Portabella Muffa-Sortas

Happy Tuesday readers! Hopefully you're fairing far better than I. Last night I decided to try a new gym class and, excuse my French, it kicked my ass. It's called POUND and basically you are doing a series of squats/butt lifting exercises for an hour whilst simultaneously attempting to coordinate your body enough to keep beat using slightly weighted drumsticks. I have basically zero hand-eye coordination (thus why I participate in sports that don't require equipment) and I never did dance or cheer so I looked horribly off-beat the entire time but it was fun enough that I almost forgot I was doing squats for an hour. By minute 15 my quads were burning, by 45 minutes in everything else was burning. Today I am not very mobile, for obvious reasons. Fun, huh? I highly recommend the class though! Look for it at a gym near you!


Anyway, so after I took my poor aching body home I wanted something fast and substantial. My mind immediately went to the baby portabella mushrooms I had sitting in my refrigerator and my love for anything briny. What's briny and tasty? Muffalettas. Well, I assume they are anyway, I've never actually eaten one. Thus the "muffa-sorta".


Portabella Muffa-Sortas

6 baby portabella mushrooms, stems removed, cleaned and cut in half
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Sprinkle garlic powder
2 Tbsp pimento stuffed green olives, halved
1/4 C celery, diced
2 Tbsp Italian vinaigrette dressing (I used Newman's Own Lite)
1/2 tomato, sliced
2 slices provolone cheese
2 Hoagie rolls, for serving


Season your mushrooms with salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil and broil on high for 5 minutes, flipping them over halfway through.


In a bowl, combine olives, celery and salad dressing. Set aside.


After your mushrooms are properly broiled, place in the center of your hoagie roll with tomato slices, half the olive salad and 1 slice of provolone (I cut mine in half to get a more even cheesy coat). Repeat with remaining sandwich.


Broil on high for 5 minutes until cheese is melty and gooey and bread is toasted.


Voila! A delicious and tasty meal that took under 15 minutes to prepare. How great is that!? I was able to get 2 sandwiches out of the recipe (which I promptly devoured, did I mention you burn up to 500 calories per class?).


The mushrooms were tender and flavorful, the olives were briny, the celery and tomato added fresh elements and the cheese was glorious because hello, it's cheese. I have more ingredients in my fridge so I may partake in another muffa-sorta this week when I'm hungry (which is basically continuous).


Stay tuned for more great recipes, readers!


P.S. still waiting on that wine and comments!

Buffalo Chickpea Salad-Salad

We have to stop meeting like this, readers. I feel like I just hit the "publish" button on my last post and here we are again! I hope you had a great and cool Saturday! I literally spent 3 hours today binge watching my new favorite show: The Great British Baking Show. Have you seen it? No?! Well, get on that! It's on Netflix (originally aired on PBS) and is truly a marriage of education and entertainment. Ever wanted to learn how to make a Swiss Roll? How about a Kouign-Amann? Watch this show! And if you have no idea what these two confections are, watch the show anyway.

So in keeping with the light and fresh theme, I decided to make a meal that I thought would be both filling and yet not heavy and I think I found just the ticket. And no, the second "salad" is not a typo.

Buffalo Chickpea Salad-Salad

2 cans chickpeas, washed and drained
1/2 C non-fat plain Greek yogurt
1 1/4 C blue cheese crumbles
1/2 C buffalo sauce, divided
3 celery stalks, diced and divided
Salt and pepper, to tase
Pinch garlic powder
2 C spinach
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1/2 tomato, diced
Fat-free ranch dressing, for serving
5 tortilla chips, broken apart for serving

In a large bowl, mash chickpeas and yogurt until blended with chunks. This is not easy. Chickpeas aren't very pliable so it'll take some time and muscles. Consider it your workout for the day.

Add in blue cheese crumbles, buffalo sauce (leaving a tad to drizzle on the final salad), 2 stalks' worth of celery and seasonings. Stir to combine and set aside.

Line your serving bowl with spinach leaves and mix in remaining celery, bell pepper and tomato. Top with broken chips. This is totally optional but I always enjoy a little crunch in my salads. You could replace chips with nuts or seeds. Or omit all together. Who am I to judge?

After your salad is assembled, place a heaping 2 Tbsp portion of the chickpea salad in the middle of your vegetable salad and drizzle with remaining hot sauce and ranch dressing.

The blue cheese balanced perfectly with the hot sauce (guess there's a reason they're always paired together), the celery added a refreshing bite to the chickpea mixture and the vegetable salad in place of bread was a nice low-carb option. Now I don't feel so bad about drinking beers with dinner!

