Buffetbuster's weekend in NM

I used one of my free flights on Southwest to go to New Mexico for the weekend.

Friday December 7

Unfortunately, I woke up Friday morning feeling sick with a headache and cold. I almost cancelled my trip, but I was too excited about my destination. New Mexico is easily my favorite state and I haven't been there in almost three years.

While making a connection at Chicago Midway, I paid a visit to their Superdawg. What a great way to start the trip!

As always, there was no line at Superdawg, while there was a long line at the McDonald's right next to it. Oh well, better for me, I guess! Even though I have found the food at the airport Superdawg not as good as the original location, it is still miles ahead of dogs I get elsewhere.

Despite being exhausted, once I landed in Albuquerque, I headed for 66 Diner. With all the neon glowing in the night, it is a beautiful Roadfood sight.

They have a big menu here and I was tempted by some of the non-Southwestern options. But, I finally settled on the Red Chile Beef Enchilada (with fried okra as one of my sides)

and an especially good mint chocolate chip shake


They have all kinds of dessert options, with at least a dozen different types of pie. I asked for the peach cobbler, but they were out.

For better or worse, the inside of 66 Diner is exactly what you would expect from a 50's style diner. I can tell you I received excellent service and this is the first restaurant I have seen where you can hopscotch.


Ready to pass out, I checked into my hotel, the Quality Suites by the airport, hoping to feel better the next day.

Much more to come.....

Can't wait for the rest of the report!


DD

No one, I repeat NO ONE, gets around like you do, BB!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That shake looks great!!! Looking forward to the rest too.

Saturday December 8

The original plan for today was to wake up and make the 80 mile drive down to San Antonio for a green chile cheeseburger at Owl Bar for breakfast. But after a terrible night of sleep and not feeling better, I decided to stay local and went to Lindy's Coffee Shop.

http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Writeup.aspx?ReviewID=354&RefID=354

Only now, it is now called Lindy's Diner.



I was the first one through the door at 7:00AM. The only two people there were the owners, a husband/wife team. She quickly discerned me as an out-of-towner and when she found out I was from Pittsburgh, she wanted to talk football. She is a Vermont-born Patriots fan and our teams were playing a big game the next day. Actually, the conversation was her telling me she thinks the Steelers will win, while I told her the Patriots would win. Unfortunately, I was right.

Anyway, while I was waiting on my Huevos Rancheros, a different waitress brought over a few small muffins.


I asked the waitress what they were and she said she had no idea, she had never seen them before. But the owner wanted me to try them. How cool is that? They were piping hot and delicious as I added just a dab of butter on them. Soon, the owner came over and told me they were catering later that day and were making orange muffins. They should have these on the regular menu! My Huevos Rancheros was quite good, too.

Buried under there somewhere are a couple of eggs. By the way, the Huevos Rancheros pictured is served "Christmas", with both red and green chile.

After leaving Lindy's, I started taking photos of the gorgeuos Kimo Theater diagonally across the street. A beautiful art deco classic (I love art deco!), it is used for all kinds of shows and concerts, including The Nutcracker which starts next week.

While taking photos, I saw the oddest car coming towards me. On top of this old beat-up sedan, was a sign that said, "Alaska to Argentina"! The young couple in the car enthusiastically waved at me when they went by. I was a little too quick with the camera and ended up with this

You can barely see the sign attached to the roof. Can you imagine making that long of a drive, let alone in that vehicle? I'm sure they will have the adventure of a lifetime.

My next stop was to try a place reviewed by ayersian, Golden Crown Panaderia.
http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Writeup.aspx?ReviewID=4873&RefID=4860

This little bakery is off the beaten path. In fact, on first try I drove right past it.

I went in and when I started asking some questions, the young guy asked if it was my first time there. When I said it was, he gave me a complimentary biscochito, the official state cookie of New Mexico. I was planning on buying a dozen of them anyway, but it was still a nice gesture. Anice flavored, it was delicious. I asked for a dozn assorted biscochito

a cherry empanada

and a pumpkin empanada. Unfortunately, they were out of the green chile bread ayersian recommended. The young man said they would have it around lunch time, but I knew I most likely wouldn't be able to come back. I think I will have to mail order some when we get closer to Christmas.

ayersian-I don't know how you found this place, but great job!

While driving around Albuquerque, I noticed this restaurant with the name Sanitary Tortilla Factory painted on it.

That was also part of the name of the late great M & J Restaurant, a place I know both WanderingJew and myself held in high regard, before it closed. Needless to say, this is the building the M & J used to be in, so I wonder if this new restaurant is connected to the old place at all?

