Monthly Archives: August 2019

Bread+Salt–Frisco, CO

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Bread+Salt
401 E. Main St.
Frisco, CO
(970) 668-0902
Bread+Salt

Bread+Salt

Frisco is one of the popular ski towns in the Vail area, but it also seems to have quite a substantial year round population that support some very good amenities such as Safeway and Whole Foods grocery stores, as well as a number of restaurants. Possibly the biggest disappointment of coming to Frisco is that you will not be able to try all the restaurants that look good, and even if you were able to do so there are always the neighboring towns of Dillon, Silverthorne, Breckenridge, etc. that would offer their own challenge. By the way, my friend who traveled with me on this trip went to the The Lost Cajun and recommends this restaurant very much as having a true (not touristy) flavor.

Bread+Salt is another restaurant that is not touristy in the sense of being dumbed down. I am speaking primarily of items they serve such as huevos rancheros that have a true south of the border flavor. I would go further and say they are like the food you find in alta cocina restaurants in Mexico, the type of restaurants from which chefs like Rick Bayless get their inspiration.

Every restaurant in Frisco seems to be crowded, particularly at breakfast and right at the lunch hour. I have heard that many times you need a reservation at Bread+Salt but when I went in the late morning it was busy but not full. The breakfast menu is served until they stop serving the regular menu at 2 PM (their web site says they serve burgers and beer from 2 to 8 PM). I think they are known for their breakfasts, and they have quite a range of choices. There is a large outdoor patio, and in nice weather the dining room has the feel of being outdoors because they leave the doors open to let in the outside air (when you are in Frisco I think you will want as much of the outside air as you can get).

Frisco Omelet with Fixings

Frisco omelet with fixings

Frisco omelet with fixings

As much as I liked the huevos rancheros that I sampled, the Frisco Omelet with Fixings was the highlight of the meal for me. It had three eggs, which was more than I thought I could eat, but in full disclosure I ate part of the omelet and part of the huevos rancheros, so I am not sure about how filling each one would be if you ordered it alone. You get “fixings” with it that are not cooked into the omelet, but rather stuffed inside so you can either eat them with the omelet or separately (this made more of an impression on me that I would have thought, having the items cooked into the omelet in all of my other experiences that I can remember). The quality of the food at Bread+Salt is top notch, but I think the recipes they use and the way they cook the food is the other vital ingredient that makes this a memorable experience.

My fixings were black forest ham, Sonoma goat cheese, and spinach. Either I miraculously stabbed in the dark and found a very good combination, or the restaurant has a way of taking anything you order and making it good. Afterward I was glad that they let you choose your own ingredients and do not just offer their own combinations that they think would be good.

Huevos Rancheros

Huevos rancheros

Huevos rancheros

I was very afraid that if I got something like Huevos Rancheros in Frisco it would be the tourist version, but fortunately I got some good information from the desk clerk at the hotel (whose father is a chef at Bread+Salt) that I should try the ones here. As I mentioned in the introduction, these have a very Mexican flavor. Specifically they come with black beans, queso fresco, poblano green chile, and crema mexicana. My thought in tasting it was that it was really good, but another thought was how things have changed so that they can get a regular supply of poblano chile, queso fresco, and crema to allow an item like this to be on a restaurant’s menu. It is also available with red chile (red chipotle) which I believe is really hot, but in my mind the green poblano chile was plenty spicy enough and had an excellent flavor.

Recommendations
The huevos rancheros would make this restaurant worthy of visiting, but I enjoyed the omelet even more (I can get good huevos rancheros in El Paso but not so much with the omelets).

I think if you come here for breakfast, it might be your lunch as well. I say this not only because of the quantity they serve, but the price is a little bit high and you might not want to spend any more money for lunch if you are satisfied with the breakfast you had (this is the way I felt). There is also the fact that the omelet comes with bread, and they have a very good jelly on the table that makes this almost a meal in itself.

The restaurant’s web site says that they have a sister restaurant named Bagalis at 320 Main St. where you can get dinner. They also have a restaurant in Breckenridge named DOMA 1898 at 270 N. Main St. which is open 8AM to 2PM for breakfast & lunch, and until 8PM Wed-Sun.

