I was greeted at the airport by my good friend Ashley and my absolute favorite: a Golden Pride #1 Breakfast Burrito. This breakfast burrito was the last thing I ate when I left Albuquerque and it only seemed fitting it should be the first thing I eat when I returned. Also, Ashley was the last person I saw when I left and the first when I returned. Golden Pride is an Albuquerque institution with several locations throughout the city and is known to many as the best place to get a great cheap breakfast. Their single burritos are all under $5 each and are served to you fast and hot. The #1 is my personal favorite because it's simple and classic - eggs, cheddar cheese, hash browns and lots of delicious roasted green chile. There is also a variation of this with bacon, if you're into that sort of thing. To say I missed this is an understatement. Golden Pride, interested in expanding to the East Coast?
After an afternoon of exploring all my old haunts, we met up with Monica (my Big Sister from my sorority) for lunch at Bistronomy B2B (see my original review here). Central Avenue is undergoing some major construction known as ART (Albuquerque Rapid Transit) and it's causing pretty significant damage to the local businesses located on the street. Some knucklehead politician decided that Central Avenue needed to be more mass transit friendly. Now, if you're not from Albuquerque or if you've never experienced the Albuquerque bus system allow me to elaborate the majority of the riders: vagrants and women of low moral virtue. Now that's not to say that absolutely ALL the riders are like this but the mass majority are. The bus is not very commuter friendly with inconvenient schedules and confusing bus routes - I'm speaking from experience here. So anyway, the city is using tax payer dollars to cause an entire street to shut down and local industry to suffer. Bravo, Albuquerque. I'm not sure if ART contributed to the experience I had at B2B but it definitely wasn't the glowing recommendation I gave it the first time I dined here. The restaurant didn't have any of its' own beers on tap and the delicious Berry Cider I fell in love with was no longer available, bummer. The storefront also just looked dirty. The windows were foggy like they were caked with dust (which is totally possible with the large chunks of blacktop being removed a few feet away). The prices were also a little unreasonable; I ordered the New Mexico Burger with black bean patty and it was $11.00! I thought this was a little excessive to pay for a meatless patty with green chile and cheese. The other meatless options on the menu hung around $9.00. Why was this one so expensive? The chile wasn't even roasted! It was chopped so finely I almost mistook it for tomatillo salsa. If this were my first experience here, I would probably not want to return.
Nate and I thought it may be fun for me to take the Rail Runner from Downtown Albuquerque to the Santa Fe Plaza. The ticket was $9.00 one-way and was only about an hour and forty-five minute ride. I thought this sounded great! I'd take my luggage on the train, I thought they may have wifi or at the very least a charging port and I'd get to appreciate New Mexico's natural beauty. I did however forget that the Downtown Albuquerque station didn't have the best reputation for safety. The tracks had little to no security and there were a few seedy characters: guy-changing-clothes-at-tracks, guy-scratching-himself-profusely, lady-wandering-around-talking-to-self, couple-engaged-in-possible-illicit-activities, just to name a few. If I ever take the Rail Runner again I will probably request to be taken to a different station, perhaps one further away from Albuquerque's underbelly.
Friday morning Nate and I decided to hike at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. The 3.7 mile loop is strenuous but definitely worth it. The views are incredible and the rock formations are magnificent. Check it out!
After a hard morning of hiking, we decided to take a trip to Bathtub Brewing Co-Op - one of 5 bars in Los Alamos. The Co-Op opened 2 years ago and I must say it has come a long way. I recall visiting the Co-Op during Nate's first summer at Los Alamos and they had maybe one of their own beers on tap and that was about it. When we went this weekend every table was taken, there was a line out the door to open bar tabs, and over half the taps were their own brews. Their beers were delicious and reasonably priced, most pints were $5. The Co-Op doesn't make their own food but allow you to bring in your own (most people hitting up the taqueria next door). Nate and I opted for Smith's sushi and chips with Creamland Dairy Green Chile Dip. It was a fantastic dinner.
Saturday was to be spent in Albuquerque. We stopped at Chili Works before the hour and a half drive out. Nate had been wanting to try Chili Works since his first trip to Los Alamos when he heard others rave about it and I'm glad to have been able to try it with him. The restaurant is located at 1743 Trinity Dr, Los Alamos, NM 87544 and is literally a very small house.
Décor: There is no indoor seating, at all. On their patio there are 5 metal tables with umbrellas and chairs. Other than a hummingbird feeder, there was virtually no other décor aside from a flag of a Zia symbol made out of cartoon bacon and eggs.
Food taste: I ordered the Breakfast Burrito with no meat and was not disappointed with the behemoth of a burrito I received. The burrito was filled with 2 eggs, a mound of potatoes, red and green chile and I added cheese for an additional charge. The potatoes weren't seasoned, which in my opinion would've made this burrito really shine but they did include packets of salt and pepper in the bag. The red chile was smoky and hot and the green chile had more of a kick than I anticipated. All in all it was a fantastic burrito. Almost enough for me to forgive that they misspelled "CHILE".
Service: The ordering window is located within the small entrance of the building. The slightly intimidating man who took our order was very down-to-business with no room for small talk. We gave him our orders and kept asking "is that all" after every item like we were taking up too much of his time. Food was delivered almost immediately. I was a little bummed out to learn that on Saturdays only breakfast items are offered, meaning I was not allowed to order a side of sopapillas.
I would recommend giving Chili Works a try on a morning when you're awfully hungry and not looking to eat again for several hours. Also, take note of their hours.
After some sightseeing in Los Alamos, we went to the Albuquerque Aquarium for some fish-viewing. We spent the afternoon walking through the Botanic Gardens and ooh-ing and ahh-ing at fish. It was wonderful to just spend time together.
Since this was also a celebration of our wedding anniversary (3 years, woo-hoo!), we decided to stay at Hotel Parq Central, the hotel where we hosted our wedding reception. The hotel itself is breathtaking and has an interesting history. If you ever go to Albuquerque stay there. You won't be disappointed by the vintage-vibe and first-rate customer service you'll receive. Their included breakfast is also stellar.
If you're not into staying at the hotel, definitely try their rooftop bar Apothecary Lounge. The bar has beautiful city views and delicious drinks and treats. From 4-6 the bar offers a special Happy Hour menu with $7 cocktails, $5 glasses of wine and $4 draft beers with a few muchies for $6. We spent about an hour and a half just drinking and crunching on an Olive and Cheese Plate and reminiscing on our life together. Super romantic stuff.
Regrettably, Sunday was my time to head back to Raleigh. I was lucky enough to get to stop by UNM, Frontier Restaurant for one final order of Green Chile Cheese Fries, and Dion's to see my former co-worker and her adorable family and to eat pizza.
Even after some flight mishaps that got me returning to my house at 3:00 AM with work starting at 8:00 AM, I am already looking forward to my next trip out west. Happy Tuesday, readers!
I'm glad you had a good time! I wonder why their sign out front says "Chili Works", but the sign on the patio says "Chile Works".
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