Next, I wanted to check out the city's other real nice art deco building, the Albuquerque Indian Hospital. Unfortunately, the hospital was closed, so I just had to settle for taking a few photos on the outside.


After a quick stop at the University of New Mexico bookstore to buy a sweatshirt, it was back to the hotel.

Much more to come.....

Buffebuster,

So far so good.

I went to the Route 66 Diner once and ordered the "66 pile up"
I just checked their website and I'm glad to see its still on the menu approximately 17 years later!

What's the name of the new restaurant next to the Sanitary Tortilla Factory?

WJ-
It looks ike it is called Los Chileros. I think next time in Albuquerque I will give it a try and see if it reminds me of M & J.

I saw the pile-up at 66 Diner and almost ordered it, since it said something like it was one of their signature dishes.

When I was at Lindy's the next morning, I saw that they have their own version of the pile-up. I am wondering if this is like Rochester, NY with the garbage plate and everyone has their own version of it.

Beffetbuster, not much I can say except that I can't wait for the rest of your report!

BB: There' no place like home!!
(Get on up to SF next time!)

I really enjoy these reports.

quote:

Originally posted by EdSails

Buffetbuster, not much I can say except that I can't wait for the rest of your report!

It's too bad you didn't make it down to the Owl Buffettbuster. I was really looking forward to your review of this establishment.

The last time at the 66 Diner, I sat in the booth next to the '7' on the hopscotch. My 4 year old son loves that place, especially the hopscotch and all the unique pez dispensers.

tamandmik-
O, ye of little faith! I did make it to the Owl Bar on Saturday night, so that is still to come.

I also sat right next to the hopscotch court (next to the 10) and watched many youngsters take advantage of it on the way to the back dining room.

Pez dispensers! I totally whiffed on this. I knew I should have got up and walked around more. Where were they? It is easy to see why kids would love this place.

quote:

Originally posted by buffetbuster

tamandmik-
O, ye of little faith! I did make it to the Owl Bar on Saturday night, so that is still to come.

I also sat right next to the hopscotch court (next to the 10) and watched many youngsters take advantage of it on the way to the back dining room.

Pez dispensers! I totally whiffed on this. I knew I should have got up and walked around more. Where were they? It is easy to see why kids would love this place.

If you look up, there is a ledge below the ceiling, in the front of the restaurant, near the bar seats, where you can see these dispensers. There had to be at least 50 of them, most of them rare.

I am really looking forward now to your review on the Owl Bar. Thanks for taking all the time to report and write about it. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.

As always, an excellent report. Looking forward to your updates.

Saturday December 8 cont.

After going back to the hotel and sleeping for a few hours, I was feeling much better. So, I headed to the Model Pharmacy for lunch.


I ate here a few times before and have always enjoyed the place. It is a full service drug store with a lunch counter and some tables and chairs. But, I like to sit at counters, especially when they are as nice as the one here.

Since they had several awards posted for winning best milkshake in Albuquerque, it was an easy decision what to drink. Here is my excellent strawberry shake

In previous visits, I had always ordered their New Mexican food. Needing something different, I went with their Grilled Ham & Swiss, with roasted red peppers on really good bread.

This sure isn't what I typically order when I am traveling, but the salad was just what I needed at the time. Of course, I had to follow it up with some dessert, so I got the peach cobbler

Here is a photo of their dessert row, including bread pudding and peach, blackberry & cherry cobblers

As in every visit here, I had excellent service. I would never come to The Duke City without a meal at the Model Pharmacy.

http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Writeup.aspx?ReviewID=1376&RefID=1376

Next I went to a University of New Mexico basketball game. Their arena, nicknamed "The Pit", is one of the more famous college venues in the country.

I so much prefer the excitement of the college game rather than the pros, even if the quality of the play isn't as good. Here are a couple of action shots.


As you can tell by my vantage point, I had a really good seat. The Lobos easily handled the University of San Diego Toreros 57-47.

more to come.....

Saturday December 8 cont.

Purposely not eating anything at the game, it was time to get something really good for dinner. So I started on the 80 mile drive down to San Antonio, NM. But with sunny skies and a sprinkling of rain, I soon spotted this nice rainbow near I-25.


I took that as a sign of good things to come. As I drove into town, the place tamandmik had mentioned in another thread, the Buckhorn was on the right. Even though they might have a superior Green Chile Cheeseburger to my destination The Owl Bar, the Buckhorn will have to wait for another day. The Owl is rather plain looking on the outside

but inside has every square inch covered with neon signs and dollar bills. They have a small menu, but there was no doubt what I was going to order.

