The Sandwich Company – Albuquerque, NE

In 1967, John Poppy introduced the term “generation gap” in Look magazine.  Still used widely, the term refers to the “the chasm that separates the beliefs and behaviors belonging to members of different generations. This gap often manifests in varying thoughts, actions, and preferences between younger and older generations.”  According to Investopedia, “Differences may exist in politics, values, pop culture, and other areas.”  Among the ways in which a generation gap exists is in culinary exploration.

TouchBistro, “an all-in-one point of sale and restaurant management system that makes running a restaurant easier” conducted a survey of more than 2,600 diners which revealed a wide expanse between generations when it comes to dining out.  TouchBistro discovered that younger generations–“56% of Gen Zers and 47%–of millennials in the U.S. say they visit new restaurants once a month or more. When it comes to deciding which new restaurant to try, younger generations are also more likely to rely on online reviews, through sites like Yelp or Google or from social media. The TouchBistro survey found that 71% of Gen Zers and 72% of millennials have opted to try a new restaurant solely because of favorable reviews online.”

Sadly, 35% of respondents from my generation “said they rarely, if ever, try a new restaurant they haven’t been to before, and 5% say they never do.”  Aaargh!  I appear to have been born too early.  My propensity for adventurous dining is more representative of generations born long after I was.  Rarely–or never–trying a restaurant my generation has never previously visited is akin to  endlessly watching tired old Andy Griffith reruns and wearing the same clothing you wore in high school (provided, of course, you can still fit into it).  Can there be anything as boring as monotony, the lack of change that brings on boredom?

After two weeks of visiting mostly new (to us) restaurants in the Phoenix area, we returned to New Mexico eager to try new restaurants in the Land of Enchantment, the term “new” meaning “a restaurant we haven’t been to before.”  We invited my brother Mario to join us at The Sandwich Company, an eatery on Carlisle that has been serving the Duke City since 1971.  We all found it difficult to believe none of us had previously visited this venerable institution.  As with restaurants “of that generation,” The Sandwich Company doesn’t have the veneer and polish of newer restaurants.  In fact, the restaurant is ensconced in an architecturally ancient (1970s) facade.  It shares building space with a children’s nursery.

I like to think that those of us who are more geriatrically advanced may no longer have washboard abs and our greying hairline is receding somewhat, but we’ve got the inner beauty refulgent in the wisdom that comes from experience.  To a large degree, that also describes The Sandwich Company.  The parking lot and nearly every table being occupied revealed that many Burqueños don’t need an engraved invitation or glowing signage to visit a new restaurant.  It was obvious most of the diners were frequent visitors who know what to order and how to navigate the queue to place their orders.

There is no generation gap among the throngs of diners who visit The Sandwich Company.  It’s beloved by young and old alike.  Though it’s a sit-down restaurant, you’ve got to make your way through a queue to place your order.  Large-print menus (for those of us from generations contemporaneous with the dinosaur) at eye level list all items on the menu.  It isn’t just sandwiches.  You’ll find an inviting breakfast menu (served all day) with New Mexican favorites as well as French toast, pancakes, biscuits and gravy and more.  The lunch menu offers some fourteen sandwiches and six-ounce burgers served with a pickle spear and your choice of potato salad, chips, coleslaw or fruit.  For a pittance more, you’ve got to splurge for a cup of soup: green chile stew, clam chowder or posole.

Sandwiches are constructed on your choice of bread: whole wheat, Jewish rye, marble rye, sourdough, wheatberry, white, French roll, croissant, flour or whole wheat tortilla.  Meats include turkey, ham, roast beef, corned beef, pastrami and my favorite: “extra meat.”  Available cheeses are Swiss, Jack, Cheddar and American.  A soup and salad bar (ridiculously inexpensive) is available for those of us still trying to adhere to New Year’s Resolutions.  Though “sandwich” may be the name on the marquee, most of the diners in line ahead of us were ordering New Mexican breakfasts: huevos rancheros, enchiladas, papas con chorizo and eggs, chicken fried steak and eggs, and such.

Louie Pino, a native of Las Vegas, New Mexico, has owned The Sandwich Company for just over a quarter-century.  Louie is a peripatetic presence at his restaurant, greeting customers new and old alike.  Even though a cup of soup is nearly five dollars, we ferried over three bowls and urged us to try the “very good” clam chowder.  We don’t know if that gesture was because we were first-time visitors or maybe because The Dude was with us, but we happily complied.  Service is terrific.  Diana took very good care of us and dispensed valuable recommendations for future visits.

