Kathy’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico
In 2001, the Alibi staff declared Kathy’s Carry-Out the “best hamburger in the Duke City.” Surely,” nay-sayers retorted, “this had to be a mistake.” How, after all, they reasoned, could a ramshackle garage sized building with a kitschy purple facade and garish orange trim possibly compete with the flamboyant chains and their glitz and glamor or even with the anointed local purveyors in the more well-beaten, well-eaten paths throughout the city? Kathy’s Carry-Out lived up to its name, emphasis on the “carry-out” portion of its name. Carry-Out was the only option available for the phalanx of diners eager to bite into those bodacious burgers. Ensconced in an Isleta Boulevard neighborhood seemingly zoned as much for more residential than commercial purposes, Kathy’s Carry-Out certainly wouldn’t win any awards for esthetics and it probably violated every feng shui principle for harmony, not that hungry diners noticed. Savvy burger aficionados from the South Valley frequented Kathy’s for its wonderful New Mexican cuisine and a burger so good it’d convert staunch vegans. It took one visit to convince my Kim and I you can’t judge a burger by the dilapidated facade of its place of origin. Kathy’s does serve one of, if not THE…