I remember on last year's Roadfood bus tour, Michael Stern talking about how great the Owl's Green Chile Cheeseburgers were. Since that is one of my very favorite Roadfood dishes, I knew getting here was a high priority. And taste wise, the Owl didn't let me down. It was delicious from first bite to last. There was just a hint of heat in the green chile but nothing severe. The burger itself was perfectly done. But here is where it gets weird.....

I know that with me being sick, my AWOL taste buds would not be as reliable. But there were certain bites where I swear I tasted peanut butter. I know there wasn't any peanut butter on it (it was dressed with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickle and mayo), but I swear that was what my brain was telling me I was eating. I know.....bizarre. This is a truly great burger and well worth the drive down. But, I would still rank it a notch behind Bobcat Bite in Santa Fe.

Oh, and the fries were fairly good, too.


http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Writeup.aspx?ReviewID=3518&RefID=3612

I was mighty tempted to stop in Buckhorn and get one to go, but I was anxious to make that long drive back to my hotel.

After reaching my hotel and relaxing for a while, I headed out to Powdrell's Barbecue. But, the sign on the front door said they were closed for Mr. Powdrell's funeral. So, I headed back to my room and snacked on my biscochitos until bedtime.

more to come.....

Thanks for the update. Looking forward to more.

While I was eating at Lindy's Diner, the owner and I talked a lot about food. She highly recommended two places in Albuquerque to get Green Chile Cheeseburgers. They are:

1) Murphy's Mule Barn
2) Monte Carlo Steakhouse

I have never tried either, but I have the feeling she knew what she was talking about.

I also asked about The Owl Cafe, a branch of San Antonio's Owl Bar, located in Albuquerque. She told me her and her husband ate there once and it was awful. She believed it was under different ownership than the one in San Antonio.

Sunday December 9

For breakfast, I had really hoped to head north to either Tecolote Cafe in Santa Fe or San Marcos Cafe in Cerrillos. Unfortunately, there was a winter weather advisory north of Albuquerque and I really didn't want to get stuck in snow or traffic somewhere and miss my flight later in the day.

Luckily, there was a place in Albuquerque for breakfast I haven't tried yet, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center Restaurant.


The menu here is huge and there were so many things that sounded good, but I finally settled on the breakfast burrito. Since the waitress was new and unsure of just how hot the red and green chiles were, she put them on the side for me. Neither one was particularly fiery and I covered my burrito with both.


As you can see, the burrito was so big, the ends spilled over both ends of a normal sized dinner plate. The side of bacon was especially good.

Since I didn't get to try the green chile bread the previous day, I also ordered the Zelda's Green Chile Blue Cornbread.

This was my first experience with green chile bread, but it will not be my last......it was delicious!

http://www.indianpueblo.com/puebloharvestcafe/index.html

I really liked this place and next time in Albuquerque, I plan on going back and eating lunch.

From there, I headed to the Albuquerque Art & History Museum, which had an exhibit called "Temples & Tombs: Treasures of Egyptian Art from The British Museum". I have always been fascinated by Egyptology (most little boys wanted to be ball players or astronauts.....I wanted to be an archaeologist) and thoroughly enjoyed the hours I spent wandering around the small exhibit. I did check out the pieces in their permanent collection, but I was running out of time to eat lunch before my flight, so I moved on.

http://www.cabq.gov/museum/

More to come.....

Buffetbuster,

Glad to hear you enjoyed The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center
I look forward to revisiting the place next June

Great trip report and pics BB. Thanks for a job well done.

John A.-
As always, I appreciate you reading the trip report and the nice comments!

WanderingJew-
Can you give me a sneak preview of what you have planned next June?

Re: Green Chile Bread
In Northern NM most GCB is made in regular loaves with cheese swirled in. It is cut in slices for sandwiches, etc. (a sort of "Anglo" thing - and very delicious!!!!)

Thanx for photos. I'm getting hungry

quote:

Originally posted by buffetbuster
My next stop was to try a place reviewed by ayersian, Golden Crown Panaderia.
ayersian-I don't know how you found this place, but great job!

Thanks for the props, BB, but that's a trade secret! I'm so glad you stopped by there, though, and I highly suggest that you order some green chile bread. We sent some to my parents in SC, and they absolutely loved it! This report (and your incredible Owl Bar GCC photo) has inspired me to actually finish our NM trip report from the summer -- many thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by buffetbuster
WanderingJew-
Can you give me a sneak preview of what you have planned next June?

