The Food Network’s television cameras just love Chef Marie Yniguez who’s been showcased on not one, not two, not even three, but four of its prime-time programs. Aficionados of her cooking will tell you that in three of those programs she even upstaged Guy Fieri, the spiky-coiffed chef-glitterati. Marie is a larger-than-life personality whose irreverent sense of humor, Burque pride and charisma can’t be contained within the small screen. It’s inevitable that some network executive will someday make a movie of her life. The question is who would play her. Lady Gaga? Nah, not enough personality. Meryl Streep? Ditto and then some. Jennifer Lopez? Getting closer. The truth is, only Marie Yniguez can play Marie Yniguez.
There’s no question Marie has led a very (to put it mildly) interesting life. Her childhood in Hurley, New Mexico, a hardscrabble mining town where hard-working people owed their souls to the company store, imbued her with a work ethic which has served her well. At age ten, her family moved to Albuquerque where five years later, a formative experience at a part-time job gave her the drive to persevere and surmount criticism. A short-sighted supervisor who told her she’d never be more than a dishwasher quickly changed his tune when a co-worker didn’t show up and she was asked to work the grill. The experience proved pivotal.
The movie would have all the elements needed for Oscar consideration. It would have tragedy: shortly after she graduated from Manzano High School, Marie’s older brother committed suicide, a death she took very hard. It would have intrigue: what would Marie do when she found herself pregnant at 19? How would she overcome the Army paperwork SNAFU resulted in her being charged with being absent without leave (AWOL) and sentenced to time at Fort Knox (yes THAT Fort Knox)? How would she recover from a min-stroke at age 32? It would have romance: the love at first sight meeting of her wife Karla Arvizu. It would have comedy: Marie’s self-deprecating sense of humor is irreverent and legendary.
Most of all, it would be a feel good movie about a remarkable woman who surmounted one challenge after another. The movie would follow her exploits as she left the Army, found a job at a small cafe within the confines of the Wells Fargo building then lost that job after the stroke put her out of commission for several months. Determined to strike out on her own, she and Karla started a burrito business, preparing them at home and selling them from coolers they ferried around town in their car. In short order, they obtained a space at the South Valley Economic Development Center which offers a commercial kitchen to entrepreneurs wishing to lunch food-related businesses. Later when her daughter complained about the quality of meals at the charter school she was attending, Marie began packing a lunch. Soon, the school asked if she could provide meals for fifty students. That venture would ultimately grow to 1000 meals per day and six charter schools.
While many people wind down during the summer lull between one school year and the next, Marie and Karla instead launched a small grab-and-go operation which initially operated out of a commissary at 1609 Indian School, N.W. Dubbed Bocadillos Slow Roasted: A Sandwich Shop, it had the geriatrically advanced among us wondering just how good Bocadillos school lunches must have been (not that we’d ever want to return to school to find out). At the Indian School location, Bocadillos was open only for lunch and only Monday through Friday from 11AM to 2:30PM.
In December, 2015, Bocadillos launched a second location at the revolutionary Green Jeans Farmery, the community-oriented commercial plaza constructed entirely with repurposed shipping containers as modular, architectural building blocks. The new take-out only location meant expanded hours. It also meant having your favorite sandwiches well into the evening as well as burritos for breakfast. Alas, operating two restaurants while continuing to produce school meals took a toll on Marie’s health. In May, 2017, she stopped serving school meals. Four months later, she closed the Green Jeans location, focusing all her time and energy on the Wells Fargo space where Bocadillos had just opened. Yes, it’s the same Wells Fargo space where she had worked a decade before. How’s that for coming full circle? It might make for a great movie ending but count on Marie’s life 2.0 to provide a sequel that promises to be just as interesting.
Visit the Bocadillos website and you’ll be invited to live “the Sandwich Dream in Beautiful Albuquerque New Mexico!” where “Slow Roasted is the Heart of Chef Marie Yniguez!” If you dream of sumptuous sandwiches, the type of which might forever ruin other sandwiches for you, Bocadillos should be the site of your next sandwich soiree. Be forewarned. The Wells Fargo space is the very definition of Lilliputian meaning “small or miniature.” There’s not much space and seating is limited. Take-out business is booming though because the sandwiches are so irresistible, some diners literally attack them before their egress from the complex.
