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Monthly Archives: November 2006

Huong Thao – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Since we moved back to Albuquerque in 1995, perhaps no ethnic cuisine has caught the fancy of pernickety diners more than Vietnamese. Over the past ten years, a preponderance of Vietnamese restaurants have sprung up throughout the Duke City and most of them range in quality from very good to excellent. Vietnamese restaurants haven’t always been as highly regarded in Albuquerque.

Sure, the innovative (but now defunct) Abq magazine named May Cafe one of the “rest of the best” restaurants during its 1995 restaurant guide, but even five years later only one Vietnamese restaurant was listed on Zagat Survey’s Millennium Edition of the top restaurants in the Southwest. That restaurant was Huong Thao, regarded at the time as perhaps the city’s very best Vietnamese dining establishment.

Zagat Survey accorded Huong Thao a rating of “24″ which categorized it as “very good to excellent.” The restaurant was praised for its “delicious traditional foods” and was singled out for its “no-puff” policies back when smoking was still allowed in Albuquerque dining establishments.

In 2002, Huong Thao eked out a win over other highly-regarded Vietnamese restaurants in La Cocinita magazine’s (also now defunct) 2002 second annual critic’s choice awards. Garnering praise from an august body of panelists were the “herb-filled spring rolls” and “oh-so-crispy grilled pork.”

Huong Thao has long had a reputation as a Vegan-friendly restaurant, earning accolades from the Vegetarian Society of New Mexico for its “great food” and “many vegetarian options.”

Over the years our visits to Huong Thao have been infrequent, in part because this Northeast Heights restaurant is the furthest east from our home of any Vietnamese restaurant in Albuquerque, but mostly because other Vietnamese restaurants have, over the years, surpassed it. Huong Thao remains a wonderful place for hardy soups and noodle dishes, but it seems to lack some of the pizzazz of its brethren. The addition to the menu of sushi has done little to enliven what is a consistent, albeit uninspiring, restaurant.

Huong Thao’s spring rolls are still the biggest in the city–two rice paper rolls per order engorged with shrimp (and or pork and tofu) and fresh vegetables. Aromatic basil doesn’t quite make up for the somewhat bland fish sauce that accompanies your order, but it comes close. The fish sauce lacks the sweet and piquant tastes that define the genre. Julienne vegetables are also sparse.

Despite diverse options, the banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich)–which you can have with your choice of barbecue pork, shredded pork, meat loaf, shredded gluten or barbeque gluten–is overwhelmed by the baguette. Huong Thao’s baguettes are delicious and unfailingly fresh, but they should complement vegetable and meat ingredients not dominate them.

Among the rice noodle dishes, the spicy lemongrass with stir-fried pork is a popular entree. Spicy is not an adjective we’d use on this dish, however, as it lacks the spiciness of similarly prepared dishes at other restaurants. It is served piping hot with perfectly prepared noodles and will warm the cockles of your heart.

Huong Thao
1016B Juan Tabo, N.E.
Albuquerque, NM
292-8222
LATEST VISIT: 21 November 2006
# OF VISITS: 4
RATING: 19
COST: $$
BEST BET: Spring Rolls, Boneless Stuffed Chicken Wings, Rice Noodle Bowl Grilled With Lemongrass and Sliced Pork, Stir Fried Egg Noodles With Pork

Huong Thao Vietnamese Cuisine on Urbanspoon

Pueblito Mexicano – Bernalillo, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Pueblito Mexicano shares space with Ashley's, a small 7-11 type store.

Pueblito Mexicano In Bernalillo

Even onto the 21st century the distinction between Mexican and New Mexican cuisine has been somewhat obfuscated. Restaurants which serve cuisine we recognize as uniquely New Mexican (characterized among other things by the use of piquant red and green chiles instead of jalapeno) bill themselves as Mexican restaurants. The situation is exacerbated by ancianos (New Mexico’s elderly population), many of whom refer to their cuisine as “Mexican.”

While many New Mexican restaurants errantly bill themselves as Mexican, neither their menus nor their accoutrements do little to clarify the distinction. That isn’t the case at Pueblito Mexicano.

First of all, the trappings are uniquely Mexican–from the watermelon colored walls to the clay fired pottery strewn throughout.

