Category: New Mexico

Range Café – Albuquerque, NM

So, if you are a fan of Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives on the Food Network like I am going to a restaurant featured on the show is a fun thing to do. Especially when you are traveling to a different city. So, when I was in Albuquerque, New Mexico I had Standard Diner on my list to go visit. Unfortunately, they shut down in 2020. But luckily for the community a locally owned restaurant chain came into the building, and it re-opened as Range Café. And at this location they kept some special dishes on their menu from the original Standard Diner: meatloaf, jalapeno poppers, and the deviled egg cobb.

When you walk in you are greeted by huge cases of desserts. There is everything from cakes, pies, pastries and a giant cream puff.

On the wall still hangs the signed poster of Guy Fieri. It’s a nice tribute to the original restaurant that was featured on the show.

There are toy ovens all over the restaurant, which is a cute novelty look.

Our friendly waitress Camille was helpful in making suggestions of what to try on the menu. Since we were there early in the day, we all went for breakfast dishes.

I ordered the Papas Con Carne. This was a breakfast bowl that started with range fries at the bottom. These were their version of home fries. Then a layer of carne adovada (this is New Mexico’s version of pork and beans). White cheddar cheese, green onions and 2 eggs were placed on top. I got my eggs over-well. With every dish you get in New Mexico you get a choice of Green Chilis or Red Chilis. If you cannot decide, order Christmas, which is a little of each. The chilies give a little added heat and flavor to any dish. This breakfast bowl was very filling; it is much larger than I thought it would be. The pork shoulder and the red beans went well with the potatoes.

Another dish that was ordered was the Breakfast Burrito. This was a jumbo sized burrito that was loaded with scrambled eggs, white cheddar cheese, range fries, pinto beans, and red & green chilies. All of this was rolled up in a flour tortilla. There was no way you could pick this burrito up with your hands to eat it, a fork was necessary because it was just so big.

The Egg-chiladas was another unique breakfast dish. So instead of a flour tortilla they used an egg to wrap up shredded green chili chicken, cheddar cheese, green chilis, pinto beans, range fries, cotija cheese, and green onion. The egg wrapper really helps this dish stand out. It was a cross between an omelet and an enchilada.

The final dish that was ordered was the Biscuits & Gravy. This traditional Southern dish was extra large here. The buttermilk biscuits were freshly made. They topped them with a creamy, country style sausage gravy. Also included on the plate were eggs and range fries. The eggs tasted great when you mixed it with the sausage gravy. This was a very comforting dish. It would have been perfect for a cold morning.

The breakfast dishes were amazing at Range Café. There were some delicious sounding lunch/dinner items on the menu that we would want to try on the next visit. If you are in the Albuquerque area, check them out. Check out their menu at www.rangecafe.com

Enjoy!

T

El Rigoberto’s Taco Shop – Los Alamos, NM

There is a very authentic Mexican restaurant in Los Alamos, New Mexico that I visited on two separate occasions when I was in town. El Rigoberto’s offers all the classic Mexican dishes along with a little New Mexico flare.

Once you order at the counter, you can find a seat in the restaurant. They will bring the food to you. Now in the center of the restaurant there is a salsa bar. You can help yourself to a variety of red and green salsas – all with different levels of heat. There is also an amazing homemade pico de gallo.

They also had a giant bowl of pickled peppers and carrots. These also had some heat. It was a nice snack to have while we waited for our dishes.

One of the dishes ordered was the Cheese Quesadillas. This was a large quesadilla. It was filled with a generous amount of shredded chicken and melted cheese. Adding a little of the pico de gallo to it helped step up the flavor. The fresh tortilla were cooked up until they were crispy of the outside. This nice crunch complemented to soft texture from the chicken, cheese filling.

Another dish that was ordered was the Beef Burritos. Two large burritos came on the plate along with rice and refired beans. It was a lot of food. They used shredded beef. The beef was tender and seasoned perfectly. It was a savory, salty taste.

They had a couple of taco options on the menu. The Fish Tacos were chosen. Two of them came with the meal. The fish was lightly fried. They were on soft tortilla shells and covered in an amazing sauce. It was like a cream sauce that accented the fish well.

The Chiles Rellenos was a perfect New Mexico dish. These rellenos were large, but not spicy. They were stuffed with cheese that melted when cooked. It oozed with each cut of the pepper. These were also served with rice and beans, as well as fresh guacamole, sour cream, and pico de gallo. These added elements were perfect to help balance out all the cheese.

On the second visit, we tried two more dishes. The Bean Tostada & Beef Taco combo plate seemed like a lot of food but it was just the right amount. The taco was the shredded beef and it was still full of flavor like the last visit. The crunchy taco shell was made from a fresh tortilla.

The tostada was easier to eat than I was expecting. The crunchy tortilla was covered with creamy refried beans, cheese, and topped with shredded lettuce. I was able to just pick it up with my hands and take a bite. The rice and beans on the side were a good addition to put on top of the tostada.

The last thing ordered was the Beef Burrito & Cheese Enchilada. They used the seasoned shredded beef in the burrito. The cheese enchilada was oozing with cheese. The red and green sauce was added on top of each to give it the extra spice. Using both red and green sauce is called Christmas.

All of the food was amazing. It was all homemade and extremely authentic.  If you are visiting Los Alamos you should check them out. They don’t have a website but you can check them out of Facebook.

Enjoy!

T