Bread+Salt Web Site

RATING: 25

Cuisine: Breakfast, Sandwiches
Cost: $$
Hours: Open Daily 7AM-2PM (Open 2 to 8 PM for burgers & beer)
Accessible: Yes
Smoking: No smoking
Alcohol: Beer, and I am not sure what else

Most Recent Visit: Aug. 8, 2019
Number of Visits: 1
Best Items: Frisco Omelet with Fixings, Huevos Rancheros

Special Ratings
star 5 Frisco Omelet with Fixings
star 5 Huevos Rancheros

Currents–Salida, CO

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Currents Steaks & Seafood
122 N. F St.
Salida, Co
(719) 539-9514
Currents

Currents

Salida was quite surprising to me when I visited this time. I had been here a number of years ago and the town did not seem to have grown physically at all in this time. However, in terms of people, life in the city, restaurants, shops, etc., it was a different story. This seemed to be one of the liveliest towns of its size I had ever seen, and I do not think this can be attributed merely to the summer tourist season. The restaurants in town all seem to be high quality, and I would use the term that there seems to be a refined crowd here hoping that this would not be interpreted as saying that it felt stuffy.

Currents is located in the downtown area in an older building where parking is on the street and the demand for the parking spaces there is very high. I am not sure if the restaurant is handicapped accessible because there were steps coming in, but if you need to know it would be best to contact the restaurant. There is a small outdoor patio next to the street, but even indoors it seemed that you could feel the outside air because the doors were kept open (similar to the way many New Orleans restaurants are open to the street during the cooler non-bug season).

Specials board next to the outdoor patio

Specials board next to the outdoor patio

I think the restaurant is known for its steaks, but just about every review I have read has been for the non-steak items on the menu, of which there is a large selection. I came specifically for the chicken pot pie and my friend wanted the beef stroganoff, both of which have had very good on-line reviews.

They do have daily specials, and the menu is available on the restaurant’s web site.

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken pot pie

Chicken pot pie

The Chicken Pot Pie may be shaped like some sort of space rock, but it met all of my expectations when it came to the flavor. The chicken pot pie as it has now evolved is said to have been developed by early Americans, and I think one possible motive may have been to hide the vegetables inside the pie in order to trick the children into eating them. The pie at Currents is so full of vegetables, chicken, and other ingredients, though, that simply cutting it open will reveal all the good things that are packed inside. After most of my recent experiences with chicken pot pie being the “creative” variety, I was very glad to have one that was more traditional. They did add a spice that tasted like basil to me and I would call the flavor “elevated” (a term they like to use on Master Chef), but in its essential form I would say this pot pie is the traditional one that most people expect.

The bad news about this pot pie is that it now seems to have been taken off the menu. At the time of this writing (about two weeks after I visited the restaurant) the web site menu lists beef steak pot pie, but there is no chicken version. I am sure the flavors are still good, but personally I would not crave a beef pot pie the way I would if it were chicken.

Beef Stroganoff

Beef stroganoff

Beef stroganoff

The Beef Stroganoff may have been my second choice for an order, but since I was able to sample it, I ended up being able to see how it stacked up against the pot pie. It is hard to tell from the photo, but this dish was full of mushrooms, and also had more beef than I think the photo indicates. I had a mushroom stroganoff in a now closed restaurant in Walsenburg, Colorado which was one of the best meals of my life, and I was wondering how this one would compare. I will have to say that if I had ordered a mushroom stroganoff here (which the restaurant will do on request) I would have been disappointed. When I ate the pasta, sauce, and mushrooms together on this dish it did not have the flavor that I really wanted, and I think the main reason was the sauce. When I added the beef, though, this dish became “elevated” and it met my expectations. The beef does seem to be quite flavorful and well cooked here.

Recommendations
I would choose whatever looks good at the moment when you come here. The menu has good choices, and the quality seems to be good in everything they prepare.

The restaurant is upscale but casual. Prices are not out of line compared to other restaurants, and I would have more confidence here than in many other restaurants that anything you order will be good.

One factor to consider is that Salida seems to have a number of good restaurants. If I went back and found out that the chicken pot pie is indeed no longer available, and nothing else looked like what I wanted to eat, I think there would be no problem finding another restaurant. I do think, though, that Currents has a number of dishes that will make people happy.

