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El Bruno’s Restaurante y Cantina 6453 Main St. Cuba, NM (575) 289-9429 I have made two treks to Cuba, New Mexico in recent years in which I stopped to visit the famous El Bruno’s Restaurant (famous to me, at least, because … Continue reading
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 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
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
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, 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
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 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 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
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
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Art Wiener Schnitzel |
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Guinness Beer Brat |
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Pierogi |
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Sauerkraut |
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Potato Salad |
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
I thought the chips and salsa were very good–a good start to what turned out to be a good meal.
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
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
| Chile Index: |  |
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Red Enchiladas |
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Green Enchiladas |
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Chile Relleno |
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Beans |
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Chips |
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Salsa |
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Sopaipilla |
Taqueria Jalisco
There are two things about the name Taqueria Jalisco that I think are misleading, although neither makes any difference in the enjoyment of the food. In border areas such as El Paso the name “taqueria” has a certain connotation that tacos will be the main emphasis of the restaurant. Tacos are a main focus here, but there is certainly a broad menu that includes just about any of the familiar Mexican items that you would like.
Also the focus of the restaurant does not seem to be on Jalisco style food, although I was informed that this was the original residence of the owners. There are items on the menu that appear to be authentic (especially in the “Especialidades de la Casa” section), but this does not seem to be the case with everything. Still, when the food is as good as I found it to be, I have little concern about whether it originated in Jalisco.
I did find the food comparable in quality and flavor to the Mexican food served in El Paso, and this is something that I think will please most people when they try it. This is not New Mexican cuisine, but I think they combine Mexican recipes with New Mexico chile and other local flavors on some of the dishes. The one thing I can say for sure is that it is not Americanized in the manner that I see in many restaurants around the country.
Chips and Salsa
Chips and salsa
The Salsa has a very good flavor, is smooth (without noticeable chunks of onions or other vegetables), and has what is to me the right spice level (not fiery but not “gringo” salsa either).
I liked the chips as well, and I think they are made in house.
Enchiladas Suizas
Enchiladas suizas
The Enchiladas Suizas were a somewhat unusual choice to be on the “Especialidades de la Casa” menu because this is apparently supposed to be a menu of authentic items, and these enchiladas are not like the ones I have had in Mexico. For instance they have changed the traditional green sauce to red, the red chile sauce seems to be from a local New Mexico source rather than from Mexico, and the sour cream is American style rather than the traditional Mexican crema.
At first I was disappointed that I did not get traditional enchiladas suizas until I decided to skip putting the sour cream on top of the enchiladas, resulting in regular red enchiladas which were not only some of the best I have had anywhere, but were very reminiscent of the ones served in El Paso. This is a good thing because to me the local chiles in New Mexico and the El Paso area, along with the local way of making them into a sauce, are really some of the best anywhere.
The inclusion of an excellent Guacamole makes this probably a better choice than ordering the regular enchiladas, and what I have determined is that it is better to just leave the sour cream on the side (note, though, that the sour cream will be served on top of the enchiladas unless you request that it be on the side). Others may like the sour cream more than I did, so it is worthwhile to at least ask them to bring it on the side.
Chile Relleno
Chile relleno
I think the Chile Relleno that I sampled also seemed to deviate from the traditional Mexican style as evidenced by the large amount of cheese on top. I also found it to be full of seeds (normally a negative), but whatever they did worked pretty well and made it come out with a good flavor.
Carne Adobada
Carne adobada
Carne Adobada is a traditional New Mexico style dish, so I decided to try this on a return visit to the restaurant (also its price was a dollar less than normal as a Friday special). With not much experience ordering this dish, though, I could not tell whether it was New Mexico style or it was more representative of traditional Mexican food. My feeling was that it was probably the latter, since the spice level was about three out of five on my New Mexico red chile scale. Also it was from the “Especialidades de la Casa” section of the menu which supposedly lists the Jalisco style dishes (and I think for the most part it does). In any case I really enjoyed the dish although I wish they had the option of a smaller portion size (even though I was happy with the price they charged for it).
Gordita
Gordita
The Gordita is an item I did not try and am not including in my ratings, although I am able to include a photo of it. I was told it was good, and one thing I noticed is that it has a Chihuahua/ El Paso/ New Mexico style corn meal crust rather than one made with a flour tortilla which is common with the “gorditas” from the interior of Mexico (which I assume would include Jalisco). It is certainly not unusual for a gordita like this to be served in a New Mexico restaurant, although one thing I did find strange is that it is listed in the “Combination Plates” section of the menu although this is just one item with rice and beans (not what I normally consider as a combination plate).
