ABQ Restaurants You May Not Have Heard Of

Albuquerque is a city known for its amazing food, among other things. Chiles aside, we love to cook and eat many different types of cuisine. It's probably impossible to eat at every single ABQ restaurant, but you can't blame anyone for trying! These restaurants, courtesy of ABQ Newscastic, are among some hidden gems in the ABQ restaurant world. Give them a try this weekend!

Bocadillos
Food Network's Guy Fieri drooled watching chef Marie Yniguez prepare the slow roasted sandwiches at her little shop in the North Valley. It can be a bit tricky to find, but if you set your navigator of choice to 1609 Indian School Rd NW you should find it.

(Hint: Look for the converted garage space.) If you're like me, you might end up circling the nearby roundabout once or twice but once you've found it, order the Reuben. If there's a seat, take it. If not, order it to go. You won't regret it either way.

K&I Diner
Head down south on Broadway, all the way south to the South Valley, for a diner where the waitresses will call you mijo or mija and the food is muy delicioso.

Grandma Warner's K&I Diner is home to the Travis on a Silver Platter challenge. If you can finish off the gigantic burrito topped with an enormous montaña of fries, it's free. Or you can play it safe and order the half, quarter, or "wimp" sizes.

The diner may be out of the way for most but you can't miss the bold red and white striped exterior at 2500 Broadway Blvd SE.

Tia B's La Waffleria
Did you know Albuquerque has a restaurant entirely dedicated to waffles? It's true. Even though it's in the Nob Hill area, many don't come across it's off-Central location. It's worth tracking down the quaint residential space turned waffle house at 3710 Campus Blvd NE to order among the selection of both sweet and savory waffle concoctions. I personally can't get over the carne adovada-topped blue corn waffles.

In what clearly was a convenience store in a past life, San Pedro Mart now offers both a place to buy Middle Eastern spices and groceries as well as sit and enjoy a prepared meal. If you're in the San Pedro and Montgomery area, you're within sniffing distance.

Just hone in to 4001 San Pedro Dr NE for some of the best Middle Eastern food in Albuquerque. If you're new to this particular cuisine, start with either beef or lamb shawarma and hummus. Definitely try the hummus.

Charles Place
Charles Place is about as exclusive as fine dining gets in Albuquerque. Open on Friday and Saturday with only a handful of tables and limited seating, reservations are required to dine at chef Charles Banzaquen's house. That's right, it's his house.

He converted his three-bedroom home into a place where he could share prix-fixe meals of his own creation. The chef invites you to his home at 1223 Tijeras NW. Call 505-244-0830 for reservations.

Nosh
I can count the number of Jewish delicatessens in Albuquerque that I know of on one finger. And since it isn't the easiest place to find, I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't know about it. At 116 Amherst Dr SE, Nosh in Nob Hill serves up all the Jewish specialties you'd expect.

Matzo ball soup, noodle kugel, corned beef sandwiches, latkes, and other nasheral that would make your bubba kvell. Order up some rugelach and take a seat under a framed portrait of Barbra Streisand while you practice your Yiddish.

The Last Call
The weekend warriors who invade Nob Hill Friday and Saturday nights know all about The Last Call. But with it's hole-in-the-wall location off the main stretch of Central, many others may not know about the authentic SoCal cuisine cooking up inside 102 Richmond Dr NE. 

The other thing you might know about? Dollar fish tacos on Tuesdays. So whether you're ordering the carne asada fries after a night of heavy drinking or a dozen fish tacos to take home on a Tuesday, you're in good hands at The Last Call.