Currents Web Site

RATING: 25

Cuisine: Steaks, American Food
Cost: $$$
Hours: Open Daily except Mon. Lunch
Accessible: N/A
Smoking: No smoking
Alcohol: Yes (I’m not sure about the details)

Most Recent Visit: Aug. 7, 2019
Number of Visits: 1
Best Items: Chicken Pot Pie, Beef Stroganoff,

Special Ratings
star 5 Beef Stroganoff
star 5 Chicken Pot Pie

Porter’s–Farmington, NM

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Porter’s Restaurant & Smokehouse
2210 E. 20th St.
Farmington, NM
(505) 327-5979
Porter's

Porter’s

First of all, I want to clear up some confusion about what Porter’s is. The official name of the restaurant is “Porter’s Restaurant & Smokehouse.” When looking at different web sites I saw that it was everything from a steakhouse to an American restaurant to a barbecue restaurant. The answer is that it is all of these things under one roof, and I think they must be awfully busy preparing all these different types of food. After examining the menu, though, I asked one of the employees if this was a steakhouse that had barbecue or a BBQ restaurant that had steaks, inquiring about the restaurant’s true specialty and what is popular with local people. Her reply was that it was a barbecue restaurant that had steaks, keeping this in context that she was only saying what was most popular and not necessarily what was the best food.

A second question some may have may be “why was I in Farmington in the first place?” All right, this is probably not a question anyone has, but I will give an answer anyway. It is quite notable that Farmington has one of the last remaining K-Marts in New Mexico, and in fact in the entire country. Last year I visited the K-Mart in Roswell which has since closed, and it is very uncertain what will be the fate of the remaining stores. It seems that the K-Marts have items that you cannot find anywhere else because of the fact that they do not jettison items as quickly which are not the top sellers, while the typical big box stores do not have as much patience for anything which is not earning them the top profit margins. K-Mart has good items, but just ones that are harder to find.

Also pretty hard to find, though, is good barbecue. New Mexico has become one of the top barbecue states in recent years, but of course not all restaurants in any state are of equal quality.

I told the staff that I was from Oklahoma and that I had high standards for barbecue, and after the meal I let them know that this restaurant passes the test. I would classify it as Texas style barbecue rather than Oklahoma–two of their best items are beef ribs and brisket which are known as being Texas specialties. I could not pin down the origin of the sauce but it was more spicy than in most Oklahoma restaurants (and more spicy than most I have tasted in Austin).

Moreover, I found out that their most popular item was the beef ribs, and that people literally make trips from all four of the Four Corners states to eat it. This is not a reflection of there being very little competition, but the fact that these ribs are so good that really anyone would come here who had a reasonable means of doing so. I did not know any of this before coming to the restaurant, but I am glad I found out.

The staff also let me know that the beef is locally sourced, and I think that not only the beef BBQ but also the steaks are known to be of very high quality.

BBQ Plate

BBQ plate

BBQ plate with beef rib, sausage, and brisket

First of all, I should disclose that this was not my meal for the evening. Having previously eaten at El Bruno’s in Cuba, I had only samples of the meat while my friend and traveling companion (also named Steve) ate most of the meal. The BBQ plate includes three meats which are your choice, and you can choose side dishes as well. I do not remember whether Steve asked for recommendations or not, but I believe the rib and brisket are always his first choices at barbecue restaurants. I did not eat very much of any of them, but I thought all three meats were very good.

Of course I discovered that the Beef Rib is the restaurant’s specialty. This item is almost non-existent in Oklahoma, although I have had some recently in El Paso (which largely serves central Texas style BBQ). The beef rib at Porter’s included a very large portion of fat, but there was enough meat for both of us to cut off a reasonable serving and to be very satisfied (although I had a smaller appetite as was satisfied more easily). This was honestly the tenderest and most flavorful beef rib that I think I have ever eaten, and it was through asking the staff how they did this that I found out about the local sourcing of the meat.

The Brisket had a very good quality that I almost never get in Oklahoma, and which is not universal in the Texas barbecue world which includes El Paso. This was also a very good barbecued meat, which I would get as a supplement to the ribs (also in contrast to the rib’s high fat content, the brisket is very lean).

The Sausage was also very good, and I would say it was one of the best I have had anywhere. However, I am not that big a fan of BBQ sausage, so for me this was another item which took second place to the rib.

