New Mexico True

\ Oct 09, 2014

6 min read

Best New Mexican Restaurant

When guests from out of town show up and want a taste of New Mexican cuisine, there’s no way you’ll want to slave away in the kitchen. Instead, head over to El Bruno’s. You’ll have the New Mexican classics covered, including tamales, stuffed sopapillas, carne adovada, chiles rellenos—all without breaking a sweat over your stove.

2) Los Cuates

3) Mary & Tito’s

Best Green Chile Cheeseburger

Does it get any more New Mexican than green chile, beef and cheese? Within our borders, it’s the only way to really eat a burger. This year, you’ve decided the fast food stylings of Blake’s is the sine qua non of green chile cheeseburgers. Make mine a double with a side of seasoned fries, please.

2) Owl Café

Best Green Chile

Kermit the Frog said it’s not easy being green. And it’s not easy winning best green chile in a city that vehemently loves it with a boundless and hungry passion. So our hats go off to Perea’s New Mexican for winning over Albuquerque fans with its hot and flavorful chile verde.

2) Frontier Restaurant

Best Carne Adovada

This little piggy went to market. This little piggy stayed home. Another little piggy ended up cubed and stewed in red chile until it became our readers’ favorite carne adovada in Albuquerque. You can find it at Golden Pride, wrapped up in a delicious burrito blanket.

2) Mary & Tito’s

Best Tortillas

In the kid’s book A Spoon for Every Bite, Joe Hayes tells the story of a couple boasting about a friend who has a new spoon for every bite of food he eats. His secret isn’t a bountiful collection of cutlery—it’s the humble tortilla. Enjoy the fluffiest and, according to our readers, best tortillas in town at Frontier or Golden Pride. Take them with a meal or on their own with just a bit of butter. Or a lot.

2) Duran Central Pharmacy

Best Tamales

They say one of the best holiday presents you can unwrap is a tamale. I wholeheartedly agree. Unwrap one any day of the year at El Modelo in the South Valley. It’s hard to argue against the quality of a joint that’s been making tamales since 1929.

2) Garduño’s

Best Sopapillas

Sopapillas are one of the best parts about eating out at a New Mexican restaurant. The only tricky part is deciding if you want to eat them with your meal or save them for an after-dinner snack with honey. Why choose one over the other? When you’re at Los Cuates, order up two with your meal. Better yet, make it three just to be safe.

2) El Patio

3) Sadie’s

Best Enchiladas

We’ve got a tie here, folks. Who really has the best enchiladas in Albuquerque? Is it El Patio or Los Cuates? It’s like making a parent choose their favorite child or asking an indecisive Burqueño to pick between red or green. If voters can’t decide, neither will we. Just like Christmas-style, why not choose both?

Best Chips And Salsa

Chips and salsa. It’s the food you eat before the food. And the salsa at Sadie’s is so good you’ll want to jar it up and take it home. Oh wait—they’ve already done that for you. Sadie’s salsa is sold all over the country, but if you want the real deal, complete with fresh corn tortilla chips and a killer margarita, you’ll have to visit one of the restaurant locations.

2) Los Cuates

3) El Patio

Best Burrito

Twisters clinches the Best Burrito award for the fifth year in a row. Don’t mind the “Breaking Bad” tourists snapping shots of Los Pollos Hermanos signage or trying to ask the cashier about Gus. They probably don’t even realize they’ve walked into the purveyor of some of the winningest burritos in town.

2) Frontier Restaurant / Golden Pride BBQ, Chicken & Ribs

3) Burrito Lady

Best Margarita

Whether you’re particular about your tequila and liqueur combinations or you’re happy with a house margarita, Zacatecas has you covered. With tequila in its name and one of the best selections in town, it’s no wonder Zacatecas has margarita lovers flocking to Nob Hill. Cheers to salty, sweet and limey goodness!

2) El Patio