Secondly, the proof is in the eating. The food at Puelito Mexicano is most assuredly Mexican. While there are many commonalities between New Mexican and Mexican food, there are just as many dissimilarities. Not all New Mexicans seem to grasp that and some complain vociferously rather than celebrating the differences.

When I waste time whining that too many New Mexicans don’t appreciate or understand the differences between authentic Mexican and New Mexican cuisine, my dear wife reminds me that in the end, it’s whether you like the food or not that really matters. We really liked Pueblito Mexicano.

The specialty of the house at Pueblito Mexicano appears to be burritos with eighteen different burritos on the menu. Gigantic (albeit paper-thin) tortillas enveloping a variety of ingredients are on the tables of every diner you’ll observe as you walk into the restaurant. There are breakfast burritos as well as anytime burritos and they are all profuse, brimming with ingredients and topped with red chile and melted Cheddar (not Mexican white cheese as we might have expected) cheese.

The burritos are not only humongous, they are delicious. The carne adovada burrito has very little bite al estilo Mexicano (in the Mexican style). The shredded pork was tender and delicious, albeit with a slight acidity you don’t always get with New Mexican style adovada.

The Pueblito Platter is the restaurant’s sole combination platter, featuring a taco (shredded or ground beef or chicken); a cheese, chicken or beef enchilada and a red chile pork tamale served with rice and beans. The flavorful ground beef taco is served in a grease-laden, soft corn tortilla similar to the tacos you might find in Las Cruces. I ordered my combination platter with a ground beef enchilada topped with “green chile.” The green chile (a New Mexican spelling) is made Mexican style with a jalapeno and tomatillo base. Though somewhat more piquant than the red chile on the masa heavy tamale, it wasn’t nearly as hot as you’ll find at most New Mexican restaurants.

On the chilaquiles, however, the green chile is firecracker hot. Chilaquiles is a traditional Mexican dish consisting of fried tortilla chips bathed in red or green salsa and usually with a cheese topping. At Pueblito Mexicano, the chilaquiles are served with two eggs and bacon, but unless your tongue is coated with asbestos, you’ll want something to cut the piquant heat. Pancakes are a good option. We’ve never had hotter chilaquiles.

Another Pueblito specialty are gorditas, a popular Mexican “sandwich” comprised of a small, thick masa (corn flour) tortilla engorged with beans, lettuce, tomato and beef. Gordita which means “little fat one” in Spanish are baked on a comal, just like tortillas, but may remind you more of pupusas, the national snack food of El Salvador.

Pueblito Mexicano serves Coke bottled in Mexico which has more carbonation (overflying birds beware) than its American counterpart and Fresca, the popular 70s grapefruit flavored soft drink. Better still, a selection of Jarritos is also available. Jarritos is the most popular Mexican soft drink made with natural fruit flavors and with less carbonation than American soft drinks. Also available is horchata which is sweeter even than the pancakes on the menu.

Pueblito Mexicano
1100 South Camino Del Pueblo
Bernalillo
LATEST VISIT: 19 November 2006
# OF VISITS: 2
RATING: 18
COST: $$
BEST BET: Pueblito Platter, Carne Adovada Burrito, Guacamole, Gorditas, Chilaquiles

Neko Sushi – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

In 1968, Mexico City played witness to one of the most overt and controversial political statements ever issued during the modern Olympic Games when African American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos extended their right arms upward and clenched their gloved fists in a black power salute.

During our inaugural visit to Neko Sushi in the Sun Country Plaza, we couldn’t help but remember the famous civil rights protest when we espied two ceramic Maneki Neko (beckoning cat) figurines on a shelf. The Maneki Neko, a common Japanese sculpture believed to give its owner good luck, depicts a cat beckoning with an upright raised paw (which supposedly attracts money). The pose is eerily and innocently similar to that of Tommie Smith and John Carlos during the medal ceremony.

Obviously there’s absolutely no relationship between two infamous Olympic athletes and a symbolic cat, but there’s definitely a reason the popular Japanese cat figurine has a prominent place in a sushi restaurant–and it’s not just because the owner wants good luck. The owner’s name is Cathy (“Cat” for short) Punya and “Neko” is the Japanese word for cat. Cathy is a restaurant impresario with three other restaurants in the Duke City. Her expansion into the city’s northwest quadrant is much welcome among sushi aficionados.