Other Notes
The “Especialidades de la Casa” section of the menu includes several Jalisco style dishes, especially the meat plates. I thought the enchiladas suizas were very good, but the red chile was El Paso style. If you really want something authentic from Jalisco it is probably best to ask the kitchen because I do not think the menu is totally consistent, and the wait staff may not know. On the other hand, if you just want something really delicious that will not be a problem here, and I think any of the staff can help you make a selection you will enjoy.
The Melon (cantaloupe) drink was thin but had a good flavor, especially with the mix of spices that are included. This is on my recommended list as well.
My first visit here was on a Sunday evening, normally a slow time for restaurants, but this one was almost completely full. I think this is a good recommendation in a state where people have a large choice of Mexican restaurants.
RATING: 23
Cuisine: Mexican
Cost: $$
Hours: Open Daily
Accessible: Yes
Smoking: No smoking
Alcohol: Beer and wine
Most Recent Visit: Jan. 11, 2019
Number of Visits: 2
Best Items: Red Enchiladas, Carne Adobada, Guacamole, Salsa
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| Cooking Oil: | N/A |
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Red Enchilada |
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Chile Relleno |
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Carne Adobada |
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Guacamole |
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Beans |
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Rice |
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Melon Drink |
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Chips |
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Salsa |
Menu (Aug. 2018):
A Bite of Belgium
When my dad and uncle were growing up, Belgium was referred to simply as “the old country,” with their grand-maman trying in vain to pass along a working knowledge of the French language to the grand-kids. Another item that seemingly did not get passed on was any tradition of Belgian food in the family. This has led me on somewhat of a quest to find anything that might be a true representation of food from the “old country.”
A Bite of Belgium was my first successful attempt at getting an actual Belgian meal as opposed to novelty items such as chocolate candy or waffles that were Belgian in name only. I will have to say the restaurant was quite impressive, and a large crowd in both the dining room and outdoor patio seemed to agree. The restaurant has a large breakfast and sandwich menu, which has actually expanded since I first dropped in to pick up a menu in 2017.
One thing I like about the breakfasts is that they are not oversized, and the restaurant believes you might actually want to eat lunch somewhere and have enough appetite to enjoy it. The sandwiches I saw at other tables were fairly substantial and appeared to make a good lunch.
Waffles
Waffles with bacon and vanilla cream cheese
The menu now includes more waffle choices than it did in 2017, and I could see that this was the area I would probably want to explore the most. I have had “Belgian waffles” at other restaurants, but the ones here were obviously the real thing and opened up what seemed to me like a whole new world in waffle enjoyment.
A Bite of Belgium serves Liège style waffles, and to me the waffle itself was the best part of the meal. The Waffles, Bacon, and Cream breakfast serves the waffles with two bacon strips and vanilla cream cheese for a very nice combination of flavors (in addition to fruit and powdered sugar on the plate). The cream cheese turned out to be a little too sweet for the type of breakfast I like, but the good thing here is that you can order the waffles in a variety of ways, including plain with just the powdered sugar. I really enjoyed the waffle and will definitely want to come back for these again.
The bacon was excellent as well–they have a very good quality bacon here.
Desserts
This restaurant has pastries to eat here or for take-home orders as they do at Le Rendez-vous, but the selection at A Bite of Belgium seems small. I have not tried any of the pastries and cannot comment on them. What I can say, though, is that Le Rendez-vous would probably be the place most people would want to go if their primary concern is finding a large selection of items.
Other Comments
For much of my life I have wanted European food to be considered as “normal” in the United States, and for this style of restaurant to be popular places where people would eat all the time. This seems to be the case with A Bite of Belgium–the place was packed and people were obviously enjoying the food (most people were eating sandwiches at the time I went).
A Bite of Belgium is more expensive than the diner or fast food options around town (you can see the prices from the menu I have included). The portions are good, and I do not think many people will complain that they did not get enough food (although these are not the huge portions that some breakfast and lunch restaurants serve).
It is very encouraging that there were very few tables available at A Bite of Belgium. Perhaps this means that in the future it will be easier for other Belgian restaurants to open around the country than it has been up to this point. I do think, though, that restaurants with good quality (such as this one) will do well no matter what type of cuisine they serve.
RATING: 24
Cuisine: Belgian
Cost: $$
Hours: Open Daily 7:00 am to 2:00 pm; Dinner Wed.-Sun. (5pm-9pm)
Accessible: Yes
Smoking: No smoking
Alcohol: Beer, Wine
Most Recent Visit: Mar. 22, 2018
Number of Visits: 1
Best Items: Waffles, Bacon
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Waffles, Bacon, & Vanilla Cream |
Menu (Mar. 2018):
Pepper Pot
Pepper Pot should be on anybody’s short list of traditional Southern New Mexican style restaurants that serve it for locals (meaning that you get the real deal chiles which are not dumbed down for tourists). I have the same respect for restaurants which have switched to milder chiles but retain the same rich flavor that comes from being locally sourced (Chope’s has some milder chiles than before in some of its dishes but they still have an excellent flavor).
