Albuquerque

Campo at Los Poblanos, Albuquerque, 3/29/25

~ hsnixon ~ Leave a comment
building – 4803 Rio Grande Blvd NW, Los Ranchos De Albuquerque, NM 87107

Campo is the restaurant at Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm.  Los Poblanos was designed by John Gaw Meem, the “Father of Santa Fe Style” in 1932 and now has 45 guest rooms, a working organic farm and special event spaces on 25 acres of property.  Set in the Rio Grande River Valley it has acres of lavender fields as well as gardens that supply herbs and vegetables to the restaurant . Head Chef Christopher Bethoney, a native New Mexican, has been there since the restaurant opened in 2017 and was a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s 2024 Best Chef in the Southwest.  The family-run property calls itself “field-to-fork” in the creation of their menus.  There are animals on the property but only the eggs from the chickens are used here and other local farms and herdsmen supply the additional products.  Campo serves breakfast (Mon-Wed), brunch (Thurs – Sun),  and dinner (daily 5-9) with the Chef’s Table (Fri – Sat) which was covered in a post you can find HERE.  It’s a lovely property with a large casual dining space.  If you read the write up on the Chef’s Counter you know I endorsed it but the main restaurant is also worth visiting, so make a plan to visit both when you go to Albuquerque. Continue reading →

Duran Central Pharmacy, Albuquerque, 3/29/25

~ hsnixon ~ 2 Comments
exterior – 1815 Central Ave NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104

Duran’s Central Pharmacy founded in 1942 is on historic Rt. 66.  The family-owned and operated store has everything from drugs to gifts to a New Mexican Diner.  The soda fountain in the place was converted into a diner in the late 1960s and is famous for its red and green chile as well as its many house-made items.  Very popular, we lined up with many on Sat. morning to get the first round of seats at the small restaurant within the pharmacy.  It looked like they also had a patio for outdoor seating.  A tile floor, lower lighting, metal tables and no music set the atmosphere.  There are low stools at the counter if you choose not to sit at a table.  It felt like a place you’d eat regularly if you lived in town.  You should go by and grab a plate of New Mexican food when you’re in town. Continue reading →

Campo at Los Poblanos (chef’s counter), Albuquerque, 3/28/25

~ hsnixon ~ Leave a comment
building – 4803 Rio Grande Blvd NW, Los Ranchos De Albuquerque, NM 87107
The restaurant at Los Poblanos is called Campo and on Friday and Saturday nights they offer a Chef’s Counter tasting for just 4 people.  You must reserve this well in advance; the tasting includes wine pairings. Los Poblanos is an organic farm with guest rooms and special event  areas.   We were fortunate to have 2 nights there so we could try one night at the Chef’s counter and another in the main dining room.  The menus are fairly different but both are based on New Mexican cuisine.  The 4 seats are right at the edge of the kitchen and many of the different staff presented dishes and interacted with us.  With just 4 people you get to know your counter-mates and we were very lucky to spend the evening with a delightful couple from Texas!  All the staff were very interested in talking about the preparation of our dishes and the sommelier picked fun but small pours to accompany each dish.  It was a fabulous evening and I’d highly recommend getting a reservation and doing a facility tour while there.  The food was great as were all the people working there, including Head Chef Christopher Bethoney, Wine Director Dylan Storment,  and Executive Sous Chef Kennedi Martinez.

Set-Up

kitchen
kitchen
coals
Sommelier Dylan Storment and Frankie

Food

Deviled quail egg was seasoned with house made pickles.  The eggs were garnished with dill and carrot tops along with black and pink pepper.  They had a great flavor and good herb content without it dominating.  Light and spicy – a great start.  Since we had pairings I’ll post the beverages with the course when possible.  We had a gin cocktail with these.

deviled egg
gin cocktail

 

Ash roasted beets with preserved lemon were on labneh topped with za’atar (spice mix).   The labneh was made with goat’s milk and fresh herbs and the za’atar included some sesame seeds.  The beets were roasted in the ash but you couldn’t taste the smokiness just the sweetness of the beets.  It came with a house-made toasted focaccia which I seemed to not get a photo of but it made a good conduit for the beets and yogurt.

