restaurants did this).

LM Restaurant–Amarillo, TX

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LM Restaurant (Closed)
5813 E. Amarillo Blvd.
Amarillo, TX
Date of Review: Feb. 2007

LM Restaurant is one of several Asian and other ethnic restaurants along the eastern end of old U.S. Highway 66 in Amarillo, a couple of miles north of Interstate 40. While many tourists flock to the Big Texan Steak House on the Interstate, few seem to be aware of the decidedly “untourist” Southeast Asian restaurants that serve the community of immigrants and refugees from Laos, Vietnam, and surrounding countries as well as a growing number of the “non-ethnic” local residents who seek out cheap and interesting cuisine.

LM Restaurant is attached to the LM Market that sells mostly Thai imported goods, and this in itself is worth exploring. I particularly liked the selection of Thai fruit drinks at a very reasonable price. Next to the dining room is a large hall that houses large parties and live Lao music, as well as serving as the smoking area of the restaurant when not being used as an entertainment hall.

Lab salad

Lab salad with chicken

On my original visit to the restaurant I asked for a recommendation for a typical Laotian dish. I was told that the Lao people like beef jerky, but I settled on Lab (pronouned laap), a Lao-style salad with small chunks of chicken, chiles, other ingredients that I did not recognize, with slices of cucumber and Thai eggplant on the side. This turned out to be one of the most delicious Laotian food items out of the several things I have ordered at various Amarillo restaurants. The mint and cucumber provided a cool contrast to the spicy chicken. Another interesting aspect was the temperature. It tasted as if the dish was both hot and cold– probably because of the cooked chicken and the cold vegetables. Lab comes with either beef or chicken. When I visited LM Restaurant the second time the waitress said the chicken version was her favorite, so I ordered the same thing as on my first visit. I do not know if the beef or chicken is considered a more traditional version of the dish, but I thought the chicken was quite good. It should also be pointed out that the traditional version of Lab is quite spicy. I would put the spice level at about 7 or 8 out of 10, with 10 being the spiciest dishes I find in American restaurants.

Lao style chicken soup

Chicken soup, sticky rice, cucumber, and Asian eggplant for lab salad

On my first visit in 2004 a large bowl of Chicken Soup was served with the lab for a total cost of $5, and also providing a mild contrast to the spicy salad. I do not know what happened, but on a return visit the soup was both more expensive and not as flavorful as it had been originally. This does point out, though, that several types of soup are available. The lady who currently cooks at LM Restaurant seems to follow the Asian tradition of adding her own touches to the recipes and perhaps changing some of the food daily for variety. While I did not care as much for the soup the second time, I thought the lab salad was better than on my first visit.

LM Restaurant has a fairly extensive menu, and also seems to have some Chinese and Thai dishes. I would judge the number of traditional Lao dishes to be about a dozen or so, although the distinction between Lao and Isan, or northern Thai food, is sometimes quite small. The menu does not really explain all of this, nor does it provide much description of the various items. The waitress suggested, though, that the most popular Lao items served were the lab salad, beef jerky, and seafood soup.

Also not explained on the menu is the fact that a basket of Sticky Rice (shown in photo on left) is a traditional supplement to a Lao meal, and is a good fire quencher to offset the hot spices used in the food. I also happen to think sticky rice is delicious, with the version served at LM Restaurant being probably the best I have tried in Amarillo.

LM does not make its own Thai tea, but serves ones from the market next door. The jasmine tea I ordered, though, went pretty well with the food.

I have eaten at two Lao restaurants in Amarillo that are now closed, but currently the only ones that specialize in Lao food are LM Restaurant and Ly’s Restaurant a short distance to the west where Houang’s used to be (Thai House also serves some Lao dishes). Ly’s provides pictures of all the dishes, which to me seems like a great advantage to first time diners of Lao cuisine (one which I did not have on my fist several visits to the various restaurants). While LM Restaurant lacks pictures, the waitress takes all the time necessary to explain the food and find out what the customer would like to order. I certainly feel that customers at LM will be given all the help they need to explore the world of Lao and northern Thai cuisine.

RATING: 22

Cuisine: Lao
Cost: $$
Hours: Closed Tues.
Accessible: Yes
Tea: Jasmine (bags)/ Thai tea
MSG: No
Smoking: Non-Smoking Area
Buffet: No

Most Recent Visit
Feb. 3, 2007

Number of Visits: 2

Best Item
Lab Salad

Special Ratings

star 5 Lab
star 5 Chicken Soup
star 5 Sticky Rice