Bocadillos is a Spanish term which translates to “sandwiches” while slow-roasted speaks for itself. The meats from which Bocaillos’ sandwiches are constructed are indeed slow-roasted which makes them tender, moist and delicious. The menu currently showcases nine “hot sammies” and four “cold sammies” with four sides available for a pittance. Also on the sandwich menu is a New Mexico green chile cheeseburger Marie entered in the 2018 Green Chile Cheeseburger Smackdown which I had the privilege and pleasure to judge. Though the burger didn’t win, it sure wowed the judges (this one in particular). There’s a breakfast “sammie” on the breakfast (8AM – 10:45AM) menu.
29 July 2013: The chef’s choice…the sandwich of which Marie is most proud is the Duke City Ruben (slow-roasted corned beef, housemade kraut, chipotle 1000 Island dressing finished off with melted Asadero cheese on lite rye). Quite simply, it may be the very best Reuben sandwich in Albuquerque. My friend Sarita certainly thinks so. The Duke City Ruben is the embodiment of the slow-roasting process, taking no less than twelve hours to achieve its tender texture and moistness throughout as well as a sweet caramelization on the surface of each tendril of the corned beef. The housemade sauerkraut doesn’t have the lip-pursing qualities of some sauerkraut, but that’s a good thing. It’s made with a red cabbage tinged with the distinctive flavor of caraway seeds. The Chipotle-Thousand Island dressing, also made on the premises, is fabulous, too.
One of the consequences of splitting a sandwich with a friend is that one of you will have to share half of a superior sandwich. That was the case the first time I had the Ruben which I split with my friend Paul Lilly. I’d give Paul my right arm, but I’m not sure I’d ever give him half a Duke City Ruben again. It’s too good to share. Rarely will you consider the sandwich he ordered (a Philly cheesesteak sandwich) a “Miss Congeniality” of sandwiches, but Bocadillos’ Ruben is just that much better than just about any other sandwich. Place it on a line-up of the Duke City’s best sandwiches and it might rise to the top. It’s on my list.
10 July 2019: In its annual “Hot Plate Awards” edition for 2019, Albuquerque the Magazine bestowed a well-deserved award to Bocadillos for its “hot hybrid sandwich.” “It takes precision, quality and a certain unique flair to earn a Hot Plate Award” and the Cuban Named Ruben has “shown all those traits, and then some.” The Cuban named Ruben is described on the menu as “two greats in one!! Slow-roasted corned beef and pork, bacon, red onion, housemade kraut, sweet chile sauce, chipotle Thousand-Island dressing finished off with melted Asadero and Muenster cheese.”
This sandwich isn’t just taking ingredients from two unique entities and putting them together between two slices of toasted light rye. It’s about a meshing of personalities, a melding of deliciousness…two great sandwiches that taste great together. This isn’t about being able to discern where one sandwich starts and the other ends, but about appreciating the qualities that make each one a superb enjoyment experience. if the elements of one sandwich outshine the others, it would probably be the corned beef, kraut and chipotle Thousand Island dressing (in other words, the Ruben), but the Cuban’s bacon and sweet chile sauce shine, too.
That aforementioned “Miss Congeniality,” the 5-0-Philly is pretty terrific in its own right. Constructed with slow-roasted beef, Swiss cheese, New Mexico green chile, green and red bell peppers, mushrooms and onions, it’s a coalescence of ingredients and flavors that will delight you. There is so much going on, however, that the green chile doesn’t express itself quite as much as this New Mexico native would have liked. What does stand out is the slow roasted beef, as tender, moist and delicious as possible.
29 January 2014: One-track minded men with their minds in the gutter might do a double-take when they see T n A on the sandwich menu. T n A in this case stands for “turkey and avocado,” but this sandwich is so much more. In fact, just about every other turkey sandwich in town is a true turkey compared to this one. The T n A’s listed ingredients are slow-roasted turkey, avocado, green chile apple chutney, lettuce, tomato and Muenster cheese, but this sandwich isn’t about ingredients. It’s about the process of putting them all together.
