Archive for the 'Lunch' Category
5210 San Mateo Blvd. NE #B
(505)830-0131
Hours:
Mon – Thur: 11:30 – 2:30, 5 – 9:30
Fri – Sat: 11:30 – 2:30, 5 – 10
Sun: 5 – 9:30
Menu
Sushi Gen is located in an out of the way place and in the same respect, is a pretty unnoticed sushi establishment in Albuquerque. I have been going here for three years, and since that time, I have seen a steady decline in both value and service in this restaurant. What was once one of my favorite sushi restaurants, offering a great all-you-can-eat menu at a good price, has gotten more expensive and does not offer the same atmosphere or service that you can get at a competitors restaurant.
The taste and quality of the food here is the draw, it is very good. The first time I came here I was suprised, especially when you are eating in a sushi restaurant located in a strip mall suite. Some of their great sushi dishes are the Fire California Rolls (tempura, crabmeat, avocado), Salmon Rolls (salmon, cucumber), and Spider Rolls (soft shell crab, cucumber). For a higher or much higher price (see menu) you can get some great specialty sushi dishes like the Crunch Roll (eel, cream cheese, avocado, fish eggs) which taste amazing or the Rainbow Roll which is a long sushi roll topped with shrimp, avocado, salmon, eel, and tuna for $10.95. For the sushi grade connoisseurs out there, the fish here is great so sashimi is always a good choice (salmon, mackerel, and eel are very good choices). The Sushi Gen gets a lot of lunch business here with a $15.95/person all-you-can-eat option. Just make sure to not over do it because what you don’t finish will be charged on top of this base price.
The starter for any entrée here is a small salad and cup of warm miso soup. The small salad consists simply of shredded lettuce tossed in a sweet vinegar dressing. This is followed by the miso soup which is a cup portion of a light wakame seaweed soup with just a small amount of tofu squares. To drink they offer some great beer and sake imports, as well as oyster shooters (raw oysters, sake, and seasoning shots) for those looking to try something different.
Now for the drawbacks in this restaurant. The first one is obvious by the picture, this restaurant is not located within easy view from San Mateo Blvd., unlike its competitor Azuma. The strip does not face the street, so you have to turn into the parking lot before seeing this inconspicuous restaurant. The inside is not stellar, but it is comfortable. The sushi station is located in the dining room where the chefs prepare food behind the glass of a prep station.
The service here has been terrible for me the last two times. In the first instance, it took 5 minutes to be greeted (although workers were passing) and then 10 minutes after I placed my drink order there was nothing, so I left. The second time I went the same thing happened, I was sat at a table during a slow time, only two other tables in the place. The waitress was by the cash register doing nothing but looking around, then had a discussion with another waitress, and finally decided to take the table 7 minutes later. The drinks took a long time again, and there were no refills throughout the meal. Ultimately, the service is the reason I think I will try some of the other sushi restaurants in the area.
Taste:
[rate 7.5]
Service:
[rate 3.5]
Ambiance:
[rate 5]
Overall Reader Rating
[ratings]
2424 Central Ave SW
Albuquerque, NM 87104
(505) 243-2519
MAP
Casa Grande is located on Central next to the Rio Grande Bio Park and directly across from the Village Inn.
The menu at Casa Grande has a little something for everyone. There are Mexican Dishes, Seafoods, Steaks & Chops, Pasta, Chicken, Open Faced Sandwiches, Cold Sandwiches, Salads, Low Carb Specials, Deserts and the Breakfast Menu (served all day) has just about anything you would want.
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I suggest trying the Mexican Combination Plate which has two enchiladas, one relleno, a taco, spanish rice and beans. The red chile is hot, but not too hot. Some of my favorite items are the biscuits and gravy(just $2.50), Patty Melt and Spare Rib Plate. The food here is simple, but that simplicity still tastes good. After every meal you are offered a free desert, which is usually a bowl of rice pudding or tapioca pudding. This is a nice simple thing to offer guests that just adds to a positive experience.
