Where to eat in Taos? Albuquerque?

Going on holiday soon. Any suggestions of where the best food is in Taos and Albuquerque, New Mexico? I've never been to the area and would like to experience the real taste of the place. Thanks.

My favorite restaurant in Taos is Doc Martin's, but it ain't roadfood.

On the other hand, I could write a book about Albuquerque, a city I lived in for many years. But I'll restrict myself to this: go to the Frontier. It's on the corner of Central Avenue (Route 66) and Cornell, at the UNM gate, and it covers half a city block. Go for breakfast and get the huevos rancheros, over easy, with green chile stew and western-style hash browns. Get an extra order of tortillas, a side of bacon, and the sweet roll. (Oh my god, the sweet roll...I miss the Frontier so much...)

Go back for lunch and get a plate of cheese enchiladas, again with the green chile stew and the extra order of tortillas. Or the Frontier Burger special, with a cup of the green chile stew on the side.

Go back for dinner and just get a big ol' bowl of the green chile stew and a dozen tortillas. Followed by another sweet roll for dessert.

And then, for the full Frontier experience, go back at 2:30 a.m., when you're drunk. Order anything. You want the real taste of Albuquerque, that's it right there.

I need to make some green chile stew tomorrow.

Anyway: Flying Star Cafe, on Central in the middle of Nob Hill, has an extensive and varied menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and most of it's good to great. Save room for the jumbo eclair for dessert. You'll see it in the bakery case up front.

Real old-school New Mexican food: Sadies on North Fourth. The recently-closed M&J's Sanitary Tortilla Factory got most of the hype, but their food couldn't hold a candle to Sadie's, which is the place the locals go. They also go to Duran Central Pharmacy, on Central near Old Town. Yes, it's a pharmacy, but it's also a killer restaurant. Finally, El Pinto, well north on Fourth Street, practically out of town in the North Valley, has excellent food and a gorgeous patio dining area.

^^^^ all good choices. I agree the Frontier is a must go to place.

bj1, you didn't mention Santa Fe, which is between Albuquerque and Taos. Plenty of good eating there, more so than Taos I think. Definitely check the diner search on Roadfood on the right side of the main page. Plenty of good ideas. I'd also recommend the "Stop and Eat" in Espanola between Santa Fe and Taos.

Also, remember Abq, Santa Fe and Taos are at a high altitude (Santa Fe is also a mile high city). So give yourself some time to acclimate, especially if you are flying into that area. Plus it is extremely dry (low humidity) there so drink plenty of fluids. You can almost feel the moisture being sucked out of your skin.

But it's my favorite place to go in the summers, because it is cooler in the mountains than Dallas and not too far away for me.

I agree with the Bishop on Flying Star--nice college atmosphere, good sweets. Los Cuates is good food, cheap prices, mammoth portions. Tell them to go easy on the cheese or you'll be stopped up for a month. Duran Pharmacy is a fun place, great food. I only had a shake and chili fries at the Route 66 diner, and highly recommend both. The Frontier is the pinnacle; the best food in Albuquerque. The only reason I'd go anywhere else for ANY of my meals is variety. Be sure to get a pile of tortillas to take home.

If you go to the Route 66 Diner, don't get anything BUT the milkshake and chili fries! They had a fire in 1995 that gutted the place, and they reopened a few months later under new management, but the quality of the food -- which had previously been very high -- dropped like a stone. The shakes are still excellent, the pies are very good, and you can't really screw up fries, but all of the sandwiches and entrees are basically inedible now. It's a shame.

bj1, I'm sitting in Taos right this very minute, watching the clouds bounce off the mountains. For great New Mexican food, people swear by Orlandos, a small joint on the north side of town. Also try Rita's, a small, white-painted roadside stand also north of town just before the turnoff to the ski valley road. My friend from Mexico whose immigration papers are, uh, less than complete highly recommends it. If you get tired of green chile (like that could ever happen) try the breakfasts and lunches at Dragonfly Cafe, right next to the post office in the middle of town. Great chef and baked goods. Doc Martin's has good breakfasts -- breakfast burritos especially. Michael's Kitchen (next to Dragonfly) is popular, but overrated.

If you're coming soon, you'll get to experience the roadside green chile roasters -- big metal drums filled with chile turning under a propane flame. It's the smell of late summer-early fall in northern New Mexico, and it will stay with you a long time. Buy some, freeze it and take it home. Put it on everything.

If you're coming through Santa Fe, you really need to stop at Bobcat Bite. It has limited hours, and fantastic green chile cheeseburgers. Plus, the staff is really, really nice.

I heartlily agree with going to the Duran Pharmacy and Frontier in Albuquerque. If you're driving there from Taos a nice side trip is a stop at Chimayo. The church there is quite beautiful. And breakfast at Cafe Pasqual near the plaza or Tecalote on Cerillos in Santa Fe used to be great, but I haven't eaten at either for a while.

Rancho de Chimayo in the town of Chimayo (between Taos and Santa Fe) is heavenly. What a wonderful time for a trip there . The Chile should be ALMOST ready for roasting.

The food at Rancho de Chimayo has, sadly, gone downhill in recent years. Still a pleasant place to sit down for a meal, but the food in Santa Fe at places like The Shed and Tia Sophias is much better.

Thanks everyone! All of your recommendations sound wonderful! I may just have to extend my stay some so that I can try more places.
Thanks again. BJ

Bummer. I thought the Rancho was great when I was there. I also went to the Sanctuario where I broke my glasses. Everybody ELSE was getting healed, I was going blind

Check out the following thread: http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?Topic_ID=988

Two additional notes. First, M & J is, sadly, no longer open. Second, I have to disagree, at least in part, with Lucky Bishop about the 66 Diner. I think that the green chile cheeseburger there is good, although not on a par with the one served at the Bobcat Bite, on Old Las Vegas Highway outside of Santa Fe.