Yes, my details haven't been set in stone yet, but it looks like I will most likely fly into Kansas City and enjoy some bbq, steak and perhaps some fried chicken too. I intend to make a special trip to Stone's in Marshalltown IA, from there it looks like I will be joining The Travelin' Man in Omaha for the college world series and will also be heading to Denver to see the Colorado Rockies. This trip will also include minor league baseball visits to Albuquerque and Salt Lake City as well. I actually checked out the preliminary 2008 baseball schedules for Colorado, Albuquerque and Salt Lake, and everything fits perfectly around the College World Series. This is easily going to be a 2 week trip for me and as a result will probably be my last major trip for 2008.

quote:

Originally posted by wanderingjew

quote:

Originally posted by buffetbuster
WanderingJew-
Can you give me a sneak preview of what you have planned next June?

Yes, my details haven't been set in stone yet, but it looks like I will most likely fly into Kansas City and enjoy some bbq, steak and perhaps some fried chicken too. I intend to make a special trip to Stone's in Marshalltown IA, from there it looks like I will be joining The Travelin' Man in Omaha for the college world series and will also be heading to Denver to see the Colorado Rockies. This trip will also include minor league baseball visits to Albuquerque and Salt Lake City as well. I actually checked out the preliminary 2008 baseball schedules for Colorado, Albuquerque and Salt Lake, and everything fits perfectly around the College World Series. This is easily going to be a 2 week trip for me and as a result will probably be my last major trip for 2008.

I have a feeling this is going to be a required read. All I can say is I wish I could travel along. However, a combination of parenting and budgeting would never permit it at this point. So, I'll live vicariously through your impending report.

Buffetbuster- during your initial post, you indicated that New Mexico is easily your favorite state? When you state this, do you mean from a standpoint of roadfood, look/feel, culture, etc? Just curious.

Sunday December 9 cont.

With time for one more meal before my flight and my first choice Powdrell's closed for the funeral, I headed for ol' reliable in Albuquerque, The Frontier

Directly across the street from the University of New Mexico, it is wildly popular with students. It has a huge menu, low prices and is open 24 hours, so it is easy to see why.

Also, if you haven't been here before, the system can be a little confusing. You stand in line (and there usually is a line) and when you get to the front, you look for a register with a flashing green light. That means that station is open and waiting for the person next in line.

You then tell the young lady what you want, pay and she will give you a number. Now all over the restaurant, they have signs with constantly changing numbers on it.

When your number appears, that means you go to the food pick-up counter and take it to an open seat. Because they are so used to dealing with large crowds, everything happens rather quickly. Even though there were about 10 people in front of me, I was still sitting down and eating within 10 minutes.

As for the food, I went for a Bonanza Burger, with two patties, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle and 1000 island dressing.

Really, a very good burger. I was not as impressed with my onion rings, though.

From there, it was straight to the airport and I got home at 1:15 in the morning.

Terrific report BB! You sure squeezed a great experience into a weekend. Come visit us again soon!

rouxdog-
Thanks and I promise it won't be three years until I am back in New Mexico. How far do you live from San Antonio? Would you have joined me for a Green Chile Cheeseburger?

WanderingJew-
That sounds like an absolutely epic vacation! I am jealous already

tamandmik-
As for why I love New Mexico so much, it is probably a combination of everything you mentioned and more. Obviously, the food has to be a big part of it and quite a few of my very favorite Roadfood spots are in New Mexico. Maybe it boils down to that it is so different than where I am from, yet I feel so comfortable there. I can tell you that it is one of the two places I will most likely retire to someday.

I do need to point out that I have spent all my time in NM in the northern part of the state. Driving to San Antonio is the first time I have been south of Albuquerque. But, I plan to change that. I spoke to my cousin Johnny when I got back and we intend on spending a whole week exploring the rest of the state in 2009.

quote:

Originally posted by buffetbuster

rouxdog-
WanderingJew-
That sounds like an absolutely epic vacation! I am jealous already

Buffetbuster,

Funny thing is I lived in Albuquerque for 6 months and then visited once or twice a year for almost a decade after that and had never been to the Frontier. I look forward to going there too. Believe it or not, I already have a list of "must visit" restaurants for that upcoming trip!

Tamandmik,

if time and scheduling permit perhaps there's a chance we can meet up on my way through New Mexico next summer