Overall the most amazing feature of Casa Grande is their prices. It is one of the most affordable restaurants that I have visited. It’s like when you go to Walmart sometimes and wonder how they make a profit with some of their prices. Sandwiches here range from $3.95 to $5, are well sized, and come with a good portion of fries. Most breakfast items are in the $5 range. Dinners come with a salad, mashed potatoes and butter, wonderful green beans and bread. When you walk in, don’t forget to look at the daily specials, because they are a bargain!
The atmosphere at Casa Grande is very relaxed and casual. It has a small town feeling, and all different types of people come here to eat. I get the feeling that many people eat here on a daily basis. The interior is a little out of date, but still clean and inviting, consisting mainly of booths with some tables in between. There is a large mural on one one wall and some other smaller art work scattered the restaurant. In a way, the art and the atmosphere remind me of the Frontier Restaurant, without all the hustle and bustle. At times you can find merchants here, selling jewelry to the customers.
The service is sometimes great, sometimes very slow, but never rude. Casa Grade is the type of place where you can enjoy a meal, a cup of coffee and the newspaper without feeling like you are being rushed out the door. I would recommend this place to families with picky children or for a group of people who all want something different. Casa Grande has a loyal customer base which is the main reason why they offer great prices, food, and customer service.
Pros: Friendly Environment, Prices
Cons: Inconsistent Service
Taste:
[rate 7]
Service:
[rate 7]
Ambiance:
[rate 7]
Overall Reader Rating
[ratings]
3636 Monte Vista Blvd. N.E.
Albuquerque NM, 87106
Lomas At Carlisle
255.8686
Two things I can tell you about this restaurant, it has a very good location and yet it is not easy to find. I lived within two miles from this restaurant for some time before I realized what it really is; a restaurant, store, and pharmacy all rolled into one.
Much like the Cracker Barrel, you enter into a fully loaded store before being seated into the restaurant. The store is full of cosmetics, novelties, and of course pharmaceuticals. It is a very interesting place to visit and you can take a look at the store while you wait for your food. But let’s get down to this business, how is the food?
The menu isn’t very extensive, offering only lunch choices of salads and sandwiches. The first thing you’ll notice from the menu is that the entrees are not cheap. This is a mid-range priced restaurant with entrees averaging over 8 dollars. I suppose in that price you pay a little for the attached store and hometown shop feel. The menu is straightforward and you seem to get exactly what you expect. Also, the portions are not very large, especially for the salads, so the price seems a little too much at times. My recommendations here are the Brisket Roll and also the Grilled Ham with Roasted Peppers and Melted Brie. I also enjoy the Chicken Walnut Sandwich, but think it is better at some other establishments. This restaurant is also locally famous for its Shakes and Malts made from Dreyer’s Ice Cream. Their house dessert sits cooling on the bar like a freshly baked pie on a window sill. It is a great Fruit Cobbler that is even better a la mode.
I really appreciated the classic feel to this restaurant, like a colorful shop reminding us of a time past. Both the restaurant and store are divided into small areas so it does feel a little crowded between tables and aisles. But, there is always something to catch your interest here, especially if you wonder off into the pharmacy area. It is just a friendly and laid-back atmosphere that fits in with the University area. The place has a homely feel and is run by just a couple of servers, a cook, and a shop attendant/cashier. The times I have been here they have all been very loose and friendly, which is suiting for this type of establishment. It seems to me like a good place to visit for lunch to forget your busy life and just relax.
Taste:
[rate 6.5]
Service:
[rate 7.5]
Ambiance:
[rate 8.5]
Overall Reader Rating
[ratings]
411 Central Ave. NW
Open: 11am - 5pm (Mon - Fri) ~MENU~
Other Locations:
8019 Menaul Blvd. N.E.
299-0001
Do you remember on the show “Friends” when Joey would say that his favorite food was a sandwich? He was stingy and never wanted to share, even saving it form a bullet. Where do they come up with this stuff! But what if there were sandwiches out there that were so good that you would consider saying, seriously, that your favorite food is a sandwich. After visiting Relish, the thought has crossed my mind. And I would say just “sandwich” because they have so many sandwiches here I like, it would be hard to pick just one as my favorite.