The sauce had a very good bite and in Oklahoma I would classify it as “spicy,” although it is not really at the level that New Mexicans think of as being extra spicy. The sauce went very well with the rib and sausage. For anyone who happens to see this blog before going to Porter’s, though, I would say to order the brisket plain with the sauce on the side. This brisket most likely would have been very good plain without any sauce, but I did not get to taste it this way.

The restaurant does give you a choice of whether you want sauce on the meat, on the side, or not included. I did like the sauce on the rib and the sausage.

Other Items
There is a popular buffet which I think includes all the BBQ items but not the steaks. I believe they also have regular meats which are not smoked on the menu and the buffet. The buffet is supposedly a bargain if you are fairly hungry. When I went the buffet was already closed (shortly before the restaurant’s closing time) but they did have the same type of soft serve ice cream machine I find at many barbecue restaurants in Oklahoma.

Summary
I did not have a large sample of this restaurant’s food, but I did try the beef rib which is what people “drive from Durango” in order to eat. This was an exceptional rib, and even more so because it had enough meat to satisfy what I would judge to be a normal meat portion when I consider the size of an average meal.

My other general recommendation is that prices here are extremely good for the amount and quality of food that you get.

There are other barbecue restaurants in Farmington that come up higher on the Yelp ranked list of restaurants, so I cannot say which one is actually the best. For beef ribs, though, it seems to be Porter’s.

Porter’s Web Site

RATING: 24

Cuisine: BBQ, Steaks
Cost: $$
Hours: Open Daily
Accessible: Yes
Smoking: No smoking
Alcohol: Beer & Wine

Most Recent Visit: Aug. 6, 2019
Number of Visits: 1
Best Item: Beef Ribs

Special Ratings
star 5 Beef Ribs
star 5 Brisket
star 5 Sausage

Red Rock Deli–Albuquerque, NM

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Red Rock Deli
2414 San Mateo Pl. N.E.
Albuquerque, NM
(505) 332-9656
Red Rock Deli

Red Rock Deli

Mark, the owner of Red Rock Deli, seems to be the eternal optimist. While I say Red Rock Deli is closed on Monday, the Red Rock Facebook page says it is “open Tuesday through Sunday.” When I found out he actually spends weekdays in Blanca, Colorado working at his other business (Red Rock General Store) he said he is excited about both business opportunities, and that he enjoys the commute between them every week!

Actually I should point out that Red Rock Deli in Albuquerque is run by Mark’s wife, and the General Store in Colorado is owned by other family members (who also have a deli in the store and serve Polish sandwiches as the one in Albuquerque does). The Albuquerque enterprise resulted from Mark’s desire to operate a full blown restaurant with sandwiches and complete dinner plates. The restaurant is based on food from Mark’s native Poland, but he points out that he loves food from other countries too, and includes menu items from such countries as Germany and Ukraine.

Displays in the store

Displays in the store featuring imported items from Europe

Red Rock is also a European style grocery store selling such items as sausages, pierogi, jellies and preserves from several countries, candy, cookies, and much more. Mark said he makes periodic trips to Chicago (I believe every three months) to buy sausages, etc., and items on the shelves and in the freezer are all well within their proper shelf lives. Apparently there is a very high demand for his European delicacies resulting in a high turnover of the product.

Red Rock Deli used to be located on the far east side of Albuquerque, but recently opened a new store and restaurant on San Mateo Place just north of Interstate 40. It is open from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (closed on Mon.) and has table service for lunch and dinner as well as anything you would like to buy in the store to take home.

Pierogi

Russian Roulette

Russian Roulette

I was very happy for the opportunity to try Polish food for the first time since Maggie’s Cafe in Oklahoma City closed. I think if anyone had tried Maggie’s Polish specialties they would probably welcome the opportunity for more of the same as I did.

I immediately focused on two items at Red Rock Deli that corresponded to some of my favorites at Maggie’s–the stuffed cabbage (golabki at Maggie’s but I am not sure what it is called at Red Rock) and the pierogi. I think both would have been good choices, but my decision was swayed by the fact that the Russian Roulette pierogi plate had a sample of fillings with different flavors such as spinach, cabbage, sauerkraut, and potatoes with cheese. These are mostly evident only by cutting or biting into the individual dumplings to see what is inside (although I think the spinach one had a green color that could be seen through the dumpling). One of best parts of this plate was the variety, although I did like the spinach pierogi quite a bit.

