Many
of us who predate, however slightly, the explosion of institutionalized
fast food retain a fondness for the remaining independent family
restaurants whose arsenal in the competition for hungry diners consists
of reasonable portions of great meals at budget-conscious prices.
An Albuquerque
restaurant which epitomizes those ideals is the El Camino Dining Room,
captured brilliantly at right by
Deanna Nichols.
The El Camino was built
by Clyde H. Tyler in 1950, five years after the latest "war to end all
wars" and 13 years after Route 66 was "straightened" so that it would
bypass Santa Fe completely.
Albuquerque was much
more innocent back then. Some might even describe it as a "cow
town trying to be a city." At the time, 44% of America's
population resided in rural areas and the Duke City's population was
only 96,800.
Despite no longer being
part of Route 66, one of the city's busiest thoroughfares was 4th Street
on which commerce was burgeoning. It was the perfect location for
an independent family restaurant, far from the cavalcade of Howard
Johnson's type restaurants which grew along the interstates.
Similar
to Howard Johnson's which prided itself on providing all the amenities
travelers would need in one convenient location, El Camino also included
a motor lodge (a hotel for motorists which provides direct access from
rooms to the parking area). The motor lodge is directly across the
street from the restaurant.
While
El Camino doesn't exude the pristine veneer or
the effusive, over-the-top flamboyance of the chains that dominate
today's Duke City dining scene, it
still exudes much of the charm that must have captured Albuquerque
diners when it first launched more than half a century ago.
That charm includes
immaculate whitewash adobe walls, rough-hewn vigas and latillas,
old-fashioned glass block windows and vintage signage. It extends
to the warm service and hospitality.
Great service is a
hallmark for the restaurant's current proprietors Lydia Sakelaris, her
daughter Mandy Chavez and her husband Gilbert. One of the three is
always on hand to ensure their patrons receive outstanding service.
The restaurant's menu
lists more than 60 dishes ranging from American comfort food favorites
and diner specialties to New Mexican standards such as carne adovada and huevos rancheros, the house specialty.
El Camino is open daily for
breakfast and lunch and everything is made fresh daily. Best of
all, if you want a green chile cheeseburger for breakfast or pancakes
for lunch, you can have them.
Dinner plates are a
bargain. Each plate begins with a bowl of steaming green chile stew and
ends with fluffy sopaipillas. In between, your entree might be tamales,
enchiladas, tacos or some other tempting main course, each served with sides
of beans and Spanish rice.
The green chile stew is
special: cubed potatoes, tender pork, piquant green chile and just a
hint of Mexican oregano.
The tamales are some of
the best in the city. I've often heard it debated as to whether
tamales are about the chile infused pork or beef filling or about the
corn masa encasing that pork or beef. Few tamales strike a perfect
balance.
Either the masa is so
thick it overwhelms the meat filling or the meat filling and especially
the chile don't allow any of the masa's corn flavor to come out.
El Camino has the secret to great tamales down pat. The masa is
redolent with corn flavor, the pork is tender and the chile
tongue-tingling and delicious. The flavors coalesce beautifully!
Red chile is a starring attraction on
several of the restaurant's New Mexican entrees. Slathered on
generously, but not enough to drown any entree, the chile has a nice
flavor that will bring sweat to your brow without scalding the roof of
your mouth. It's a pure, unadulterated chile without the bitter
cumin which some restaurants use to the detriment of their food.
A popular entree is the Chef's Special
Mexican Dinner which features Indian style blue corn tortilla enchiladas
and the aforementioned extras. Whether stacked flat or rolled, the
enchiladas are replete with flavor.
The
combination plate features a tamale, enchilada and taco.
It's a great way to audition potential entrees during a future visit and
you get three delicious entree quality items in one heaping plate.
There's a good reason huevos rancheros
are the specialty of the house. Fluffy eggs any style you desire,
melted cheese, and red chile--that's as good a reason to get up in the
morning as any. Lounging on the plate with the huevos are some of
the best papitas you'll find anywhere. They're more than silver
dollar sized with a crispy, golden exterior and tender, cooked all the
way through interior.
The menu doesn't have a green chile
cheeseburger per se, but you can order a cheeseburger and ask for it
with chile strips. The chile isn't piquant in the least, but
it has a nice flavor. The burger is garnished with lettuce, onion
and tomato, all fresh and delicious.
Chicharonnes, made with various cuts
of pork, are made differently throughout Latin America and in parts of
Spain. In New Mexico they're typically cut into small cubes and
fried to a near crackling crunch.
That's
what we expected when ordering El Camino's chicharones burrito.
Instead, the burrito was engorged with a single almost pork chop sized
piece of gristly, chewy pork. Unfortunately it didn't taste like a
pork chop and was difficult to eat. It's the only thing we haven't
enjoyed at El Camino.
Papitas (called
"home fries" on the menu) are part of a delicious breakfast triumvirate
that also includes pork chops and two eggs, any style. The pork
chops are porcine perfection--tender, well-seasoned and delicious with
little excess marbling.
As with many old-fashioned 50s and 60s
era family style restaurants, El Camino also serves wonderful pancakes.
A short stack of two griddled orbs six-inch in diameter and slathered in
butter and syrup. Now that's breakfast!
