The Frontier Restaurant is one of those institution places. Located directly across the street from University of New Mexico and open 24 hours, The Frontier must not be missed if you are in Albuqueque. It’s not all hype. The food is great. The place is the size of a whole block. Don’t be alarmed at the line when you first enter because the line moves thanks to six or seven cash registers and cashiers ready to take your order. The order boards are big and easy to read so there is no excuse for you to be unprepared when that green light indicates it's your turn to tell 'em how you want to chow down.
You don’t just order huevos rancheros, you need to indicate how you want your eggs and what kind of chile you want. Over-easy with green chile stew was my choice. After tasting Brad’s, it’s fresh green chile for me forever and ever. Chopped chunks of green chile. But who knew? Comes with beans and freshly made tortillas. The beans weren’t just refried beans. These actually had texture and flavor. My pics here are lame but that’s what I got. I didn’t bother to get shots of the John Wayne room. I was too full. Go there if you find yourself in Albuqueque. Just go.
B & N & Family were great tour guides through some of the funkier shops in this neighborhood. Peacecraft, a store that promotes fair trade in countries of the developing world, was another stop. Peacecraft also works to improve working and living conditions for the folks who create the goods. There was some really nice stuff here. I curbed my appetite and walked out with only dark chocolate and Tibetan incense.
Masks y Mas is one of those places I could spend money in. I love the Mexican folk art and the Day of the Dead motif items.
I’m loving the Day of the Dead Mariachi t-shirt I bought. This is a shot from their website, not an original photo.
ON SECOND THOUGHT
On our way out of Albuquerque we thought we’d head up the Sandia Mountains via the Sandia Peak Tramway. We didn’t have time to hike around once at the top but we thought it would be nice to see the view. I do, however, dream of going back for the hiking. This is a great Sandia hiking resource that has whetted my appetite.
The charge is $1 to enter the "grounds" on which the tramway is constructed. This area, Sandia Heights, I believe, is an exclusive housing development eating up any remaining mountain foothills. Nothing says development like a beautiful and accessible mountain range choked by a necklace of an oversized housing development.
The ticket line was long. The cost is $17.50. We had immediate second thoughts. Let's get a coffee, have a seat, and wait to see how fast the line moves. We approach the snack bar and ask for an iced coffee. No ice. We ask for a beer. Neither employee is old enough to serve it to us. We ask for chai and a big cup of ice and are successful. We sit outside on the patio which we have completely to ourselves. This is actually a good time for just sitting and enjoying the view of Albuqueque. We read, write postcards, call Stephanie, drink overly sweet chai. Another storm slowly moved in. Dark clouds and rain headed our way. But we sat. No rush. We're on vacation. And I'm completely pleased that we didn't pay $17.50 to be packed into a tram that we might ride in a storm.
As the storm approached it became harder to keep the postcards from blowing around. We got back in the car and hit the road, only to be packed into the traffic jam that held us to under 5 mph or a standstill for miles. Miles. OK, it was, I think, 7 miles but when you are not moving 7 miles takes forever.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN TO ESPANOLA
Luckily, we were only driving as far as Espanola this day. It was here where we had an incredibly delicious meal at El Paragua. This was the best overall dining out experience of the trip. At the risk of sounding like a tourist, I must admit that I ordered a sampler platter type entree. There were so many good things that I couldn't decide. This way I was able to taste their versions of things I was familiar with and try things I'd not heard of in the past. Good decision. What flavors! The little side cup of posole was less than mediocre but everything else was perfect. The carne adovada was tender and that sauce almost made me cry. A mix of red chile, cumin, oregano and who knows what else. That's a recipe I would love to get my hands on. And the beans didn't resemble baby food. They had texture, weren't waxy and just the right amount of heat. I can't wait to go back. The pictures were the best I could do considering I was basically taking pictures in a cave.
It's too bad a punk-ass moron had to tag this cool tile piece at the entrance.
No comments:
Post a Comment