New Mexico is like old Mexico, only the bathrooms are cleaner? I doubt that tag line will ever work. The car was Texas-tagged.
Another handful collection of digital images from the Albuquerque trip are here, here, here, and here.
Kelly’s:
Looking for food one night, trying to find something. There was a place on Central Avenue, near Carlisle, the place was called “Kelly’s.” I was a little leery, with a sign that advertised “Beer, Pub, Food.” I didn’t land in Albuquerque for pub grub.
As we walked in, the little hostess was engaging, but not to well informed. However, upon inquiry, she called over a guy who was either a busboy, a waiter, a manager, or maybe an owner. “Authentic New Mexico cuisine? I’d try El Patio. It’s where I eat. Frontier’s good, too.”
Top of the white board menu? That day’s special? Green Chile Turkey Enchiladas. Which is what we wound up having, along with the regular menu item, “Green Chile Cheese Fries.”
The green turkey enchiladas were a big hit, met with universal approval, as did the chili cheese fries.
For years, Snuffer’s Burgers (Lower Greenville) in Dallas, that place is the reigning champion of chile cheese fries. Curra’s, on Oltorf (old Guero’s location) had a solid number two spot. Both of these need to be re-examined in light of new evidence.
Green Chile is a universal ingredient in the New Mexico/Albuquerque menus. Universally good, too. What made Kelly’s cheese fries so good was that the cheese and green chile strips weren’t just heaped on top, but the condiments permeated the fries. Or, in simpler terms, there was was enough to soak the fry’s basket all the way through.
Another handful collection of digital images from the Albuquerque trip are here, here, here, and here.