Ash roasted beets
wine

Barramundi crudo was plated with fermented plum, lavender and chile oil. The Asian sea bass blended nicely with the fruit and tasty dressing. This was quite tasty.

Barramundi crudo
wine

Tetela (triangular masa casing) was filled with Rosales Farms green chile and Tucaumcari cheddar on tepary beans, cabbage slaw and sliced butternut squash.  The lovely beans were perfectly cooked and great with the cheese-filled blue corn tortilla.  This course had fabulous flavors and textures and the local wine pairing complimented it nicely.

Tetela
moved
wine

Huitlacoche cappelletti was filled with goat cheese and decorated with New Mexican piñon nuts.  Some crispy sunchoke chips gave even more texture to the tasty tender pastas.  They were not too thick and rather retained a fine delicacy.   This was a great plate.

Huitlacoche cappelletti
wine

Shepard’s lamb neck tamal with mole negro was seasoned with a black garlic seasoning that took 5 weeks to make.  The organic lamb was tasty as was the tamal.  You really wanted to lick the wrapper clean on this one.  Yum.

Shepard’s lamb neck tamal
wine
Executive Sous Chef Kennedi Martinez and Frankie

Trilogy whole hog was with house tortillas and accompaniments.  This was 3 cuts of pork -flank, belly and chorizo and all were yummy but the belly was out of sight delicious.  The accompaniments included pickled onion, kimchi, salsa with peanuts, cilantro and lime.  The salsa had a bit of sweetness but I loved it with all the cuts of pork.  The kimchi was a fun addition because it added a nice spiciness.  The onions, lime and cilantro went with all. There were tender corn tortillas to wrap it all in and they had some blue corn mixed it.  It was a wonderful protein course.

Trilogy of whole hog
accompaniments
tortillas
wine

24-year aged Monticello balsamico was mixed with Hoja santa(heart-shaped leaf in the peppercorn family) on ice cream sprinkled with Los Poblanos pickled mulberries.  This was a fabulous melding of flavors.  Savory and sweet.

24-year aged Monticello balsamico on ice cream
pairing

New Mexico butter pecan semifreddo with mesquite caramel and brown sugar sablé.  The caramel was to die for as were the buttery cookies and pecan pieces.  This had sweetness and texture galore.  It was terrific.

New Mexico butter pecan semifreddo
wine front
wine back
little birthday celebration on a kitchen tour

Petit fours were a small box of goodies to take with you.  It included lavender bonbons, chocolate bonbons, pistachio pumpkin macarons, persimmon fruit jellies, blue corn lavender cookies, and rose sugar madeleines.  The cookies were lovely as were the chocolate bonbons.  Not a macaron lover but I still enjoyed these and the madeleines

treats to go
Head Chef Christopher Bethoney and Frankie

Barelas Coffee House, Albuquerque, 3/28/25

~ hsnixon ~ 3 Comments
exterior – 1502 4th St SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102

Barelas Coffee House is in the Barelas neighborhood which Route 66 passes through.  It has been serving New Mexican food for 40+ years, starting in 1978 in a somewhat run-down part of town.  Revitalization has since changed that and now the guests include people like Presidents Clinton and Obama to governors and other notables.  It’s a large winding place(as it’s been added onto) with a very small parking lot.  Street parking is available but a sign on the door cautions you about using a fast food’s parking lot across the street where you’ll be towed.  Having incorporated some adjacent buildings they were able to open a central patio for additional seating.  As you enter you pass the check-out window piled with more snacks and candies and wait at the sign to be seated.  From there you’re quickly seated and your order taken.  They only serve breakfast and lunch, with most dishes created from family recipes of the Gonzales (owner) family.  Mike Gonzales with his brother opened the place while studying at UNM, on the advice of his father who owned a nearby grocery store.   Some of the rooms looked like they hadn’t been modernized but it all adds to the ambiance.  Light green walls with lots of plants in our ‘sunroom’ and no music in the background.  Service was friendly and super efficient and the food was solid versions of New Mexico specialties.  Visit and enjoy some history. Continue reading →