Trip to Albuquerque

I know you just read my awesome Rye Bar & Southern Kitchen Chef's Tasting blog and are eager for more of my charming rhetoric - who am I to deny you! So let's get started!


I visited Nate in my dear old Albuquerque for a weekend in late July and it was amazing. They say "you can't go home again" but I fully disagree. Albuquerque will forever be my home. I may've joked as a kid about it being the "land of entrapment" because no one ever leaves, but as I've grown older I've realized how much I appreciate where I grew up. My city has a natural beauty that I've never seen anywhere else. There is also a culture in Albuquerque that is completely unique - there are so many different people that meld together to make the city what it is and what I love and miss most.


Ok, enough water works - I know you really want to know about what I ate!

Friday

My darling Nathan picked me up at the airport and immediately greeted me with a Golden Pride #1 Breakfast Burrito - my go-to that I have attempted many times to recreate but cannot quite get right.


This burrito is stuffed with shredded hash browns, spicy green chile, fluffy eggs and sharp cheddar cheese and folded into a homemade  Frontier Restaurant tortilla. I have no idea what Frontier does to their tortillas but they are legendary! And you're in luck because they're sold by the dozen.

It's ok if you attempt to lick your screen.

My burrito was devoured before I had even grabbed my luggage off the conveyor belt.


Nate and I loaded up and dropped off our bags at our favorite hotel, Hotel Parq Central and headed off toward my old law firm to visit my co-worker, Crystal. We caught up on her life, her growing family and my old attorney. It was amazing seeing her and hearing about how well she and everyone around her are doing. I certainly miss my old firm and it's family-like atmosphere.


After catching up, we headed over to Factory Edge Tattoo Coronado so I could get something I've wanted for awhile - an acorn. I know I just said that Albuquerque will forever be my home, but Raleigh is definitely growing on me. The city is great for young professionals with a myriad of bars, restaurants and clubs to explore. It just has a vibe I think I'll miss when we move and I wanted to get something to commemorate our time here - Raleigh is known as "the city of oaks" hence the acorn.

A Tale of Two Cities

Also I am aware of the irony of getting a tattoo for a specific city in a different city - I trust my Albuquerque tattoo artist and will not let someone I don't know permanently ink my body. That's just asking for trouble.


By the time my appointment was finished, we were both hungry and thankfully, we had a quick solution: Dion's Pizza! If you're interested in reading a full review you can find that here. Dion's will forever be my favorite pizza place. Everything about it is fantastic and their ranch dressing is superior to all others. I purchased a bottle of classic ranch and a bottle of green chile ranch to take home to Raleigh and enjoy. The green chile ranch is superb and everyone should go get themselves a bottle immediately...I'll wait.

A slice of Cheese topped with Chile with a cup of Dion's Ranch

We had some time to kill so we headed back to Hotel Parq Central to check in and relax. After a few hours of sloth, we headed upstairs to Apothecary Lounge for some happy hour drinks. They have an excellent happy hour! Cheap house wines, local draft beers, signature cocktails and bar food. They also have some of my favorite city views. The rooftop is a perfect vantage point to see the Sandias and West and North sides of the city. It is absolutely breathtaking.


We each had a few beers and ordered some Fried Green Chile Strips. The strips weren't very great. The breading appeared to be some sort of cereal that didn't adhere to the strips very well and the flavor was lackluster. I'd recommend ordering the Olive Plate instead.

We of course had to take advantage of the photo opportunity.

We didn't intentionally match, by the way. Looking East toward the Sandia Mountains.

Friday evening was spent catching up with friends while brewery hopping. We visited La Cumbre Brewing (my absolute favorite Albuquerque brewery), Canteen Brewhouse, and Santa Fe Brewing Company located at Green Jeans Farmery. A lot of beer was drunk, a lot of laughs were had and a lot of headaches were suffered on Saturday. Despite a hangover that rivaled some experienced in undergrad, it was amazing to get to catch up with all the people I love in Albuquerque! I miss each and every one of them dearly and encourage them to visit me in Raleigh (looking at you Brandon, Monica and Steph!)

Saturday

As previously stated, Saturday morning was a little rough. We opted to eat the complimentary breakfast at Hotel Parq Central, which is fabulous and then began our day. We didn't have any plans per se and spent awhile deciding what to do and settled on the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. This museum is located in the heart of Old Town Albuquerque at 1801 Mountain Road NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104, and frankly has not changed much since I was a tot, but visiting is always a pleasure.

The museum currently has a traveling Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit showcasing not only his masterpieces but also his inventions. We learned the secrets of Mona Lisa, his inventions that have clearly inspired modern day items, and learned more about this historical icon. It was a great exhibit and the ticket price included general admission to the museum and a planetarium show!