You can barely tell that I took any of the chickpea mixture from the mixing bowl at all so I would wager to say that this recipe will probably yield at least 4 servings' worth. 

Hope you enjoy this recipe, readers! Drop me a comment!

Cannelini Bean and Avocado Salad Wraps (or Sandwiches)

I must say, it's been 4 days and I have yet to recieve any wine or comments from my readers! You guys are out there...aren't you? Am I just sending out my life and wit into a faceless void? Anyone...? Hello...? Bueller...?

Well, to those of who who may or may not be there...as you all know (or at least should know if you're reading this blog), I've been a vegetarian for 3 months now. It hasn't always been easy but I'd say it's worth it. Obviously I've had opportunities to eat meat but I stuck to my guns and ordered salads or beans instead. However, as you may not know, I was a vegetarian for roughly 5 years during my teenage years. Wanna know what broke me? A gyro. I will always have a soft spot for those deliciously spiced beef and lamb sandwiches!

Anyway, when I was a vegetarian before I wasn't thinking that I needed to substitute meat for other things. Instead I just left protein out. I ate an awful lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Idiotic, I know. So I wasn't even getting a smidgen of the protein my body needed to sustain itself. Now that I'm older and ideally less idiotic, I am making sure my meals are packed full of protein and supplement my intake with multi-vitamins, protein granola oh and protein ice cream. Where were all these things a decade ago?

Last night I decided to go through my pantry and was bit by the inspiration bug: Cannellini Bean and Avocado Salad.

Cannellini Bean and Avocado Salad Wraps (or Sandwiches)

 * The sauce on the plate is hot sauce for my fries but did add a nice vinegar-y bite to the salad

1 can cannellini beans, washed and drained
1 avocado, diced
1 Tbsp cream cheese
Juice of 1/2 lime
10 pickled jalapeno rounds, diced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Pinch garlic powder
Pinch red chile powder, optional
Whole wheat tortillas (for serving)
Whole wheat bread (for serving)
 2 C spinach, optional (for serving)

Place diced avocado and washed and drained beans in a bowl. Mash with a potato masher until the mixture is combined with a few chunks. I prefer my food to have a little texture but obviously I'm not the mashing police, do whatever you like. It's not like I'll ever know.

Add in the cream cheese, lime, jalapenos and seasonings and fold in to combine.  Do a seasoning check and spread onto your choice of tortilla or toasted bread and top with a generous heaping helping of spinach leaves.

This recipe packs a protein punch, was fresh, light and perfect for a Friday night dinner after a day chock-full of indulgence (bowl of cereal for breakfast, plain bagel with cream cheese for a morning snack, macaroni and cheese and hush puppies for lunch; oh and absolutely no exercise).

I hope you have a lovely Saturday and are staying cool out there today! Remember to drink lots of water, lather up with sun screen anytime you go outside, and remember to think of your furry friends before you take them out for walks! If the sidewalk burns your feet, it's definitely going to burn theirs! Also, don't forget your pets or children in cars. It's just bad parenting.

Stay tuned for some delicious recipes! I haven't finalized what I'm feeding myself for dinner tonight but I have plenty of options! Bye readers!

Mediterranean Chopped Salad Wraps and Baked Fries

Good afternoon, readers! We've officially made it over the hump and are cruising into the weekend, slowly. Last night I decided to turn all those delicious vegetables I bought on Monday night into a tasty dinner. I invited over my friend Jenny and she brought over my fav wine (without me even asking, is she great, or what?!) and we sat down to a delicious meal and ended up watching 2 hours' worth of America's Got Talent auditions. Before I continue I'd like to point out that not everyone in America has a talent that's TV worthy...I'm talking to you 80s'-Hairband-Keyboard-Guy. You sucked. Get a real job.


I love Mediterranean food because it lends itself so well to vegetarianism! It's fresh, it's bright, it's light and you can replace almost anything with chickpeas. I mean seriously. Craving gyros? Roasted Chickpea Gyros boom! Spanikopita? Guess what?! That's already vegetarian! Hummus, Tzatziki, tabbouleh? Yep, all perfectly vegetarian, not to mention incredibly delicious. So I decided to make Mediterranean Chopped Salad Wraps with Baked Fries.


