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