Coda Bakery – Albuquerque, New Mexico

JP, my former boss at Intel used to pride himself on consistently working “half days.” If you’re thinking you’d like a job where you work only four hours a day, you’ve misinterpreted his definition of “half days.” To him, half days is a literal term meaning twelve hours a day. When most of us are done for after only nine or ten hours, he was just starting what he called his “second shift.” Very few of us have the stamina, initiative and especially the passion for what we do to work “half days.” I know restaurateurs for whom half days (or longer) are standard six or seven days a week. Because they spend so much time in their restaurants tending to the care and feeding of others, they tend not to eat there–when they make time to eat. On their rare days off or when they’re able to make time for a quick escape, they like to visit their fellow restaurateurs, not necessarily to check up on the competition, but to be pampered and fed well. Some restaurateurs would make great restaurant critics though they do tend to be overly “honest” when describing direct competitors, restaurants which serve the same…

Pho #1 – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Beef.  How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my pho spoon can reach. Okay, I’m no Elizabeth Barrett Browning, but if I were to count the ways I love beef, the count might stop at seven–as in the special seven courses of beef offered at Pho #1.  Serving  the Duke City for more than two decades, Pho #1 makes an audacious claim by virtue of its name but it’s a claim with which loyalists will agree.  It’s an International District gem that continues to thrive in a neighborhood some diners eschew. With more than one-hundred items on the menu–not including the seven courses of beef–Pho #1 offers a veritable compendium of Vietnamese food favorites including a large selection of pho bo (beef noodle soup).  Pho is the classic Vietnamese fast food, served in a large soup bowl with fresh rice noodles topped with your choice of beef slices (rare steak, well-done flank, brisket, tendon, tripe, skirt flank and beef ball) then sprinkled with chopped green onion, cilantro leaves and sliced onion.  Each bowl is accompanied by a plate of bean sprouts, sliced jalapenos, lime and basil. Pho…

Los Olivos – Albuquerque, New Mexico

For many New Mexicans, Durango, Colorado is much more familiar than Durango, Mexico.  In truth, however, Mexico’s Durango may actually have more historical significance and ties to the Land of Enchantment than its like-named resort town in Colorado.  That’s especially true for the Catholic Churches of New Mexico. Episcopal jurisdiction for the Catholic church in New Mexico was placed in 1797 under the stewardship of the Bishop of Durango. New Mexico remained part of the Diocese of Durango until 1850 when Pope Pius IX created the Vicariate Apostolic of New Mexico and appointed Father Jean Baptiste Lamy as its first Bishop.  Yes, that’s the same Father Jean Baptiste Lamy on whom Wila Cather’s Death Comes For the Archbishop is based. Durango, Mexico was also a significant “paraje” (stopping point) along the The Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (Royal Road of the Interior Land), the 1,590 mile road between Mexico City and San Juan Pueblo (Ohkay Owingeh), New Mexico. During the 17th Century, the area between the villas of Durango and Santa Fe also came to be known as “the Chihuahua Trail.”   It’s a vast understatement to declare that Santa Fe’s reliance on El Camino Real was crucial to the…

Nena’s Food – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED*)

“The restaurant business, as I well know, ain’t no picnic. And in Mexico City, it’s particularly rough.” ~Anthony Bourdain NOTE:  Although its brick-and-mortar shuttered its doors in 2022, Nena’s Food now exists as a food truck.  You can find it parked “Somewhere in New Mexico.” With an urban area population of almost 22-million over a broad expanse of 573 square miles, Mexico City is the fifth most populous city in the world and the most heavily populated city in North America. Known as Distrito Federal, or the federal district, it is the country’s economic and cultural hub, as well as home to the offices of the federal government. A true megalopolis, Mexico City boasts of some 15,000 restaurants including two restaurants ranked among the world’s fifty best restaurants in 2019 and eleven of Latin America’s 50 top-ranked restaurants.  By any measure, Mexico City is one of the world’s greatest eating cities.  Whether in pursuit of cosmopolitan fine dining, incomparable street food or market stalls showcasing agrarian bounty, you’ll find it in this culinary Mecca.  You’ll uncover both time-honored recipes–some predating Cortez–passed down through the generations as well as a globally-influenced fusion of ingredients and techniques.  You’ll relish dishes with unique…