Something especially recommended would be the optional onion and bacon sauce for the pierogi the restaurant makes in house.

I should note that they have frozen pierogi in the freezer section of the store which can be taken home, and I think these are also the ones served on the pierogi plate in the restaurant. Because of this I did not think the pierogi were the best items served at the restaurant, but the flavors were very good, especially with the onion and bacon sauce.

Art Wiener Schintzel

Art Wiener Schnitzel

Art Wiener Schnitzel

I was fortunate enough to be able to split two meals instead of just having my own, so I was treated to half of an excellent Wiener Schnitzel which I would say is the best item I tried. The meat was tender and the breading was excellent, as were the side dishes. The only comment I would make is to ask for a lemon slice to sprinkle on the schnitzel–to me this made it almost perfect (but the lemon is not provided unless you request it).

Potato salad and sauerkraut

Potato salad, sauerkraut, and German mustard

Of the three side dishes I thought the star was the Sauerkraut, which is made in house. This had the flavor I find in good versions of sauerkraut without the acid which is most pronounced in canned versions but which is also present is some home made varieties.

Although I was not a big fan of the Potato Salad my dining companion was, and I certainly did not dislike it in any way.

The German Mustard was very good but I did not find any items that were enhanced by adding mustard to it.

Sausage

Guinness beer brat

Guinness beer brat

On my visit to the new store I tried the Guinness Beer Brat with Sauerkraut. This is called “Double Barrel” on the menu because you get two of them, but since this was a snack for me rather than a full me I just tried a portion of one of them. This was enough, though, to convince me of the excellent flavor. Although I really liked the sauerkraut and the spicy brown mustard, the big attraction for me was the sausage itself, which made me think you can indeed get authentic European sausage in the Southwest.

The “General Store”
The new building, like the old one, is filled with display shelves stocked with imported food and other goods from Europe. While most of it looked very good and would be very useful if I knew how to cook, I decided I could at least get good use out of the sweet items that were available here but probably nowhere else that I knew about.

Cookies and candy

Cookies and candy from Red Rock Deli

These are several of the cookies and candy they have available, but buying these was a shot in the dark from the vast array of items that are available. All of them made very good snacks, and I did not try anything that I would not buy again.

Items Previously Sold at the Eastside Store
There is one special item I bought at the old store, though, but could not find at the new one (perhaps it was there and I missed it). This was one of the more expensive candies, but I thought it was the best.

Mella chocolate

Mella jelly in chocolate

The Mella Galaretka w Czekoladzie (jelly in chocolate) came with 16 rather small but very rich pieces of chocolate candy filled with orange flavored jelly. It reminded me of the old orange slice candy I used to enjoy when I was growing up, except that the one here has a slightly more liquid texture (like a jelly).

The Mella candies

The Mella candies

This is what the inside of the box looked like, and the 16 pieces lasted for a surprisingly long time. Even though I was taking a long time eating them in order to extend the time I could enjoy them, they stayed fresh for several months (they could not last indefinitely because they were too good not to be enjoyed).

I had never really explored the world of Polish chocolates before, but it turned out to be surprisingly worthwhile.

RATING: 23

Cuisine: Polish
Cost: $$
Hours: Closed Mon.
Accessible: Yes
Smoking: No smoking
Alcohol: No

Most Recent Visit: Aug. 6, 2019
Number of Visits: 2
Best Items: Schnitzel, Sauerkraut, Guinness Beer Brat

Special Ratings
star 5 Art Wiener Schnitzel
star 5 Guinness Beer Brat
star 5 Pierogi
star 5 Sauerkraut
star 5 Potato Salad

Papa Felipe’s–Albuquerque, NM

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Papa Felipe’s
9800 Menaul Blvd. N.E.
Albuquerque, NM
(505) 292-8877
Papa Felipe's

Papa Felipe’s

When I lived in Albuquerque for a short time in the early 1980’s I made a list of all the Mexican restaurants in the city and then proceeded to make comments and rate the ones I visited (see my blog post Albuquerque Mexican Restaurants 1981). Papa Felipe’s was on this list, although at the time it was located in the Coronado Shopping Center. Furthermore I rated it as four stars out of four (one of the few that I considered to be this good).