Pepper Pot, however, still has chile that is so hot it tests the limit of my ability to actually enjoy the food, yet it is so satisfying once the meal is finished. There are a dwindling number of restaurants who still dare to serve this type of chile, yet I remember when it was commonplace (even La Posta was near this heat level when I went there as a youngster). I am just trying to do my duty as a blogger, though, and give people warning of what they will face if they come to Pepper Pot.
There are alternatives to Pepper Pot’s very spicy red chile, though. The green chile is the next step down–not as spicy but still with a good bite. The chile relleno without any sauce on top is even less spicy, but still has a good chile flavor (both the green chile and chile relleno are what I would rate as four chiles on the five chile scale). Pepper Pot even seves American food for those who do not want anything spicy at all (I am not sure why anyone would go to America’s chile capital to eat American food, but it may be able to satisfy anyone in your party who is not ready to try the hot stuff).
Chips and Salsa
Chips and salsa
I usually like the chips and salsa at any restaurant, but it is not often that I take note of both of them like I did at Pepper Pot. The Salsa is actually not as spicy as it is at most New Mexico restaurants, yet I think the flavor here far exceeds most of the others (this is an obvious sign that they use fresh local chile here). The chips were good for not having anything that would detract from them (such as having too much of an oily flavor).
Enchiladas
Enchiladas served Christmas style
The Red Enchiladas are the spiciest of the two types, and I think also the most flavorful. I have gone to several restaurants in southern New Mexico where I thought the red chile was lacking the flavor it should have, but the one at Pepper Pot was an example of the flavor the others were missing. I had to take several bites before I got over the overwhelming spiciness and could really enjoy the flavor, but in the end I thought these were possibly the best red enchiladas in New Mexico. I have been eating this type of red chile since I was growing up and I know that not everyone will really appreciate something so hot, so I will just say try it if you think you will like it.
The Green Enchiladas were not nearly as spicy. In fact the chile was different than at most restaurants–it looked as if they made sort of a chile con queso using the green chile rather than the standard New Mexico chile. It was still very good, but I would say probably not what I was expecting in Hatch.
Chile Relleno
Chile relleno plate
The Chile Relleno was the choice of my dining companion, and we split both plates so we could both have a variety of items. The relleno plate comes with red, green, or both sauces if you want it, but it costs extra. We actually had enough red and green sauce from the enchiladas to put this on the relleno if we wanted, but served without the sauce it turned out to be almost as good as the one at Chope’s. These had cheese on top while the ones at Chope’s only have cheese on the inside. Even accounting for this I would say the only difference with Chope’s is that perhaps the batter here was a little more oily. Everything else (and especially the chile) was excellent at both places.
Other Notes
I did not try the stuffed sopapailla which is many times my favorite item at New Mexican restaurants, but I had more than enough to eat as it was. Based on the green chile I gave Pepper Pot a rating lower than Chope’s, but the stuffed sopapilla might bring it up (I thought the red chile was definitely better than at Chope’s and an excellent sopapilla here might give this restaurant equal weight to the excellent relleno at Chope’s).
In any case, I am only trying to give full disclosure about the pluses and minuses of each restaurant. To me all of the traditional New Mexican restaurants are good, but they just have different degrees of excellence.
I passed by Sparky’s, know for its green chile cheeseburgers but with a waiting line that rivals Cafe du Monde in New Orleans. I hope I have convinced everyone to stay away from Pepper Pot so it does not develop a similar waiting line (this is your warning!! it is way too spicy!!). Actually for some my warning would be appropriate–they are not messing around with the chiles here.
RATING: 25
Cuisine: Mexican New Mexican
Cost: $$
Hours: Open Daily (Breakfast & Lunch Only)
Accessible: Yes
Smoking: No smoking
Alcohol: No
Most Recent Visit: Feb. 18, 2018
Number of Visits: 1
Best Items: Red Enchiladas, Chiles Rellenos, Beans, Chips, Salsa
| Chile Index: |  |
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Red Enchiladas |
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Green Enchiladas |
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Chile Relleno |
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Rice |
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Beans |
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Chips |
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Salsa |
El Camino
I have been aware of El Camino at least since the 1980’s, and it probably was operating long before then. In fact, I would call it a 1950’s style diner like the kind that used to dot the highways as people traveled anywhere in the country. This one, though, has the added feature of serving local New Mexican cuisine which has usually been the attraction to me (I listed that I have been here twice but the number may actually be much higher from the days I did not keep track of the places I ate).
The restaurant is open 24 hours per day, and you can order breakfast any time. Most people sit in booths unless you have a large party (and then tables are available). Even though the restaurant is a little dated it is very clean, and it always seems to have people coming in for coffee even if they are not ordering a meal.
