Barkada’s ABQ – Albuquerque, New Mexico

As a self-confessed mama’s boy away from home for the first time, my transition to being on my own could have been much tougher.  Thankfully I was “adopted” by Air Force veterans and the spouses they had married during tours of Vietnam, Korea and The Philippines.  Those spouses were largely responsible for my introduction to Asian cuisine, none of which I had ever had as a sheltered bumpkin  growing up in secluded Peñasco.  I wanted to try it all.  In some cases, I would try foods (such as rancid kimchi and stomach-turning balut) my friends (some of whom had seen combat) were afraid to try.  My willingness to try virtually everything endeared me to my friends’ spouses though my friends complained I was making them look wimpy.

Although all Asian food seemed exotic in comparison with the beans, tortillas, and chile diet of my youth, I did experience one cuisine which was more relatable because it had the qualities of home cooking, the type of which my mom’s prepared for her family. That cuisine was Filipino.  Norma would greet me to the family home with a traditional Filipino greeting of “Kain tayo!”.  That greeting doesn’t translate to “welcome to our home,” but to “Let’s eat!”  In Filipino culture, that means the same thing.  I was to learn that Filipinos have a deep sense of community and belonging  They have a compulsion to sharing their food.

Larryl Lynch (publisher of Albuquerque The Magazine) and I experienced a sense of belonging the moment we were greeted by Cindy Recile, owner-chef of Barkada’s ABQ, the city’s only Filipino dining opportunity.    When Larryl and I visited Barkada’s in September, 2024, it was located on 4th Street south of I40 and it was exclusively a pick-up operation operating out of a commissary kitchen.    Today, it’s got a presence at the Cottonwood Mall food court where plenty of seating is available. For guest convenience, Cindy asks that you place your order through one of its social media platforms:  Kyoo,  Doordash, Ubereats, or Grubhub.  You can also text your order to 505-738-3505 (pickup only).  Better still, the next time you have a family gathering ask Cindy to cater it for you.  Barkadas is open Tuesday through Thursdays from 12:00pm to 7:00pm though during the weekend you can also find Cindy at various markets and pop-ups across the city.

28 August 2025:  Barkadas relocated to the Cottonwood Mall’s food court in March, 2025, six months after its initial launch on the 4th Street storefront.   The food court has numerous options for diners who aren’t sure what they want to have.  Sadly, far too many unadventurous diners queue up for Burger King.  In the sweltering summer of 2025, the Cottonwood Mall’s air conditioning system failed miserably.  Visitors avoided the Mall as they might a graduation party for someone they barely know.  Vendors were made to endure food wastage and lack of business.  If local, print and social media had not publicized the debacle, the untenable situation might not have been resolved.

Owner Cindy Recile is a whirling dervish with a perpetual smile.  If likeability, passion and outstanding cuisine bode future success, the radiant Cindy will thrive and grow her little operation.   Barkadas translates from Filipino to “friends” or “group of friends,” an apropos appellation considering spending time with her is akin to visiting a friend.  She chose the name Barkadas because cooking in the Filipino culture is often a community event in which friends cook together to feed one another.  She related the practice of making lumpia (fried Filipino eggrolls) to Hispanics in New Mexico getting together to make dozens of tamales or to bag freshly roasted chile.  Because the Spanish ruled over The Philippines for 333 years and colonized New Mexico, Cindy sees a lot of cultural, culinary and language similarities between her family homeland and her adopted home of Albuquerque.  Her logo incorporates aspects of the Phillipine flag and the Zia flag of the Land of Enchantment.

Cindy is pragmatic about Barkada’s growth, taking a “watch and see” approach.  Ultimately she hopes to take Filipino cuisine to the denizens of the Duke City and operate out of a food truck.  After moving to New Mexico a few years ago, she observed the lack of diversity in Asian restaurants.  Unlike her hometown of Manhattan, the Duke City does not have a Filipino restaurant.  She launched Barkadas on August 24th not just to serve the Filipino community, but to introduce her homeland’s cuisine to the masses.

12 September 2025:  Although the 4th Street location did not have seating for diners, Cindy graciously set up a table so that Larryl and I could enjoy a meal and get to know about her and her operation.  First to grace our table was lumpia, the most recognizable of all Filipino foods.  Lumpia is the Filipino version of a fried eggroll.  Cindy offers lumpia in three varieties.  New to her menu is green chile lumpia which includes New Mexico’s sacrosanct official state vegetable as well as Mexican cheese.  The green chile lumpia has a piquancy fire-eating New Mexicans will love.  She also offers lumpia made with beef, but her signature lumpia is made with minced shrimp, pork, cabbage, water chestnuts and garlic in a rice wrapper and fried.  Her lumpia was reminiscent of the lumpia I enjoyed so much with my adopted Filipino family in Massachusetts.  Cindy serves it with a light vinegary sauce punctuated with Thai bird peppers.  You’ll fall in love with the lumpia.

12 September 2025:  Cindy served us a melange of menu items that showcase just how diverse and delicious Filipino food is.  On the biggest styrofoam container Larryl and I had ever seen, she served us hearty portions of chicken adobo (chicken thighs and drumsticks cooked in soy and vinegar and served with garlic rice and bak choy), Filipino picadillo (ground beef with potatoes, carrots and peas served with white rice and a fried egg) and iced passion fruit tea sweetened with honey.   Everything was absolutely delicious.  The chicken adobo is likely the best I’ve ever had (with apologies to Norma).  It’s an exemplar of Filipino home cooking at its very finest.  If you’ve frequented Mexican restaurants (Papa Nachos comes to mind) in Albuquerque, you’re probably acquainted with picadillo.  Cindy’s version is comfort food at its finest, a filling, rich and soul-warming treat.