Mediterranean Chopped Salad Wraps

For the dressing:
1/4 C olive oil
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper, to taste


For the salad:
1 small cucumber, diced
1 tomato, seeded and diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 Tbsp pitted Kalamata olives, sliced
3 Tbsp banana pepper rings, sliced
1 C feta cheese crumbles
1 1/2 C spinach leaves
1/2 small red onion, diced (I didn't buy any onion so I omitted it, but red onion is always a stable flavor in Mediterranean cooking)
Whole wheat wraps, for serving


In a large bowl, whisk together all the dressing ingredients. Gradually add the salad ingredients and coat with dressing as you go. This is so much easier than trying to coat everything at once! Believe me! Everything becomes more pliable and better coated doing it little by little.


I'd also recommend adding in the chickpeas and spinach in stages.


Now this could totally just be eaten as a salad and it would be fantastic! But why leave out the carbs? I mean after all...CARBS ARE LIFE. Arrange 2 heaping tablespoons of the salad mixture in the middle of a whole wheat tortilla and roll into a wrap-like shape.


This recipe yielded 6 wraps. Jenny and I ate 2 each last night and have enough leftovers for 2 days' worth of lunches.


I decided that these wraps needed a starchy side (uh...hello, carbs) and I had 2 less-than-ideal looking potatoes on hand so decided to make some tasty baked fries.


Baked Fries


2 Russet potatoes, cut into matchsticks
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 Tsp paprika
1/2 Tsp oregano
1/2 Tsp thyme
1/2 Tsp parsley
Salt and pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with foil. Spray foil with cooking spray.


Toss potatoes in oil and spices and arrange on the baking sheet in a single layer.


Bake for 20 minutes and then flip over. Bake another 20 minutes.


The fries should be golden brown and tender.


Easy peasy, right?


The 2 potatoes gave enough fries for each of us to have a handful with our wraps and leftovers for 1 lunch.


The flavors were light, fresh and all-around delicious and were even more perfect when combined with the "red berries, spice and licorice" flavors of the Yellow Tail Shiraz.


Hey readers, if you really love me you should send me wine (hint, hint). Or comments (hint, hint). I'll take either but wine would be preferred. Obviously.


Stay tuned for more delicious recipes!

New Mexico Trip #2/Lemon-Asparagus Alfredo with Salmon and Roasted Squash

Good morning readers! Now I know what you're thinking, "what's the deal, Lindsey? You haven't posted in 2 weeks. You're a lazy bum." To which I answer, yes. I am a bum. I had every intention of spending the 12 days I was in Raleigh between trips home cooking but it turns out I actually had 12 days' worth of leftovers in my freezer from my last cooking excursion. Funny how that works out, isn't it? Anyway, I ate all my leftovers and went on my trip without fear of throwing away rotten food. Go me!

I was all scheduled and ready to leave for Burque on Thursday afternoon. I went to the airport 3 hours early only to find my flight was delayed 20 minutes. Huh, oh well, no biggie, I'll grab a drink at the only full-service bar in RDU's terminal 2. Side note: I made a new friend! She and I struck up a conversation and it turns out she frequents the sushi bar I used to manage and she was a very friendly person. We exchanged phone numbers and are planning to get together sometime in the next few weeks! If only everyone at airports had such a great disposition. Anyway, so 2 beers in and I hear someone a few barstools away mention that their flight was canceled and they were being rebooked to another flight at 9:00 PM. I thought, huh, it's 5:20, guess I'll check my flight status. Lo-and-behold! My flight to Baltimore was canceled. I attempted to use the app to rebook to no avail and had to get in the long, snaking line to the disgruntled and stressed Southwest employees. I was a tad annoyed that Southwest neglected to send me any notification regarding my change in flight status and instead left me to my own devices. The earliest I was going to get into Albuquerque was going to be 9:35 AM the following day. Oh well, I would take it since it was my only option.

Friday

Dark and early on Friday morning (2:30 AM to be exact), I woke up, repacked my car and drove back to the airport I had left only hours earlier. Luckily, I was able to get out of Raleigh and head to Albuquerque on time. After Nate picked me up from the airport he asked me the first thing I wanted to do and my answer, of course, was eat.

We stopped at Weck's (read original review here), and I couldn't be more happy that we did! Weck's motto is "a full-belly tradition" and there is definitely truth in advertising! I ordered a vegetable burrito with Christmas, that's red and green chile for you non-New Mexicans. This burrito was the size of my head and stuffed with eggs, peppers, mushrooms, onions, chile and served with a side of hash browns the exact same size as the burrito! Not bad for under $10. For you curious folks, no, I didn't finish it. Nate ordered a papa plate, which is literally a plate of potatoes, chile, cheese and meat served with a fresh tortilla. Needless to say we weren't very hungry for awhile after that.