Eggs, ham, and hash browns with a bowl of green chile on the side
As far as breakfast goes, it is pretty much like breakfasts you get in diners anywhere. Everything was very adequate, but the hash browns were some of the best I have ever had. Other than that, I think most people will like the food but it was not very notable to me.
Bowl of green chile
The one caveat, though, is that I think the breakfast must be accompanied by a complimentary bowl of green chile. This is not salsa, but the standard green chile they put on enchiladas. It also turns eggs into something I think is as good as huevos rancheros, if not better than most that I have had.
Everything I tasted made me want to come back and try their New Mexican food (actually I have had it before but I do not remember the specifics of it). The really big selling point here is the green chile, and probably the red chile also.
I asked for the bowl of green chile (they do not bring it automatically with breakfast orders). Since it is free, though, it is definitely worth a shot.
RATING: 22
Cuisine: American & New Mexican
Cost: $
Hours: Open 24 Hours
Most Recent Visit: Feb. 18, 2018
Number of Visits: 2
Best Item: Eggs & Ham
Special Ratings
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Eggs & Ham |
Namaste near the UNM Campus
Update Sep. 2021: This restaurant is closed, but Namaste at 1580 Deborah Rd. SE in Rio Rancho is open.
Also, I have had chow chow in two Himalayan restaurants in Oklahoma City but I still think the one from here is the best.
Although I had a wide choice of Asian restaurants near the University of New Mexico Campus for lunch on Saturday, a tight time schedule caused me to go to one of the places that was most visible and which involved the least travel. Namaste turned out to be an excellent choice both for the food and for quick service. It also allowed me to sample a cuisine I had never tried before, namely Nepali (served here in addition to Indian food).
Albuquerque seems to be a hotbed of Asian food, and I know from both Yelp and Gil’s Thrilling and Filling Blog that many of them are ones I want to try. Many of the best ones seem to be near UNM and along Central Avenue, and hopefully I will be able to make other trips to sample their food as well.
The main downside to Namaste seems to be the logistics of going to it. There are a few parking spaces behind the building along the alley that are reserved for restaurant customers, but if they are full I think people may be out of luck as far as parking is concerned. The restrooms are down a flight of stairs in the basement so it looks as if the restaurant is not accessible, but I do not know if they have other arrangements.
At first I was tempted to try the Indian buffet which they have on Saturday, and the price was right for this. On second thought, though, I saw some Nepali items on the menu and ordered one of these instead. I cannot give a full report of the food served here, but I was very satisfied with what I got.
Nepali Food
Chow Chow
Chow Chow was one of about six items available from the Nepali menu. My choice was affected by the fact that it is their cheapest Nepali item and also the one that can be prepared most quickly, but I certainly was more than happy with this choice. I commented to the waiter that it looked like Chinese food, and he said it was cooked with soy sauce. It even tasted like Chinese food, which to me was a very pleasant surprise. I have had many Indian style “Manjurian” Chinese dishes which were spicy and had mostly Indian flavors rather than Chinese, but in this instance I was glad the Nepalese have a different cooking style.
The Chow Chow was not spicy and had slightly different flavors than the Cantonese food with which I am all too familiar, yet I think it could be served at Cantonese restaurants and people would think it was authentic. On line recipes for Chow Chow indicate that it always has ginger, garlic, and soy sauce. Unlike most Chinese dishes, though, it also includes turmeric (an ingredient of many curries but this dish did not have curry). This was a vegetarian dish, and the vegetables mixed into the noodles gave it added flavor.
The waiter told me Chow Chow was on their buffet on weekdays but not Saturday (the buffet looked rather small and there were only a few customers at the restaurant). For other Nepali dishes, though, I think you have to order them from the menu.
Indian Food
Although I did not try the buffet I saw some of the items they had, and they looked good. They seemed to be predominantly meat items, and they had several types of curry and sauces.
There is also quite an extensive choice of Indian food on the menu (unlike the Nepali menu which only lists about six items).
Other Comments
For me this restaurant was a good choice–I not only enjoyed the food but it made me want to come back to try other things.
The Chai was good, and is definitely what I would order if I go back.
Chow Chow seems to be a simple dish which they made more complex through its flavors, and because of this I have high expectations for other dishes I might try here.
There is another location in Rio Rancho (where I expect parking will not be as much of an issue).
The restaurant is closed between 2:30 and 5:00 P.M.
RATING: 24
Cuisine: Indian & Nepali
Cost: $$
Hours: Open Daily
Accessible: Restroom is downstairs accessible by stairs only
Smoking: No smoking
Alcohol: Beer & Wine
Most Recent Visit: Feb. 17, 2018
Number of Visits: 1
Best Items: Chow Chow, Chai
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Chow Chow |
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Chai |