The process starts with real turkey, not a ubiquitous Boar’s Head offering. First, a dry rub of relatively simple ingredients (crushed peppers, garlic, salt, etc.) is lovingly applied followed by a smear of a housemade honey mustard. The turkey then goes into the oven for twelve hours at low temperature (250 degrees). When extricated, the turkey pulls apart easily. At this point, almost every restaurant would serve it, but not so at Bocadillos which nestles a generous amount of this amazing turkey between a hoagie bun, tops it with a magically reduced green chile-apple chutney, heirloom tomatoes and ripe avocados. It’s eight-ounces of absolute deliciousness, turkey being all it can be. The green-chile apple chutney is sweet and tangy but has a bit of fire which will sneak up on you. In its “Best Sandwich In Every U.S. State” feature, Far & Wide named the T n A the best sandwich in the Land of Enchantment.
17 February 2015: Not that very long ago you could use the adjective “unique” to describe any non-standard preparation of the ubiquitous Cubano sandwich, but nowadays it seems every sandwich shop has its own unique take on this popular sandwich. In time, only Cubanos prepared in time-honored, traditional ways will be unique. That said, Bocadillos take on the Cubano is vastly different (unique) from any other I’ve had. First, it’s made on a sub roll and not on a pressed panini. Secondly, the slow-roasted pork is accompanied by bacon instead of ham (like substituting a BMW for a Ford Pinto). Thirdly, it’s made with homemade sweet pickles, not the dill variety. It’s also made with Muenster cheese and sweet chile sauce. Aside from the tender tendrils of pork and smoky ham, the star of this sandwich is the pickles which seem hardly more than freshly canned, crispy cucumbers with a sweet pickling sauce that elevate them to a sublime level.
25 February 2016: It’s only natural that there would be one sandwich on the Bocadillos menu I wouldn’t esteem as highly as the others, a fifth place sandwich out of five so to speak. That sandwich is the 505-Filthy (slow-roasted chicken, green chile, bacon, Asadero cheese, chopotle mayo, lettuce and tomato). Elsewhere it would probably be the best sandwich on the menu, but at Bocadillos, it’s the one sandwich which wouldn’t be on my sandwich rotation if I believed in such a prosaic notion. The “Filthy” is constructed with unfailingly fresh ingredients that go well together. That slow-roasted chicken is moist, tender and delicious. There’s nothing wrong with this sandwich. It’s just not (in my honest opinion) as wonderful as others on the menu. Of course, that was just my opinion. In June, 2016, the “Filthy” was named one of the “50 best sandwiches in America” by BigSeven Travel. BigSeven noted “All of the meat here is so full and flavour and tender that you won’t want to eat a sandwich anywhere else.”
As a young student, I disliked cold weather intensely because it meant summer vacation was over and school was back in session. As a more seasoned citizen, I look forward to cold weather because it means comforting, soul-warming soup. Having served for six years as a judge at the Roadrunner Food Bank’s SouperBowl fund-raising event, I was more than well acquainted with soup from Bocadillos…which tragically are no longer available. In 2013, Bocadillos earned the Critics Choice Award for its Southwest chicken corn chowder. In the 2014 soup soiree, Bocadillos green chile chicken corn chowder earned third place in the Peoples’ Choice category. In the 2015 SouperBowl, Bocadillos earned third place for its New Mexico Clam Chowder. Better than both of these is a smoked sweet potato-chipotle soup reminiscent of the phenomenal soups prepared in Santa Fe’s Jambo. It’s one of the very best soups this veteran soup judge has enjoyed.
It’s highly likely Bocadillos will continue to earn quite a few “best of” and “peoples’ choice” awards over the years. Within months after launching its grab-and-go operation, no less than Food Network glitterati Guy Fieri and the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives crew came calling. Fieri’s September, 2013 visit caused quite a stir and when the episode showcasing Bocadillos aired on Monday, October 28, 2013, viewers all over the country found out about the small unconventional restaurant which serves one of the world’s best Ruben sandwiches. Even more remarkable is that the best Ruben in Albuquerque may not even be the best sandwich on the Bocadillos menu.
Marie proved to be far more than a sandwich chef when the Food Network asked her back, this time as a competing chef on Chopped. In an episode which first aired on February 28th, 2017 Marie competed against three other chefs in a episode entitled “Raw Deal” which required that each chef create an appetizer from a deconstructed sushi burger which she converted to a tuna and pork taco with logan berries and wasabi pico de gallo, followed in the entree round by a grilled buffalo steak with porcini mushroom hash. Her dessert, a butter-braised polenta cake with bechamel ganache, proved to be the difference-maker, earning her the title of Chopped Champion.