My dad and I went to M & J a few months ago. It was such an uninspired effort by both the waitstaff and kitchen that we both predicted they wouldn't be around much longer. A shame, because I thoroughly enjoyed my meals there last time I was in Albuquerque, several years earlier. You can't rest on your laurels in a city with so much great roadfood.

Zothhh: Careful, now! When I said in another thread that M&J had been steadily declining in quality for years, to the point that it had become the place we went to for lunch when we didn't have time to go to the good places, some people acted like I'd hocked a loogie on the pope!

Sad but true: it was a slow decline, but it was a steady one, and apparently it was irreversible.

Yeah, I guess people can get misty eyed about their old favorites. Me? My loyalty to a restaurant is roughly proportional to their loyalty to me. If they start taking my business for granted and don't put forth the effort they used to, I'm not going to keep coming back just because it's an institution or something. There are too many Mom & Pop places out their that are working their butts off trying to build repeat business.

Maria Teresa Restaurant and 1840 Bar
618 Rio Grande Blvd NW
Albuquerque, NM 87104
(505) 242-3900

this is not roadfood but I truly enjoyed the meal. One of my all time favorite meals from my 4 trips to New Mexico.

In Taos, I would highly recomment[url='http://www.taoseno.com/']El Taoseño[/url] on the south side of town. Great food, a favorite of the locals, and it won't take a big bite out of your wallet.

In Albuquerque, I would hightly recommend Sadie's. I can't find a website for them.

Also. . .

Just consider taking "The Wrong Way" to Taos (NM Highway 4). Well, really Santa Fe, but you'll go thru SF anyway when you go to Taos. "The Wrong Way" takes you thru a scenic route thru the Jemez Mountains and by Valles Grande, the 10-mile-wide caldera of an extinct volcano. A great place to stop for a bite is Los Ojos in Jemez Springs. (ETA:) The "Chile Charlie" they serve was the absolute best Green Chile Cheese Fries I sampled in all NM!

On the north side of "The Wrong Way," near Los Alamos is Bandelier National Monument. Definitely worth a stop if you have the time.

ETA:

Here's some responses I received when I asked a similar question on another board:
I've c&p'ed some responses from another board in which I asked about Albuquerque and the environs. Here is that info:

Eat a Lotaburger with green chile and cheese (new mexico chain burger joint)

The range in Bernalillo (not the one in Albuquerque) is a must. Any meal, save room for dessert!

Los Cuates in Alb.
(the little one on the south side of Lomas St., the original and the best, they're both really good though.)

Gardunos is good, but touristy,

Sadie's -bring your appetite and be prepared for hot chile.

Barelas coffee house will give you good authentic new mexican culture and food.

Garcia's in old town

The Frontier- across from UNM, great people watching 24/7. Have Huevos Rancheros with green chile stew on top, and have a sweet roll (I repeat, have a sweet roll)
Also good but addictive: Anything with the carne Adovada on it, or just Carne Adovada burritos.

Good pizza/italian food at Saggio's across the street from the frontier, if you don't eat there, just peek in at the artwork, but the food is really good.

Coffee and Dessert at The Flying Star Cafe (formerly double rainbow) in Nob Hill area on Central east of the university about 1-2 miles.

Monroe's is good

Little Anita's in old town is good and sometimes they have Mariachis

Fancy in old town: Maria Teresa.


Fast food: Twisters, hurricanes, disasters (all part of a themed chain) have a disaster burrito.

Not sure how your cholesterol is, but if you want to test it, you have to go to Grandma's K and I Diner, down in the stockyards in Albuquerque. They have a menu, but if you order anything but a Travis they will mock you.

What is a Travis, you ask?

A Travis is a football-sized beef burrito, smothered in green or red, then covered with french fries and cheese. It is permissible for people to order a "half-Travis", but only women can order a quarter. I had a male friend they flat-out refused to feed because he tried to order an eighth.

Yummy - but don't plan on doing much afterwards. And make sure you are near a restroom if you're not accustomed to spicy stuff.



Taos also has a brewpub near the square (just to the east; the name escapes me right now) where the food is so-so, but the beer is great. Try the Green Chile Beer.

And if you're looking for something other than New Mexican food, there's a fantastic pizza place near the north/northwest end of town (Taos Pizza Outback) that's a little hard to find, but well worth it.
http://marketplace.taosnews.com/Sites/TaosPizzaOutBack/

Los Cuates in Albuquerque is great all around...as well as Western View on west Central one block east of Coors (Fantastic Chile Rellenos). Best Green chile Cheeseburger in town IMHO, is the Ranchero Supreme at Bob's Burger near Central and Atrisco across from the Taco Bell.There are a few other Bob's Burger locations in town but this one has the best ambience with the walk-up windows and Outdoor tables....(watch out for the birds in the rafters though) A great local pizza chain here in Albuquerque is Dion's....of course you must have some green chile on that pie for the true New Mexican Pizza experience. Happy Hunting

If I were in ABQ today, I would stop by the Amtrak station, find the converted bus just outside, and pig out on the burritos as I watched the train's windows get washed..........

The brewpub in Taos is called Eske's. Tucked away in a small house just east of the Plaza. Excellent beer.

quote:

Originally posted by scott_bradley


Maria Teresa Restaurant and 1840 Bar
618 Rio Grande Blvd NW
Albuquerque, NM 87104
(505) 242-3900

this is not roadfood but I truly enjoyed the meal. One of my all time favorite meals from my 4 trips to New Mexico.

Maria Theresa has closed. I haven't heared what is going to happen to their beautiful old building.

Oh, that's a shame. My wife and I had a lovely anniversary meal there once. It was that kind of restaurant.