10 January 2025: Among the treasures in steely vessels is posole, a rich, brothy soup-stew made with pork, nixtamalized hominy, and red chile.   Whether on a balmy summer day or when winter is biting, that posole is a godsend.  It’s not especially piquant and may have a tad too much Mexican oregano for some diners, but it’s heart-warming and quite good.  Next to the soup and salad bar, you’ll espy salsa and chips.   The salsa has a nice bite while the chips are uniform in size, likely “store-bought.”  We watched as some diners refilled their soup several times, but that would bode for being too full to enjoy your entree.

No matter what you order, you’ve got to make sure your order includes papas, perhaps the very best you’ll find at any restaurant in the Duke City.  These are not the ubiquitous cubed taters many restaurants serve.  In fact, they don’t even look particularly appetizing unless you like the crispy, burnt edges from the bottom of a frying pan.  Diana told us red potatoes are first boiled then roasted.  They’re sweet and soft (but not too soft), like my bride.  If you like roasted potatoes, you’ll absolutely love these.

10 January 2025: Because those papas are so unbelievably wonderful,  ordering a breakfast item is a good  bet you’ll get some of those terrific tubers.  If you’re famished, try The Company Grande Burrito (three eggs, cheese, meat and your choice of chile).  Not only is it a plate-filling behemoth, it’s packed with deliciousness.  Both red and green chile are quite good though neither will scald your tongue and taste buds.  Some of us who believe pain is a flavor like lots of piquancy.  There’s also not a lot of the chile on the plate so you might want to ask for extra.  Extra is a sage recommendation for papas, too.  Have I already mentioned these papas are superb?

10 January 2025:  My Kim’s breakfast entree was the boneless pork chops (six-ounces) with eggs and papas.  I’ve always marveled at how thin pork chops can be sliced.  These pork chops could pass for sliced ham in terms of thinness.  Thin doesn’t portend delicious and these pork chops were quite delectable.  Three pork chop medallions go very well with eggs prepared to your liking and those phenomenal papas.  Yes, I’m probably raving about those papas a bit much, but you will too.  Ask my brother Mario.  He enjoyed his papas with an entree of corned beef hash.

11 February 2025:  Near the entrance, a sign board lists the specials of the day for each day of the week.  Monday’s special is blue corn enchiladas.   During our second visit (on a Tuesday) I asked the cashier if we could pretend it’s still Monday.  Of course she knew what I was talking about and told me “yes, you can have the blue corn enchiladas.”  Ordinarily served with beans and papas, I also asked if I could have two portions of papas (maybe the only time you’ll ever see me decline beans).  With a true “have it your way” spirit, she was happy to oblige.

That also meant two eggs over easy and both red and green chile.  As of our second visit, the Sandwich Company had not yet increased the price of menu items with eggs (whose price point is more than that of gold).  These blue corn enchiladas are terrific–even without a protein.  Both the red and green chile are pleasantly piquant.  Shredded Cheddar provides a salty, creamy contrast to the chile.  Blue corn tortillas are a perfect canvas for toppings that make enchiladas a great breakfast treat.  Then there are the papas, the best in New Mexico.

11 February 2025:  Our first experience with the name on the marquee (sandwich) was my Kim’s croissandwich (fluffy eggs and your choice of ham, bacon or sausage).   Naturally Kim chose papas as her side instead of hash browns.  Croissants are certainly not as popular choice for sandwiches as are bread, bagels and even tortillas, but they’re a very good canvas in which to lovingly nestle ingredients.  As croissandwiches go, this was quite good though the chile addict in me would have added about five pounds of chile on mine.

10 January 2025: A number of desserts are on display just before the cashier’s station.  Among them is pumpkin pie.   Though Thanksgiving and Christmas have passed, pumpkin pie is an year-round treat I never tire of.  This pumpkin pie is nearly as good as the pie my Kim bakes for me.  It’s replete with the pumpkin pie spices aficionados will like.  Best of all (maybe for me only), it isn’t topped with whipped cream.  Yes, many people love it but for me it detracts from my enjoyment of the pie.

The Sandwich Company may be a bit of a misnomer because the menu offers so much more than sandwiches.  I’d recommend naming it “The Papas Company” because of the deliciousness of those addictive roasted potatoes.

The Sandwich Company
3100 Carlisle Blvd., N.E., Suite A
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(505) 881-0956
Website | Facebook Page
LATEST VISIT: 11 February 2025
1st VISIT:  10 January 2025
# OF VISITS: 2
RATING: Very Good – Good to very good food; generally solid; delivers consistent quality, strong technique, and a comfortable, enjoyable dining experience
COST: $$
BEST BET: Company Grande Burrito, Pork Chops & Eggs, Pumpkin Pie, Chips and Salsa, Posole, Croissandwich, Blue Corn Enchiladas, Cinnamon Roll
REVIEW #1445