In 2019, she and her equally personable daughter Ryan Duran competed on the Diners, Drive-Ins Meets Dives Grocery Games Family Tournament, a three-round elimination tournament for $30,000. Marie and Ryan surmounted a series of cooking challenges, ultimately making it to the semi-finals. In a surf and turf competition, Marie and Ryan wowed the judges with a perfectly prepared filet and fried shrimp combination, but their ghee beurre blanc wasn’t quite as highly esteemed. Throughout the competition, Marie and Ryan represented the 505 with style and grace, making all of us very proud.
On July 8th, 2019, the Food Network aired an episode of the “Bite Club” which pitted three of the Duke City’s best chefs: Kenny Wang of O Ramen, Marie Yniguez of Bocadillos Slow Roasted and Nabil Young of Safari Grill–against each other in a culinary competition to determine who would become hometown champ. Though she didn’t win the first round, Marie prevailed in the finale, preparing a grandmother-inspired take on an Hoja Santa scramble with chile-chorizo refried beans. As always, she cooked from the heart, earning the respect and admiration of distinguished judges Jennifer James and Mark Kiffin and host Tyler Florence alike.
All of Marie’s Food Network conquests have made us eager for some motion picture executive to begin production on the Marie Yniguez Story. Her sandwiches make us eager for every return trip to Bocadillos.
Bocadillos Slow Roasted: A Sandwich Shop
200 Lomas Blvd., N.E.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
LATEST VISIT: 10 July 2019
1st VISIT: 29 July 2013
# OF VISITS: 5
RATING: 23
COST: $ – $$
BEST BET: Duke City Ruben, 5-0-Philly, T n A, Macaroni Salad, Roasted Sweet Potato Chipotle Soup, Green Chile Chicken Corn Chowder, Cubano, 505-Filthy, Cuban Named Ruben
ARCHIVED:
School cafeteria meals have probably traumatized more youth than John Carpenter’s horror movies. Lunch menus read like fine-dining, promising nutritious, healthy and delicious cuisine. Instead, they deliver what could pass for TV dinner rejects. Reject is an apropos term here. Slop buckets are overfilled with the much feared and cursed vegetable medley (also known as succotash, emphasis on the “suck” part) and the next day with chicken a la king, featuring whatever is left over of the dreaded vegetable medley. It’s no wonder America’s youth seeks sustenance and refuge in the calorie-laden comfort of vended snacks.
Bocadillos, a locally owned and operated, full-service school lunch and catering company is working to change the image of the dreaded school cafeteria meal. In 2012, Bocadillos prepared as many as 500 meals per day for three charter school clients. In 2013, those numbers doubled to 1000 meals per day and six charter schools. Bocadillos doesn’t do things in the tried and failed methods of the past. The serve children wholesome, balanced meals to support their cognitive development and physical health. All students will likely recognize is that it tastes delicious!
RIP Bocadillos. https://www.abqjournal.com/2544838/bocadillos-shutters-its-location-in-downtown-albuquerque.html
Oh no! Let’s hope Marie can find a location for Bocadillos with more robust and consistent traffic. Bocadillos’ sandwiches are the best in New Mexico.
Absolutely! I still need to try her other place downtown.
This was coming for a while. She had announced around mid-September that Bocadillos was closing for a few weeks while they figured things out. When I saw her at her food truck a few weeks later, and asked her about the closure, it wasn’t looking like she was going to find another location. I don’t know if she was able to get out of the lease she’s currently in, so that would hamper relocating. She seemed to indicate that she would incorporate some of the items from Bocadillos into her other restaurant, My Moms. So at least she’s not leaving Downtown, and I have hope I will be able to snag one of those Reubens from time to time. Her food truck, Smokin’ Fred’s 46, was a regular presence on Civic Plaza when they were doing Food Truck Fridays and always sold out.
At any rate, I’m certain she’ll be fine and we’ll still be able to enjoy her wonderful food.
Thank you, Sarita. You are always a wonderful fountain of information.