The Relish Sandwich Shop is located downtown in a small little area between two clubs. It’s easy to miss, I know because I overlooked it so many times and thought it was just some little bar. I didn’t give it a try until the name showed up on the “best salad” poll for this website. I found that Relish sandwiches and salads have some really unique and quality ingredients to their food as well as some delicious fresh breads.
The menu consists of five selections each for hot sandwiches, cold sandwiches, or salads. Starting with hot sandwiches, my favorites are the Cubano (house speicalty) and Grinder. The Cubano is made from seasoned pork roast, honey ham, swiss cheese and a cilantro mayo, all placed within a long baguette and toasted. This sandwich is very rich and flavorful, it is soft on the inside, but crisp on the outside, and the combination of chipotle pork roast and cilantro mayo blend perfectly. The Housemade Mozzarella is another favorite with roasted red peppers, arugula, and tomatoes are combined with mozzarella made in-house, lightly topped with a balamic vinegarette and served in an alpinetta roll. On the cold side, I would definitely recommend the Honey Roast Turkey which is a generous portion of sliced turkey, tomato, jack cheese, mizuna greens (I don’t even know what this is, but its good), avocado, and wasabi mayo all in between sourdough bread. This sandwich is a perfect mixture of my favorites with some unique touches to make a sandwich that is top notch. All sandwiches are served with your choice of house-made potato salad (thinly whipped), pasta salad (tangy like a balsamic dressing), or slaw (sweet and fruity).
Like I said before, I discovered this place form a salad poll, so even their salads are done right. My favorite is the Chicken Salad which it just loaded with flavor, from sweet to salty, all mended together for a different flavor every bite. Basically, the menu covers fifteen selections and one dessert (chocolate sandwich), but what they lack in selection they gain in quality.
Relish is very much like a small deli you would find in New York, with the same three people packed into a small place and a lot of people outside waiting. The cashier is always very nice, weather they are slow or jam-packed, and I know that can’t be easy. Even when its busy they get the food out quick because two guys are non-stop making these sandwiches with their back to the restaurant, and a girl pleasantly collects the money, takes calls, and gets the orders together and out. It’s so efficient you wonder if they have some more people in the back. Bottom line, the menu isn’t big, the place isn’t big, but the sandwiches and salads you get out of Relish will surprise you.
UPDATE:
The Double Stacked Ruben is one of the best sandwiches I have every had. I read somewhere that the downtown location is lowering prices to make it more affordable. I haven’t been to the downtown location to verify.
Taste:
[rate 9]
Service:
[rate 9]
Ambiance:
[rate 6]
Overall Reader Rating
[ratings]
400 Gold SW at the Simms Building
(505) 245 – 1711
I work in the downtown area and am always on the prowl for good places to go to during lunch. For most of us over here, finding good places to eat is a high priority because the majority of the day we sit in offices and cubicles for hours at a time. 
Lunchtime is a break for us to stretch out legs, get away for a while, and enjoy some good food before we work the second half of the day (what, you need energy to sit for hours on end). La Sierra is a restaurant that I passed by many times because it is tucked away in the Simms Building right next to the main entrance to Gold’s Gym. It also looks very plain from the outside, not like the fancy restaurants that are along Central.
When I first went here I took a look at the menu and didn’t have a good feeling because it had such a wide range of food including American, New Mexican, and Greek. I always think it is a bad sign when a restaurant mixes such different foods. However, this is one place that has really impressed me with taste, price, and portion. First of all, getting a plate in the 5 to 6 dollar range downtown is a steal. To start you are given some tortilla chips and salsa, which is good because most of the time you are starving when you get to a restaurant. Then with many of the entrees you are given a small salad or soup while waiting for your food. Nothing fancy so far right, very plain looking chips and salad, but they taste pretty good, or to the starving worker…like the best chips and salad you ever tasted!