We enjoyed wandering around Da Vinci's works and viewed our planetarium show (I fell asleep, remember I was suffering), before meeting up with my dad at Golden Crown Panaderia . You may recall that I visited Golden Crown last year (full review here), however this time Nate and I shared the Vegetarian Pizza on Green Chile Crust with added green chile. The crust was crisp and spicy and the extra green chile had a kick! Or maybe I'm losing my spice tolerance, I hope that's not the case. We also split a Coffee Milkshake, cold and creamy and topped with a mountain of delicious whipped cream.

After a few hours' rest back at HPC (Hotel Parq Central), we walked around UNM reminiscing about college and the beginning of our relationship. It was a sweet walk down memory lane - we even caught a glimpse of a bridal party exiting the UNM Alumni Chapel!

EVERYONE'S A LOBO!

Then we met up with my family friends, Mike and Sandy at Gyros Mediterranean. Once again, you may recall I visited this delicious cheap-eats (review here). We snacked on delicious Saganaki while catching up before tucking into our dinners. I ordered the Falafel, which I'd never had from here before. The falafel itself was crisp and golden but the accompanying Tahini Sauce was lacking in any flavors...period. It didn't even taste like sesame! I instead used the house-made Greek dressing.

We decided to grab a beer at the newly opened Bombs Away Beer Company at 9801 Acoma Rd SE, Albuquerque, NM 87123. This brewery is veteran owned and operated out of a refurbished storage warehouse and every inch of the space contains nods to the veteran roots of the owners.

The beers were all delicious and high ABV, I opted for a flight as I tend to do when I haven't previously visited the brewery. Mike indicated Bombs Away is one of his favorites due to the low key atmosphere and friendly staff. I can't say I disagree. Unlike the crowded and bustling La Cumbre or Marble, Bombs Away is not located on a major street or in the downtown area and as such has less foot traffic.

I really enjoyed reconnecting with people who watched me grow up and shaped me into the woman I currently am. It was also astonishing to realize that their son who I used to babysit is now a Junior at my old high school - where does the time go?

Sunday

Nate and I decided to skip breakfast at HPC and instead go to one of our old favorites: The Range Café, we visited their location at 2200 Menaul Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87107.

Despite it being mid-morning on a Sunday, we were seated immediately and got down to eating that much faster (thank goodness because we were starving).

Decor: each location is decked out in funky décor. Everything is brightly colored and the walls are covered in knick-knacks and local art for sale. There are also a number of vintage toy ovens placed around.

This location seats roughly 150 with a breakfast bar outside the kitchen. We were seated in a booth looking west.

Food appearance: Let's face it, New Mexican food isn't always the prettiest to look at but who cares when it's smothered in chile and cheese? This food is no exception. The point of The Range isn't to stare at your plate, it's to eat it clean! This is comfort food.

However, their pastry case of homemade pies at the entrance of every location looks Blue Ribbon worthy.

Food taste: after much deliberation of their expansive menu, I ordered a Short Stack that I couldn't even finish and a side of Range Fries with a side of Red Chile, because why would I waste readily available chile?!

"Short" Stack with Range Fries

The pancakes were absolutely massive, I only ate about 1 and a half of them but they were out of this world! They were soft and fluffy and tasted magnificent when drizzled with maple syrup. The Range Fries were crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside and the chile was smoky and hot. Everything about this breakfast was delicious and nostalgic.

Nate opted for The Huevos Rancheros, they were vegetarian so I was able to try some and they were amazing! No wonder they were voted the Weekly Alibi's Best in Albuquerque!

Huevos Rancheros

Service: Our server was a little distracted, at least I'd like to give her the benefit of the doubt. She seemed to have at least 4 tables she was caring for. She wasn't very attentive and disappeared for awhile when we tried to check out but in all the times I've visited The Range, the service was consistently good.

Cleanliness: Due to high volume, tables are turned over quickly and there are bussers waiting in the wings to clear tables quickly as soon as a party leaves.

Go to The Range, eat everything in sight and save room for pie.

We spent the new few hours prior to my flight running various errands. We picked up New Mexico staples for me to return home with, hit up R.E.I. for Nate to restock on supplies and then went to Talin World Market because for some reason no trip to Albuquerque feels complete without taking a stroll through the aisles.

It was difficult to say goodbye to Albuquerque because it is always uncertain as to when I'll return. It was even more difficult to say goodbye Nate because it was unfortunately the last time I will see him until the end of August.

I hope you enjoyed my recount of Albuquerque and stay tuned for my latest blog post about my trip to Florida's East Coast! Thank you as always, readers!