The only disappointment
(and it was a minor one) we experienced during our inaugural visit to La Norteņita was in not
hearing the lively Mexican polka "Mi
Nortenita" crackling over the restaurant's tinny speaker
system. That would have made our visit to "Old
Mexico" complete.
More than most Mexican restaurants in
Albuquerque, La Norteņita
(the little northern girl) has the look and feel of a restaurant in one
of Mexico's northern states.
That
means a kitchen and wait staff (and most customers) barely conversant in
English, a lustrous color palate on the stark walls, maņana paced
service and flavorsome food not adulterated for American
tastes.
The original La Norteņita
has been around for several years, situated on Central Avenue in an
edifice most Americans might consider a "dive." Business
was so good that its owner (ironically from Puerto Vallarta which is in
central Mexico) launched a second La
Norteņita restaurant about three miles from the original.
A
second La Norteņita
was launched at the site which once housed Cha Cha's, DeLillo's All
American Cafe and Christina's restaurant, all very good restaurants in a
heavily trafficked yet seemingly doomed to failure location.
If you had wagered that La Norteņita
would succeed where its predecessors failed, you would have lost. That
is despite the primary
reason it should have succeeded--authentic and delicious Mexican food at Old Mexico prices.
La Norteņita's
second location had several dining rooms in the luminous colors of the
ultraviolet spectrum. On one dining room, you were surrounded by
almost unnaturally, shockingly bright orange and yellow hues while
equally intense blue walls were visible in another room. In
contrast, the dark brown vigas on the ceilings seemed boring and
out-of-place. On one dining room, the sole decorative touch was a
framed picture of a vibrantly plumed rooster.
Belying
its stark ambience, La Norteņita
serves wonderful food. The jalapeņo-based salsa is your
introduction to taste sensations which will remind you of Old
Mexico. Onion, cilantro, garlic and even jalapeņo seeds coalesce
in piquant bursts of flavor. Housemade chips have a pronounced
toasted corn taste and are lightly salted, crispy and
fantastic.
Both
breakfast and lunch menus offer tantalizingly tempting options, some of
which you don't often see in Albuquerque restaurants. One such
rare treat is the caldo de albondigas. A simple translation would
be "meatball stew," but that wouldn't do justice to what turns
out to be a hearty broth in which swim carrots, onions, meatballs (of
course) and a whole red potato. This is Mexican comfort food at
its finest.
Chilaquiles
is another rare gem. A Mexican casserole originally intended as a
way to use up stale tortillas, it has been refined at La Norteņita
into a layered dish of corn tortillas, potatoes and beans covered in red
chile. Layers of flavor is more like it. Best of all, this
dish also comes with carne asada, very well seasoned and flavorful cubed
beef.
Entrees
are accompanied by your choice of flour or corn tortillas. Savvy
diners will always opt for the corn tortillas which have no
equal in
Albuquerque. The tortilla warmer holds four housemade tortillas,
the thickness (not quite as thick as tortillas used in pupusas
but close) of which you don't often see. At the bottom of the
tortilla warmer is a hand-laced doily which helps hold in the moistness
and heat to ensure your tortillas don't cool off--not that they'll have
a chance to as quick as you'll devour them. Did I already mention
these are the best corn tortillas in Albuquerque?
Even
with two locations, La Norteņita
is a relatively small restaurant, but it's big on flavor and ultimately,
that's where it counts.