Cathy launched Neko Sushi on October 31st, 2006 at the site of the defunct Tips Coffee Shopjust south of the Cottonwood Mall. Considering Tips was a “nifty 50s” themed restaurant, we expected a major make-over in decor. That didn’t happen. Instead, Cathy interspersed Japanese themed accoutrements–such as the Japanese rising star flag over the north entrance and ceramic cat figurines in a glass case–throughout the restaurant. The 50s style speckled teal tables; teal and red vinyl seats and black, red and teal floor tile still remain as does the blue ceiling. Easy listening American music resonates throughout the restaurant.

It might take nine cat lives to sample everything on Neko Sushi’s menu. The menu is replete with sushi of both the nigiri and roll varieties as well as sashimi and a variety of noodle dishes and soups. Included among the sushi menu are several of the high-dollar variety. Before you even order, a bowl of steaming miso soup is brought to your table. The soup is a delicious precursor of what is to come.

Because our first visit was during the restaurant’s grand opening, we were lucky enough to order dinner specials which let us sample an assortment of nigiri and roll style sushi which we prefaced with an appetizer of Japanese ceviche.

Similar to its Mexican counterpart, Japanese ceviche is raw seafood marinated or “cooked” in a citrus mixture. At Neko Sushi, the seafood is nearly of nigiri sushi size (much bigger than you’d find on Mexican ceviche) and includes shrimp, tuna and crab as well as micro-greens and mixed greens in a citrus dressing. The freshness of the ingredients and the tanginess of the citrus dressing combined harmoniously.

Freshness also defines the nigiri sushi in which vinegared rice is hand-formed into clumps then topped with different seafood. I’ve had three stand-outs: the salmon roll, scallop and spicy yellowtail. The mackerel with its strong fishy taste is just so-so. If you find a truly good piece of mackerel, you’ll remember it; more than likely, it won’t make much of an impression and that was the case at Neko Sushi.

One word of caution about Neko’s wasabi–it will water your eyes, redden your face, make your nose run and have you coughing and sputtering if you’re not careful. Many sushi restaurants serve an anemic wasabi that barely tingles your tongue. Neko serves it gunpowder explosive…or at least if you’re audacious enough to think you can handle enough wasabi to fell a raging bull elephant.

The de rigeur California roll (cucumber, crab and avocado), without a doubt the most common (in every way) maki style sushi roll, is nothing special at Neko’s–or anywhere else for that matter. It’s an “introductory level” sushi roll that sushi veterans use to get novitiates to feel they’ve tried “real” sushi.

For optimal taste and texture, the spicy tuna handroll, a conical temaki (handroll) sushi is meant to be eaten immediately after the it is crafted since the cone quickly absorbs moisture from the filling and loses its crispness. If you don’t wait too long, you’ll be treated to a very nice handroll in which the spicy tuna lives up to its name. Neko Sushi’s spicy tuna (including the yellowtail) is very good.

Among the warm, tempura-based sushi, the Albuquerque roll stands out in both texture and flavor. It is imbued with the incomparable flavor of New Mexican green chile and we all know how great that can be. The spider roll, on the other hand, was made with a “mushy” rice that denigrated its flavor.

Not surprisingly, Neko Sushi offers unagi (eel) which is said to have stamina-giving properties. Containing 100 times more vitamin A than other fish, unagi is believed to heighten men’s sexual drive. What is surprising is that it is served maki (roll) style instead of nigiri style. In any case, it’s a nice piece of sushi.

For dessert, an absolute must-have is the plum sorbet which is velvety smooth and refreshing. Most sorbet has a smooth texture, but this one is James Bond smooth.

Neko Sushi
Sun Country Plaza
9421 Coors, N.W.
Albuquerque, NM
LATEST VISIT: 7 November 2007
# OF VISITS: 2
RATING: 18
COST: $$$
BEST BET: Japanese Ceviche, Albuquerque Roll, Spicy Tuna Hand Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll, Plum Sorbet