Sarita, I share your pain at the loss of the Cuban named Reuben. The only other one that comes close can be had at Relish. Prepare yourself for sticker shock if you haven’t been there before. Definitely high quality sandwiches and salads, however.
My bad, the reuben at Relish is “just” a reuben. If your preference at Bocadillos was the Duke City one, you will not get that same pep. Please let me know if you find one! Or if My Moms adds anything on. It’s a very nice location. I have not yet tried the 2 Gs Bistro version, home of the green chile meatball sub.
2G’s Bistro does serve a very good Reuben. As does The Farmacy. But, no one anywhere makes a better Reuben than Marie Yniguez and her crew. Let’s start a novena and pray that she serves it at My Moms.
Yeah, the Duke City was the one I’m mourning the most; that one ruined me for other Reubens. I’ve tried other Reubens, none of whom I’ll name, and I wouldn’t order them again. *Although*, the one exception to that is 2G’s Bistro; they do make a wonderful Reuben. I haven’t tried Farmacy’s, but since Gil sings their praises I will eventually.
Sadly Relish isn’t in an area I frequent all that often, so I haven’t been there since they left Downtown and Rio Rancho. The price tags don’t scare me, as you’re right – the food is well worth it.
I’ll keep y’all posted if Marie makes any “additions” to her menu.
Ms. Yniguez certainly knows her way around flavorful food. The first time I visited My Moms, it was with the intent of trying the Biscuits and Gravy. I didn’t realize that the green chile gravy was the only option, so I hesitated. Marie was there with her order taker and said that she didn’t think the gravy was that hot that day and wisely suggested that I be given a sample. They gave me a small plastic cup with a tiny spoon like you get when sampling ice cream. I ate that amount and immediately knew two things. 1. It was ridiculously delicious and 2. any quantity of it would be way outside my piquant tolerance zone. I ordered a breakfast biscuit sandwich instead. That sandwich fed me for two days! Thought you might get a giggle from this anecdote.
You should try the chicken sandwich too. I believe it’s called Chata’s Chicken sandwich, not to be confused with the chicken salad sandwich (Though I’m told that’s wonderful as well). That ridiculously delicious green chile gravy is served on the side, so you can have as much (or as little) as you like. You might also consider the red chile enchiladas. The red is not at all hot but oh so flavorful.
Thanks for the tip about the red chile, Sarita. There are a few menu items with it that I’ve had my eye on. Agree about the chicken fried chicken; nice to find one that isn’t overcooked, as many do.
That was a stupid location to begin with
Found this before and after photo of Ruben after Sarita has read one of his comments.
Here’s another shout-out to Bocadillos. Travioso compiled a list of the 70 best sandwiches in the US. This, however, isn’t the tired slide show that goes through each state with one sandwich shop for each state. Some states have multiple sandwich shops, while some states aren’t acknowledged at all. Bocadillos was the only sandwich shop from New Mexico on this list, and it’s a spot well deserved. https://www.travioso.com/en/article/best-sandwiches-america/?fbclid=IwAR2R3GfptIC8N69t7wCdyVb072wUUA5rgaPOMau0KD6LCdtrw1RhBc4KyvI#
Congratulations to Marie Yniguez who has done it again! In case anyone missed it, she and her daughter Ryan Duran were winners last night on the Food Network show “Guy’s Grocery Games”. Marie is justifiably proud of the cooking of New Mexico and put her usual creativity to work netting a $10,000 reward. She and Ryan will be back for the finale on January 23rd when they’ll compete with the winners of two other rounds for a grand prize of $20,000. Fingers crossed for them!
YAY!!!!!! Didn’t see the show, but I’m so proud of them! If anybody deserves it, it’s them.
Nice update as seen on Dateline http://tinyurl.com/yahzhtuq
Downtowners, rejoice!!! If you’re craving Bocadillos, you no longer have to schlep all the way over to Greens Jeans Farmery. A new location has opened up in the Wells Fargo building on 3rd and Lomas in the former home of John’s Place. For me, this means a two-minute walk to breakfast burrito and sandwich Nirvana. Today I tried the Road Runner burrito with slow-cooked pork, Christmas style. Neither chile had much bite, but they were flavorful. Maybe they weren’t very piquant so that they wouldn’t compete with the meat, which was tender and wonderful. The eggs were fried over medium . That was different, but a good kind of different. The yolks complemented the ingredients of the burrito very nicely.
