Church Street Cafe

This blog has been sitting idle, gathering dust for far too long. Especially given the fact that over the past month we've eaten at four new places, all of which have been between good and fantastic. And, while two were not local (and one wasn't technically new to us), there's enough to catch up on to keep us busy for some time.

We'll start with a date Summer and I went on last month. It was a Friday, and we asked some friends to watch the kids while we went to Old Town. Our first stop was Explora, the children's science museum we go to with the kids pretty often. It's also a fun place to go on a date, and we spent an hour or so getting our nerd on with brain teasers and experiments.

Next, we strolled through Old Town, visiting a nostalgia-themed toy store (nothing battery-powered). Summer was leaving for Utah with the kids a few days later, so we considered getting toys for the drive up, but nothing seemed quite right, so we decided to wait for the summer birthday season.

But the real goal this evening was the Church Street Cafe, located behind San Felipe de Neri church in Old Town, in a low, non-descript old adobe building. I've passed this building dozens of times and always thought it looked interesting, but a bit dark and questionable (incidentally, this is what I thought of Cafe Rio the first 50 or so times I walked by it, so my first impressions are not worth much).

Once inside, the building is much larger and brighter than one would imagine. The building is one of the oldest houses in the state, and until 1990 is was a residence. The atmosphere was cozy and authentic, without the gaudy kitschy feel touristy places like Old Town often produce. We got a small table for two and settled in.

The fare was what we expected--traditional New Mexican, with lots of enchilada offerings and posole. We opted to split a combination plate with a chile relleno, tamale, and chicken enchilada. The latter was rolled, and not the gooey messy you sometimes get. The meat was flavorful and the green chile just right.

I've never been much of a fan of chile relleno, but this one was superb. The same is true for tamales, which I often find--strangely enough--both gooey and crumbly. And, to make it all even better, the salsa that came with our chips was among the best I've had in recent memory. Summer felt even more strongly about the enchilada--best ever, according to her.

I'm not sure how kid-friendly the Church Street Cafe would be, but there were larger tables and high chairs, if you're into that sort of thing. I think it's better for a date, but we'll defintiely take the kids there too sometime.

Ratings:
Yumminess--6
Budgetabuility--5
Table-f0r-six-ness--5
Kids-will-eat-it-factor--5 (mainly because I don't think I glanced at the kids' menu once; this could be higher)
Non-ickiness--6
Would we bring people here to show off ABQ--6 (absolutely, especially if they've never been to Old Town)
Total--33