I have had a few entrees here including the Turkey Avocado sandwich, Gyro, and Enchilada Plate. Actually, I have had the Turkey Avocado sandwich about 5 times already. Compared to most downtown restaurants it might seem plain…no imported honey turkey from Europe, no smoked provolone, no rye with poppy seeds or avocado from the nether regions of the world. So you might say that the description of turkey, avocado, and Swiss on a French roll might sound plain. You’re right it is plain…. plain good! This is not a restaurant that raises the cost with fancy ingredients, they make food simple with large portion, they make it good, and you don’t pay 10 dollars for a sandwich. They just started making Gyros and I tried one thinking it couldn’t be as good as some of the Greek restaurants, but it was also pretty good. In fact, I have yet to try something here that wasn’t good and it is shocking considering its humble atmosphere and mixed up menu.
The service is exactly what you would expect here, two ladies in aprons running around calling you “sweetie” and with about 7 other tables to talk to. They are nice and get you everything you need most of the time, so I have no complaints on that. Especially since I run into bad service at some of the more popular downtown restaurants. Like I said before, the atmosphere is very plain and looks like a small town diner, but as long as I have some good food in front of me, I really don’t care. So I definitely recommend this restaurant especially to the downtown employees on their lunch break.
Taste:
[rate 8]
Service:
[rate 6]
Ambiance:
[rate 5]
Overall Reader Rating
[ratings]
319 5th St SW
Albuquerque, NM 87102
842-1600
(map) | ~MENU~
I recently went on a search downtown for out-of-the-way restaurants that were well known to the local business class such as PNM and MFA employees. One caught my attention and it was a restaurant on the corner of 5th and lead called Wranglers.
On the outside you would never give it more than two looks as it is a very modest restaurant that doesn’t call much attention by appearence or reputation. However, inside you will find an American/New Mexican menu that is well prepared. I have gone there a couple of times now and have had the chicken salad sandwich with fries, chopped salad, and fried catfish sandwich with fruit. All of which were in the $6 price range and very good. the food is modest but they do a good job in this restaurant. They have fairly priced entrees and offer a great assortment of lunches for the business class on the go or the general public searching for that small town restaurant atmosphere in the downtown area.
I wish I could say the service was as good as the food, but it isn’t. The service is consistently average in this restaurant and you sometimes run the risk of experienceing really bad service here. In my experience the servers are very nice, but dont know or care much about time. In my second visit I was ready to walk out because it took so long to get my drink and entree out to me. The waitress was sweet but she could not multi-task at all. I would think that a restaurant who’s business is primarily derived from the workers of surrounding business, that they would respect the lunch hour limitations. I can just hope I caught them on bad occations because I feel it is not a bad restaurant at all.
Like I said before, the ambiance is very modest and subtle. Wranglers tries for a western appeal but like some other good restaurants, you are not going to this one to lose yourself in the atmosphere. There are a few signs, pictures, lasso’s, and longhorns on the wall to remind you of the old west, but honestly, its the good food that will bring me back again. So if you are ever in the downtown area and dont feel like visiting the usual reputable spots, try this out of the way restaurant and you might be pleasantly suprised by its food.
Taste:
[rate 7]
Service:
[rate 4]
Ambiance:
[rate 5]
Overall Reader Rating
[ratings]
Revisited 7/12:
It seemed that as I went to this restaurant throughout a few months the food was changing and the lunch crowd was dwingling, so I asked around. This restaurant is in the process of new ownership/management, which is why the food quality has lost some appeal, the waitstaff is lacking, and the business lunchers are going off to the downtown strip. I talked to some local business people and they all feel like it isn’t the same anymore. The good news is that this is a good opportunity for the new management to turn it around and make the changes needed to bring the customers back again.