12 September 2025:  For dessert, Cindy’s partner (and boyfriend)  bakes ube cookies.  Though often referred to as purple sweet potatoes, ube are yams with a dark, rough-looking skin. Ground into a powder, ube is then used in Filipino desserts characterized by their bright purple color.  Among those desserts is ube cookies, delightfully delicious and dense cookies with a crunchy (not like potato chips; more like bread) exterior.  They’re gooey and moist on the inside which is studded with white vanilla chips.  Unfortunately, there were no cookies available for Larryl and me so we had to enjoy more lumpia for dessert.  Cindy’s fiance is from Mora, essentially “on the other side of the mountain” from Peñasco.  Like Larryl’s hometown of Thoreau, Mora has been a long-time rival of Peñasco’s basketball teams.  (Larryl will be happy I didn’t mention Peñasco having thumped Thoreau in a state championship basketball game many years ago.)

28 August 2025:  Not only were the fabulous ube cookies available during our second visit, Barkadas also offered banana cookies.   Each is hermetically sealed to ensure freshness and moistness.  My Kim had never before had an ube cookie, but her enjoyment ensures her first time won’t be her last.   Ube cookies have a mild and subtle flavor compared to more intensely flavored yams and sweet potatoes.  They’re sweet, nutty, earthy and absolutely addictive.  Though the banana bread cookies were quite good, it’s the ube cookies we came away raving about.  These are delicious almost to a fault.  Larryl, you’ve got to return to Barkadas to enjoy a few of them.

28 August 2025:  The move to the Cottonwood space allowed Cindy to expand her menu.  The Barkadas menu still offers only a few items, but they’re prepared as well as full-service Filipino restaurants would prepare them.  New Mexico appears to have fallen in love with the lumpia, particular the lumpia made with green chile and Mexican queso.  My Kim’s favorite Filipino dish is pancit Canton, a popular Filipino offering made with Cantonese-style  chow mein noodles stir-fried with mixed vegetables and (for a pittance more) chicken in an umami-rich sauce.   Interestingly, the noodles are cut to less than three inch slices.  That makes them easier for utensil-challenged diners to eat.  Though this dish is available as a vegetable option, even those of us who don’t  particularly like chicken (blush) that isn’t fried will love the stewed texture and especially the sauce in which that chicken is marinated.

28 August 2025:  New Mexicans have a deep affection for chicharrones, deep-fried pieces of crispy and savory pork belly.  Often served with our sacrosance red chile (Mary & Tito’s version is the the best!!!), chicharrones are made by first boiling then frying sliced pork belly until the skin is crispy and the fat is rendered.  If you love New Mexican chicharrones (and what New Mexican doesn’t), you’ll love pork Lechon Kawali.  Call them amped up chicharrones.  They’re crispier and even more flavorful than most chicharrones.  Unlike chicharrones, they retain more fat and have more pork meat.  The skin and outer surface is where the delightful crunch happens.  Inside, the pork is meltingly tender and absolutely delicious.  This dish is served with a slightly tangy garlic white rice and fried cabbage.  It’s a wonderful meal…even without the red chile.

28 August 2025:  One of the Filipino women who fed the young me in Massachusetts called pork sisig “the Filipino hot dog,” not because it’s served within buns, but because the dish is made with sundry parts of the pig: face, ears and belly, all of which are boiled, grilled then finely chopped and stir-fried.  The chopped meat is seasoned with onions, chilies, garlic and calamansi (a Filipino citrus), often with the addition of chicken liver or mayonnaise.  While my Air Force colleagues didn’t want to hear about the composition of the dish, it didn’t faze me at all (nor did my description of menudo and morsillas faze the wives).  Pork sisig remains one of my very favorite dieshes of any genre.  This savory, flavorful dish combines savory and tangy flavors.  Crispy pork belly lends a rich meaty umami while onions, garlic and ginger contribute delightfully aromatic and slightly sweet notes.  Cindy’s version of pork sisig is so reminiscent of the Filipino home-cooked version I so enjoyed in Massachusetts.

Barkadas and its ebullient founder exemplify the Filipino spirit of Kain Tayo.  Not only will you be served outstanding home cooking, you’ll be served by someone who’s passionate about her culture and bringing her homeland’s food to New Mexico.  Even if it wasn’t Albuquerque’s sole Filipino food offering Barkadas ABQ would likely be the best!

Barkadas ABQ
10000 Coors Bypass, N.W. (Cottonwood Mall Food Court)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(505) 738-3505
Website | Facebook
LATEST VISIT:  28 August 2025
1st VISIT:  12 September 2024
# OF VISITS: 2
RATING: Excellent – High quality dining experience; very good to excellent food, attentive service, and a well-maintained atmosphere; worth a detour.
COST: $$
BEST BET: Shrimp and Pork Lumpia, Beef Lumpia, Green Chile Lumpia, Chicken Adobo, Filipino Picadillo, Passionfruit Iced Tea, Garlic Rice, Pancit Canton, Pork Lechon Kawali, Ube Cookies, Banana Cookies, Pork Sisig
REVIEW #1416