After breakfast we stopped by my old law firm to say hello to my former employer. It was great seeing him and catching up, and he offered me my old job back several times. You know I'd come back in a heartbeat, Vaughn!

Then came the thrilling drive to Los Alamos. If you've never done the drive before, which I assume most of you haven't, it can be very beautiful but also very dull. There's a whole lotta nothing between Albuquerque and Santa Fe and even less nothing between Santa Fe and Los Alamos. Pretty sure I fell asleep at one point.

Friday afternoon Nate and I decided to do the Natural Arches hike off of Mitchell Trail by his current residence. The hike itself was sort of strenuous with several sections being almost completely vertical but the reward was immense. From the arch we could see for miles! It was breathtaking, and not just because we were still panting from the hike. My only complaint would be we went hiking at 3:00 in the afternoon in around 90 degree heat and very little shade. It was no bueno. But we were able to nestle ourselves in the grooves of the arch for a water break.


*Note, this picture WAS NOT taken by me, I found it on Google Image (https://www.flickr.com/photos/archseeker/15843340758)

Friday night we returned to Bathtub Row Brewing Co-Op and drank a few beers and a glass of wine before making our way over to the free concert in the park. Los Alamos excels in community events! The free concert at Ashley Pond Park was complete with food and craft vendors and lots of lush grass to settle down in. The band was good too! An interesting note about Los Alamos is there is no open container law so a lot of concert goers were cracking open the growlers they had just gotten filled at Bathtub Row and toasting to a chilly June night.

Saturday

There are limited dining options in Los Alamos so when you find a good spot you tend to become a regular. Recently Nate discovered Morning Glory.

Moring Glory, located at 1377 Diamond Dr, Los Alamos, NM 87544, is an adorable and unassuming breakfast/lunch counter in a strip mall. Based on the line nearly out the door at 9:00 AM on a Saturday, I had a feeling I was in for a treat.

Décor: the space itself is outdated. Bright orange booths, mismatched chairs, kitschy decorations on the walls.

Food appearance: pastries are served in paper bags so not a whole lot of finesse. The hot food looked absolutely divine. Especially the giant stack of pancakes a table next to us ordered.

Food taste: Nate and I stuck with pastries. I got a maple-sprinkle doughnut and a Morning Glory muffin. The doughnut was cakey, slightly sweet and let's face it, everything is better with sprinkles. The muffin though!!! The muffin was everything a muffin should be. Chock-full of chunks of fruit, shreds of carrot, chunks of walnuts - slightly sweet and deliciously moist.

Service: every employee I encountered was friendly and helpful. Behind the cash register an elderly man even recommended we get small coffees instead of larges because there were free refills anyway! It was very sweet and pretty unheard of in today's business world to have an employee (possibly he was the owner) intentionally save the customer money. Since we only ordered pastries there was no wait but even hot food seemed to come out fresh and steaming in just a matter of minutes.

Cleanliness: as I previously stated, the space itself is older but everything was clean and orderly. Even down to the bathrooms.

I would definitely recommend a trip to Morning Glory for a quick bite to eat! Grab a Morning Glory muffin for me, ok?

In 2015, Meow Wolf: House of Eternal Return opened up in Santa Fe and recently has been gaining steam as a tourist spot. After jealously watching my fellow New Mexicans social media posts, Nate and I decided to go check it out.  I won't ruin it for you but I'll let you know that it is one of the most unique things I've ever experienced in my entire life and I loved every minute of it. Oh and wear comfy clothes because you're going to be crawling around a lot.

After an exciting morning at Meow Wolf, we decided to walk around the Santa Fe Plaza and grab lunch at one of our favorite spots: The Santa Fe Teahouse. We ordered our standard scone with clotted cream and lemon curd (because what is a scone but a vessel for tasty toppings?). We decided to get two paninos (singular of panini?) and since they were both vegetarian, we just swapped halves. I ordered the Roasted Eggplant and Goat Cheese and it was absolutely magnificent! The eggplant was tender and almost smoky, the arugula peppery, the goat cheese tangy and creamy - and it went wonderfully with the mixed greens salad. Nate ordered the Honey Pear and Goat Cheese and that one had to have been my favorite out of the two we ate. The pear was sweet and almost meaty and the goat cheese made the perfect glue to hold it all together. We love the Santa Fe Teahouse and try to make a trip there whenever we're in the area.