I will definitely be back for the sandwiches. I’m torn between which will be the first, the Filthy or the TnA.
Typically don’t watch such programs, but per Bruce’s notice, did: Congrats Marie! on becoming Chopped Champion running up against some interesting culinary compositions while perhaps being a bit one-down given ingredients being less than common(?) in NM and especially not having Red or Green to assist…LOL!
As always, Marie showed her True Grit as she’s done with her business ventures by wrangling something outstanding from ‘the ingredients’ life presents her…What a real role model for many in our ABQian Community. Whoa, credit to the Show for not being “limiting” per the Gal from Farm & Table just winning!
https://www.abqjournal.com/958301/bocadillos-chefowner-to-appear-on-chopped.html
After much thought, I postulated and proved that parking closer at Green Jeans Farmery was more conducive in mid afternoon. Given Bocadillo’s was the overall soup winner at the Souper Bowl (that somehow I missed), I was looking forward to trying out a soup on an overcast day that didn’t get as warm as forecasted To my dismay however, I found B’s doesn’t have inside seating and almost left cuz I couldn’t feature eating on the patio tables. Fortunately, I saw a door to Chumly’s and decided to explore if it had indoor seating and thus I found (being a rather unhip old Fogger) that the GJF is set up Hippy-style….on a communal basis. I.e. If you go into where C’s is, you will find C’s walk up counter only, but where there is communal indoor seating including an elevator to second level with more tables. Espying Chumly’s soup menu, I had to taste…..
Great sandwiches, but the Indian School location is apparently closed as of late 2016. The good news is that we can still get those great sandwiches at their 3600 Cutler Ave NE location, in the Green Jeans shops where the buildings are made of shipping containers. They have also expanded their menu and hours.
Thank you, Denny. I’ve updated my review to reflect Bocadillo’s new location and will have to visit soon to update my photos.
Actually, they’ve moved out of Green Jeans and are now on Lomas. (See Sarita’s comment.) Kinda cool, since that’s where Marie started out!
Drove here from las vegas new mexico tried the rueben and the cubano. I was reffered here by my bro and he was right, THESE SANDWICHES R THE BOMB
Ya know, nice to be reminded about B’s and see/give a shout out to these Folks who are apparently working hard to make their American Dream come true, possibly by believing that old saw that ‘America is the land of opportunity’*…Nice presentation today on KRQE! http://tinyurl.com/o2qlufr Note that they are also taking the risk to open a second location in that neo-moderne venture using cargo containers/semi-trailers at Carlisle and I-25 in about a month!
* (Pardon, don’t wish to offend, but should point out that that “saw” might be disrespectful to some, like our former resident, Janet Napolitano who Honcho’s over the U of Calif’s universities wherein I’d never contribute to my G-daughter’s attending as reported here: http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/22839/)
Since yesterday was St.Patricks Day, and having just moved from NY, I was craving a corned beef sandwich. I googled best corned beef sandwich in Albuquerque, and Bocadillos popped up. I drove from Rio Rancho and I was not disappointed. It was delicious, and I loved the place and staff. Do yourself a favor and a sandwich, it is certainly well worth the drive. Besides, I like to support local business owners that do good work for the community.
They now serve breakfast on Saturdays and lunch too!
They need better hours!!!
WOW! Finally made it over here to check this joint out. I had seen it on 3D’s a couple of weeks back and wanted to be sure to give it a try. As Gil said, takes some doing to find the place but once you do, you won’t need a GPS to go back and trust me – you WILL go back!
We had a Ruben and TnA. Excellent on both counts. Amazing sandwiches! The corned beef on the Ruben rivals Katz’s deli in NYC. And my TnA – WOW. Turkey, juicy roasted like you only wished your Thanksgiving turkey tasted and topped with cheese all ooey gooey melted and a Green Chile apple chutney that would bring grown men to their knees., oh my! Lots of perfectly ripe avocado, lettuce and tomato.
Run, don’t walk over there, trust me, you’ll be oh so glad you did.
Bocadillos was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives this week. Guy seemed pretty impressed. As for me, I think I need to visit this weekend!
The NM Ruben was amazing!! Thanks for turning me onto this place!
That Reuben!! SOLD.