Duran's Central Pharmacy

On Thursday we decided—quite spur-of-the-moment—to eat out. Our evening was getting messy, so we wanted somewhere quick, relatively cheap, and nearby. After some of our customary hemming and hawing, we opted to Duran's Central Pharmacy, an old-school drug store near Old Town that is home to a nice little diner that I had heard served some of the best tortillas in town.

One note on the Pharmacy—the diner only takes cash. So a quick trip to the ATM got us on our way. In some ways it was nice to pay in cash—but perhaps that's just a factor of the novelty of it all.

When you walk in, you go through the drug store area and make your way to the back of the building where the self-seating eating area awaits. We arrived a bit before 5:00 pm on a Thursday, and it was nearly empty. We made our way to the back an had a seat (or, in keeping with the focus of this blog, six).

Seating was a bit of a mess. The biggest tables seated four, but, due to the emptiness of the pace, we were able to occupy two tables—one for the kids, and one for the adults. In this respect, it was almost like a date...

The diner itself is rather Spartan—tile floor, some seating at the bar counter, low lighting, etc. It was not immaculate, but it wasn't dirty either. Kind of quaint, I suppose.

Our server, who was obviously not overburdened with other tables, was able to get to us right away. She was available, but not doting—really about right. The food arrived quickly and was appealing. The kids menu had a good selection of things they'd eat, and the regular menu—which focused on New Mexican fare—was rich, if simple.

Summer and I opted to split the Carne Adovada plate, which came in under $10 and was an ample serving for the two of us. The kids ate all of their food, and we were in and out in a half-hour. The total came in under $40, including tip. And we were nicely full all evening. Not a bad dinner experience. Duran’s is not the fanciest, but it was just right for that day.

Scores:

• Yumminess: 5
• Budgetability: 5 (it would be a 6 if the kid's milks--the half-pint cartons that cost $.50 at school--hadn't cost $1.70 each)
• Table-for-six-ness: 4 (but a bit of a cheat, since we were the only ones there--otherwise, this would be a 2, since the biggest tables sat 4)
• Kids-will-eat-it-factor: 6
• Non-ickiness: 3
• Would we bring people here to show off ABQ?: 3

Total score: 26

Is This Cheating?

As Summer outlined in her introductory post, the purpose of this blog is to record our year of eating out at new places. So this may be a bit cheap, but I suppose I don't much care because, well, I'm writing this. And because the food was good.

On New Years Eve, as part of our impetuous trip to Las Cruces, we stopped in historic Mesilla, where we ate at La Posta. This meandering eatery, made of several adjoining rooms, all of which feels like the places has been expanded a number of times since it opened in 1939 (and more than a few times in the century before that, when the structure was first built). As a result, it has a cozy feel but is big enough that you can get a table pretty quickly (at least we did, arrive around 5:30; when we left an hour later there was a healthy wait for a table).

Finding the place was a bit of a challenge. It's a block off the plaza, and we missed the signs (if there were any) on our way in. Once we found a sign for La Posta, we were a bit confused, as the restaurant is part of a larger building, with a gift shop and some other spaces, so the entrance is a bit doubtful. But we got in from the cold and got a table right away.

Inside, La Posta is a bit kitschy, but cozy. Christmas lights were still up, and the feel was comfortable. The lobby had a large bird enclosure with a toucan and several fish tanks, one of which housed piranhas (at least in theory; I didn't see any). The tables were basic tourist-dining stuff, but the place was clean, well-lit, and inviting.

The food is pretty standard New Mexican fare, with a good sampling of enchiladas, burritos, tacos, chiles rellenos, and the like. There was also a good selection of steaks and burgers for those folks who go to Mexican restaurants to get standard American food.

The eating experience started well, with some crunchy and tasty tortilla chips and great salsa. Often at this kind of place you get a wimpy salsa, something that will make the folks from Des Moines or Columbus feel good that they can handle "real New Mexican salsa," but this was hearty, with a good front-of-the-mouth kick and some lingering spice in the back of the throat. And unlike many salsas that trade flavor for bite, this was full of flavor.

