Tasty Treats In Albuquerque

During the first weekend of October, I was extended an awesome opportunity to head to Albuquerque, New Mexico to experience the 45th Annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. If you're not sure what the AIBF is, you can read all about it and my time there here. However, if you're interested in all the savory (and kind of sweet) treats I had while in the city, this is where you should be.

If you're not aware, Albuquerque — and New Mexico in general — is a place that's rich with Mexican culture. From being home to eighth (and higher) generation Mexicans to incorporating antique Mexican designs throughout the city's architecture, there's so much culture, history, and amazement found in ABQ, it's ridiculous. Knowing this, there should have been no doubt that the main food that would have been available to me would have been Mexican. While Mexican food is surely my favorite (I can really eat tacos/nachos at least 4-5 times a week), Ii've always heard that you haven't had real Mexican food unless you've had it from New Mexico. That's outside of having it straight from Mexico, of course.

So as my luck would have it, our first night in town, the Hotels.com team took us to one of the popular Mexican restaurants in town, Garduño's at Old Town. This particular location is attached to Hotel Albuquerque — just as an FYI. As we arrived for our scheduled dinner, we were welcomed by hosts dressed in traditional Mexican attire and decorations that were of the same. Once we were seated, our waitress wasted no time handing us a drink menu and supplying her suggestions for the most popular margaritas on site. Of course, in true Ni'Kesia fashion, I wasted no time letting her know that we were on the same page and placing my order for Pink Cactus margarita.

After everyone ordered their drinks (just to let you know, I heard both the Coconut and Cucumber Fresca Margaritas are legit), we decided to place an order for a round of nachos. Now maybeeee I'm not used to much authentic Mexican food, but those nachos just didn't do it for me. The chips tasted a little dry and I wasn't a fan of the beef they used in them either. That could be because I really cut back on my beef intake, but whatever the reason was, I just wasn't super into the nachos like I thought I would be. Not to toot my own horn, but I've made better nachos in my kitchen at the crib. I digress though.

Once the nachos were removed from the table, everyone's main dishes began flowing in. Because I had literally just had tacos the day before I flew out, I decided to have the chicken burrito served with lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream on top, and refritos, arroz (beans and rice) , and chile con queso on the side. Though I wasn't pleased with the nachos that we had as an appetizer, I can happily say that I was pleased with my choice for a main dish. Sure it was just a burrito, but the chicken had actually been marinated, so that made the experience so much better. Plus, everything was seasoned just right and the Chile con Queso was perhaps some of the best tasting queso I've ever had in life. I low key wanted to ask if I could get the recipe!

Though I clearly was stuffed to capacity with all the food that I had, I couldn't turn down the opportunity to get in on some real sopaipillas for dessert. I'd never had sopaipillas prior to the trip and I'm honestly kind of glad I didn't. Being able to taste them in New Mexico is probably better than trying to taste a knock off version of them somewhere else. Delivered in a small basket, the dough-based dessert is meant to be drizzled with honey and devoured while warm. And, if they aren't, that's how it happened for me, so that's that and that's my recommendation. You can hit the gallery for my bootleg photo of those.

If you've had the time to read my Balloon Fiesta recap, you'll know that Saturday was the day that all of the events went down. You'll also know that I had to get up before The Lord even created the sun to get my day started. That being said, after the long day was done, the Hotels.com crew and I decided to hit up a restaurant by the name of Forque for some celebratory drinks and treats.

The more you read about my food and beverage related encounters, you'll learn that there are not many drinks that I'll put above a mimosa, so please know I'll almost always discuss having a mimosa (or margarita) as my drink of choice at any time of the day. In addition with my mimosa (or two, but who's counting?), we ordered three delicious desserts to go along with them. Included in that roundup was a unique version of a strawberry shortcake. Instead of being made as a cake, the filling was surrounded by two warm biscuits! I love strawberries and I love biscuits, so this mix together was pretty freakin' legit in my book. The other desserts — which were the lesser of great for me (simply because of my love for strawberries) — were a green chile piñon apple cobbler and a slice of turtle cheesecake.

Lastly, during my stay in Albuquerque, I kept hearing everyone talk about a place called Blake's Lotaburger. So of course, I wanted to do as the locals and see what they hype was all about it.

On my way to the airport, my super nice driver, Bobby, was polite enough to take me to Blake's and give me a great suggestion on what to order. When I first walked in, I'm not gonna lie, the place looked a little sketch. But, then I remembered that I've gotten some of the best burgers at the sketchiest of places. (Shout out to Bev's Better Burgers in High Springs, FL!)

Since I was in a rush and had to scarf down the meal in the car, I went against having a "Lotaburger" and settle for an "ITSA burger" instead. The only difference between the two is the amount of meat they put between the bun. Per Bobby's suggestion, I ordered a Green Chile ITSA burger with cheese and seasoned fries. Apparently people in Albuquerque prefer everything with green chile, so when in Rome...

Y'all. Listen. When I tell you I thought I had stepped into the devil's lair for dinner?! That dang burger had my nose running! It was even worse because I had to hurry up and eat it before I got to the airport! I legit thought it was over for me that day. I have never had a burger as hot as that. It wasn't even spicy; it was legit HOT. Even though it took me to hell and back in one bite, I'm so glad I got to stop by Blake's because it made the trip even better.

So now that you're aware of my thoughts, here's what I rate each of them on a scale of 1-10.

For Garduño's at Old Town, I give it a solid 7. I think those not so good nachos kind of threw me off for the rest of the night. I know it's supposed to have the best Mexican food in Albuquerque, but it just didn't do it for me. I would recommend it for others to try, but I don't think I'd go back again for the food.

For Forque's desserts and only the desserts, I'll say a 7, too. It was some pretty good stuff though I may be a little biased based on my love for strawberries and biscuits. I would go back here if I were staying at the same hotel, but I wouldn't see myself traveling back just for the dessert. It was definitely good, but it didn't leave me thinking much about it after the fact. That's the repeat factor for me.

And, lastly, Blake's Lotaburger gets an 8 from me. I don't think I got a full experience because I had to rush to eat it, but it gave a good enough impression for me to go back the next time I'm in Albuquerque. And, I would definitely recommend others try it, too!

Until next time: pack light, travel far, and until your heart's content!

With Creative (and hungry) Thoughts,

-Kp