Since then I have had enormous curiosity about whether it has stood the test of time, until I was able to visit again in 2019. The short answer is that I was not disappointed on my return visit, and I think this is still a very good New Mexican restaurant. In truth, I think all the restaurants on my 1981 list were New Mexican style, while today there are many restaurants with south of the border style food that might compete as the city’s best Mexican restaurants.

Since the days Papa Felipe’s was in Coronado Center it has had a somewhat upscale setting and the large number of booths give it a coffee house feeling. I do not consider it to be expensive, but it is not a mom and pop restaurant which generally have the cheapest prices. It is still a comfortable restaurant with good food, and probably most importantly for my most recent visit, is open until 9:00 p.m. (this seems to be very late for most restaurants in Albuquerque).

Chips and Salsa

Chips and salsa

Chips and salsa

I thought the chips and salsa were very good–a good start to what turned out to be a good meal.

Enchiladas

Christmas enchiladas

Christmas enchiladas

The regular order of Enchiladas is served with corn tortillas and comes rolled. The blue corn tortillas I ordered, though, dictates that it be served flat (and the regular order will also be served flat if you request it this way). I definitely recommend the blue corn tortillas, though, since this is one of the important elements of northern New Mexican food that I really enjoy. Although the flavor of the blue corn is sometimes barely noticeable in an enchilada, I think what I like most is the lack of corn oil flavor I have always found with this type of tortilla.

I thought a good choice for this meal would be to order the enchiladas “Christmas” (both red and green chile) which if nothing else at least makes the dish very colorful. As usually happens with me, though, I preferred the red chile in terms of flavor. Still, though, the green chile was better than I find at most restaurants, and was a worthwhile experience. As for the red, it was not only good, but was one of the best I have found in town (as I did in the 1980’s).

The restaurant has a sign warning customers that the green chile is “hot,” but it does not reach the level I find at some Hatch, Las Cruces, or rural northern NM levels (I put it at four chiles out of five). The red was what I call a “solid 4” (hot enough to have a good flavor but you do not get a chile overload on your tongue).

The drawback to these enchiladas, though, seemed to be the cheese they put inside. It did not seem to melt sufficiently when they cooked it, and I did not like the harder than normal texture it had.

Despite the cheese (which was either not prepared properly or else this is the style they do it) this was one of my favorite New Mexico style enchiladas I have found anywhere, and overall was very good. Even the green half was quite good, but I like the red half better.

Chile Relleno

Chile relleno

Chile relleno

When I sampled a friend’s order of Chile Relleno it was quite a surprise in a good way. Not only did it taste very good covered with green chile, but the batter around the chile relleno was flavorful enough to almost be competitive with the ones at Chope’s in southern New Mexico. Of course most Albuquerque residents cannot travel to a location south of Las Cruces for their chiles rellenos, but I think the ones at Papa Felipe’s are very satisfying and are a very good alternative.

Other Notes
The whole beans here were excellent, and the rice was “OK.” Both plates came with a salad (no dressing–just the raw elements of lettuce, tomato, and cheese). These side dishes were very good, but mainly because of the beans.

I requested the sopaipillas with my meal, and I was very happy because this allowed me to have the perfect “blue corn enchilada” experience. The chiles rellenos were supposed to have their own order of sopaipillas to be served for dessert, but these never came. This was one of several issued I found about the service where certain items are available if you want, but you have to request it. Another issue is that by the time anyone comes around so that you can request something, you may not really want it anymore.

The bottom line is that this is some of the best red and green chile I have had anywhere, but I particularly like the red.

RATING: 24

Cuisine: Mexican New Mexican
Cost: $$
Hours: Open Daily 11:00 am to 9:00 pm
Accessible: Yes
Smoking: No smoking
Alcohol: Full Bar

Most Recent Visit: Aug. 5, 2019
Number of Visits: 2
Best Items: Red Enchiladas, Chile Relleno, Salsa, Beans, Sopaipilla

Mexican Food Details

Chile Index: chile 4
Special Ratings
star 5 Red Enchiladas
star 5 Green Enchiladas
star 5 Chile Relleno
star 5 Beans
star 5 Chips
star 5 Salsa
star 5 Sopaipilla