Lemon-Asparagus Alfredo with Salmon and Roasted Squash

10 oz whole wheat pasta

1 bunch asparagus

2 Tbsp butter

Juice of 1 lemon

3/4 C heavy whipping cream

1/2 C finely shredded pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for serving

2 4 oz salmon fillets

1 yellow squash

3 Tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 Tsp Garlic powder

1 Tsp Chili powder

Since I'm sure Nate has been eating so well while he's been bachelor-ing (yeah, right) I decided to make him a home cooked meal while I was there. The result was great, the process? Not so much.

You always take for granted your own things until you find yourself in someone else's house and at the mercy of their horrifically ill-equipped kitchen. Sauce pans were scarce, colanders were not to be found and finding a decent knife turned out to be quite the task in of itself. However, despite mishaps, I think I made a pretty solid meal.

Remove hard bottoms from asparagus and cut into 1 inch pieces. Boil pasta according to package directions adding in the asparagus pieces 3 minutes before end of cooking time. Reserve 1/4 C of pasta water and drain the rest. Set the pasta aside.

Now make your delicious Alfredo sauce. In a different sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat and add in the lemon juice and heavy cream. Season with fresh cracked pepper and stir until the sauce is thick enough that it can coat the back of a spoon. Now add in your glorious cheese and stir. Keep on low until you're ready to toss your pasta. Add in a little of the pasta water if the sauce becomes too thick.

Preheat your oven to 400, line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.

Cut your squash in half and then cut again to 1/2 inch thick half-moons. Toss in a bowl with 1 Tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and chili powder and arrange on half of the baking sheet.

Season both sides of your salmon fillets with salt, pepper, garlic powder and chili powder and drizzle 1/2 Tbsp olive oil on each side. Gently rub in the seasoning into the fish.

Bake for 12 minutes or until salmon is cooked through but still tender.

Immediately before plating, toss pasta in the sauce and top each portion with more freshly grated cheese.

This recipe yielded about 4 servings.

The pasta was cheesy, rich and citrusy, the salmon was tender and juicy and the squash was just squash. But it was still very good! We enjoyed this dinner with a bottle of St Clair Mimbres Pink that my "Big" gave us for our anniversary earlier this month. 

Sunday

After a stop at Ruby K's Bagels for one final green chile cheddar bagel and a quick walk around the neighborhood it was time, once again, to take the eventful hour and a half trip to Albuquerque.

We met up with my former neighbors (hi neighbor-mom!) at Owl Café. The Owl Café, located at 800 Eubank Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87123 has been an Albuquerque institution since 1986 and it's clear why: no fuss or fills, just good cheap food.

Décor: in true diner theme, there are classic rock n' roll mementos, table-top jukeboxes and a wrap-around bar in the middle of the diner.

Food appearance: food is greasy spoon at it's best. No fancy plating here.

Food taste: We began with one of their stellar shakes - The Holy Grail. Peanut butter and chunks of Oreos. Is there any better combo? The shake was so think you had to eat it with a spoon but that was fine by me! I ordered the Albuquerque Patty Melt with a Veggie Burger and it was delightful! The bread was grilled and buttery, the onions caramelized, the cheese melty, the chile hot. What's not to love?

Service: service was a little lackluster. Our server was inattentive and I saw her eating food several feet from us at various times throughout our meal.

Cleanliness: also a little lackluster. Not that it looked dirty or anything just you could tell the servers didn't take a lot of pride in their jobs...and that carried over to the cleanliness of the restaurant.

I would recommend Owl Café for their shakes and food taste, but don't expect anything gourmet or fancy.

After lunch Nate and I had about 2 hours to kill so we headed over to our favorite New Mexican brewery: La Cumbre, taproom located at 3313 Girard Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87107. La Cumbre is well known for their high-ABV beers. Their flagship beer is their Elevated IPA boasting a host of awards, 7.2% ABV per 16 oz pour and bitter and hoppy flavor. I brought home a 4-pack that I'm proud to announce did not explode in my suitcase.

Until next time, Albuquerque! And readers stay tuned for some great recipes! I went shopping last night and bought a whole mess of veggies that I can't wait to make into food!

New Mexico Trip #1

Good morning, readers! From the title of this blog post you can use your excellent deductive skills to determine that I went home to New Mexico on my mystery trip (surprise, surprise). I had an amazing time visiting Nate and friends and co-workers I haven't seen in two years. Oh and all the food and beer!!!


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 appearance: All food is served to-go style in paper bags with plastic utensils and paper napkins.

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!