Where to eat in Albuquerque that serves contemporary cuisine
In its more than 300-year history, Albuquerque has seen Old West outlaws, Route 66 road trippers and the birth of the world’s largest hot-air balloon festival. Its unique history has influenced Albuquerque’s gastronomic environment, encompassing everything from Native American to Mexican cuisine to the chile, New Mexico’s most famous dish.
Classic New Mexican: Mary & Tito’s Cafe
The James Beard Foundation awarded the restaurant an America’s Classics Award in 2010. You will know you have arrived at the correct place for an authentic Southwestern dining experience once you see the gorgeous adobe-and-viga front.
Diner Food: Standard Diner
The Standard Diner, which opened in 2006 in a 1930s gas station, gives classic diner decor a sophisticated, urban makeover. The comfort-food-heavy menu also mixes with classics, such as country-fried ahi tuna in place of chicken-fried steak. The Bulldog is the Standard’s green chile cheeseburger — “You can not be a restaurant in New Mexico and not have a green chile cheeseburger, that is what this is,” the menu jokes.
Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm
There is something in the ambiance at Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm’s restaurant. Perhaps the air is infused with lavender from the 25-acre organic lavender farm outside. Perhaps the 1930s Southwestern architecture evokes a different era. Whatever it may be, the farm-to-table breakfast and dinner menus will captivate you, with dishes like breakfast shakshuka and mole negro roasted lamb (on the dinner menu). Ingredients came from Los Poblanos’ farm as well as other nearby farms.