The kids had quesadillas (except for Ryan, who had a burger--see above for my thoughts on this), which were simple, but very heavy on the cheese. It must have been good (or they must have been ravenous), because the kids devoured their food.

Summer ordered flautas (I have a soft spot in my heart for fried Mexican food), and she let me have a bite (it had guacamole on it, and, even though she loves the green stuff, she can't eat it without getting an awful stomach ache), so I can vouch for it. Not great, but crispy, tasty, and fattening, which is all you can really want in this life anyhow.

I wanted to be adventurous, but I couldn't pass on the enchiladas. So I ordered the Sour Cream Enchilada, which was really just a flat enchilada (I had chicken, but it came with red chile, which is always an odd pairing), covered in about a cup of sour cream. Now, I'm not a huge fan of sour cream, but it was appropriately decadent for the end of the calendar year, so I ate it up.

The enchilada was good; the chile was moderately hot, and the tortillas were good. The rice was disappointing, but you don't go to place like this hoping for great rice (when you do get the good stuff it's like a little treat).

Overall we were impressed and pleased. It's better than most of the similar places in Albuquerque's Old Town, and certainly among the best New Mexican restaurants we've been to. And, even though we were charged $1.95 for each kid's milk (I'm a sucker for the drink being included with the kids' meals), it was a good deal; we came in around $50 with tip, and the entrees we had were very reasonable at $8-10 each.

So, using our handy-dandy rating system (as outlined in the sidebar; I'm giving a score for each area on a scale of 1-36, for a total between 6 and 36 for each establishment we choose to patronize), La Posta rates as follows:

• Yumminess: 5
• Budgetability: 4
• Table-for-six-ness: 6
• Kids-will-eat-it factor: 6 (but perhaps skewed since they had eaten a lousy lunch)
• Non-ickiness: 4
• Would we bring people here to show off ABQ?: 4 (since it's not in ABQ, this is hard to rate, but if ever we go to Las Cruces with family, this will be the spot to eat)
• Total: 29

Prologue

The looks. The whispers of disbelief. Turned heads follow as we walk through the restaurant with our family.
Yes, we have four children. Yes, we generally like to leave the house sometimes. Yes, we prefer to eat at places that don't have a "play place" attached.
I still haven't decided what is worse though. The whispers of "They have FOUR children?" or the lack of tables to fit our entire family. (We've even had to move tables ourselves at some of those "seat yourself" establishments...oh the squeaks!)
There are so many reasons to love dining out. I love the idea of ordering whatever I want to eat without having to cook or clean. They even bring it to me! And I can eat what I want, while the kids don't get to complain about what they are eating. ("You ordered it, you eat it!")
We've decided to start this blog as a way to explore and try new places here in Albuquerque and around New Mexico. We've discovered some local favorites that we tend to fall back on when we can't decide where to go. And there are just too many good places to limit ourselves. So our search this year is to find, report on, and rate local restaurants that are family friendly (when we take the kids), or more couple-appropriate (for those very rare occasions when we actually get to go out alone). We will gladly take suggestions, if there is a place you just haven't gotten around to trying yet... we will!
I think I've been a little nervous trying some places here (is that a gas-station-turned-restaurant we just drove past?) I've always been more comfortable with niches. They are so cozy after all, with nothing that might surprise you. But I need to get over that.
Taking four kids out to eat is always an adventure. You never know what to expect. Someone might throw up. Someone might throw a screaming tantrum on the floor. Perhaps that what others think will happen when we walk in to be seated. (Are those looks of dread following me?) So it is always nice when the little, old, couple seated near us stop on their way out to tell us what great kids we have. I guess when you expect the worst you'll always be pleasantly surprised?
Maybe that's how I need to approach some of these restaurants.