New Mexico's first Restaurant Week starts today features cooking classes, discounts at restaurants in Santa Fe & Albuquerque

New Mexico Restaurant Week runs from February 28 through March 13

Today (February 28, 2010) premieres New Mexico's first Restaurant Week. The celebration of food includes cooking classes, wine tastings and over 60 restaurants with discount prix-fixe dinners. Restaurant Week runs through March 6th  in Santa Fe then moves to Albuquerque from March 7th to 13th.
Held at various restaurants and the Santa Fe School of Cooking, the classes range in price from free (“The Art of Making Caesar Salad” at Osteria d’Assisi in Santa Fe) to $35 (“Foods of the Americas” at Epazote Restaurant in Santa Fe).
A successful event in cities around the U.S., New Mexico Restaurant Week is designed to boost the economy during the slow season and give diners the opportunity to try new restaurants at a discounted price. More than 60 restaurants in Santa Fe and Albuquerque are offering three-course, prix-fixe dinners priced at just $25 per person, $25 for two, or $40 per person at a few fine-dining restaurants.
Several hotels are featuring Restaurant Week packages to attract both out-of-town visitors and locals looking for a culinary “stay-cation.” The list includes El Corazon Residences, El Rey Inn, Encantado Resort & Spa, Hotel Santa Fe, The Inn & Spa at Loretto and the Santa Fe Sage Inn in Santa Fe; and the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa and Hotel Andaluz in the Albuquerque area.
Numbers are limited, so interested people are urged to reserve their spots now or find out more info at www.nmrestaurantweek.com. While there you can also can sign up for the Restaurant Week Sweepstakes. Prizes include hotel-and-dinner packages at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa and the Inn and Spa at Loretto, as well as dinner for two at several restaurants, redeemable after Restaurant Week.
New Mexico Restaurant Week features the following restaurants:

Santa Fe:

• ¡A la Mesa!
• Amavi
• Amaya at Hotel Santa Fe
• Andiamo
• Blue Corn Café (1)
• Blue Corn Café (2)
• Cowgirl BBQ
• Dinner for Two
• El Meson
• Epazote
• Flying Star Cafe
• Fuego! at La Posada
• Galisteo Bistro
• Geronimo
• Joe’s Diner
• La Boca
• La Casa Sena
• La Plazuela
• Luminaria at the Inn at Loretto
• Maria’s New Mexican Kitchen
• Milagro 139
• O’Keeffe Cafe
• Osteria d’Assisi
• Pranzo
• Rio Chama
• Ristra
• Rooftop Pizzeria
• Santa Fe Bar & Grill
• San Francisco Street Bar & Grill
• Sleeping Dog Tavern
• Terra at Encantado
• The Compound
• The Old House
• The Ore House
• The Railyard Restaurant
• Trattoria Nostrani
• Vanessie
• Vinaigrette
• Ze French Bistro
• Zia

Albuquerque:

• Artichoke Café
• Brasserie La Provence
• Casa Vieja
• Chama River Brewing Company
• Corn Maiden at Tamaya Resort
• El Pinto
• Flying Star Cafe – Downtown
• IPCC Harvest Pueblo Cafe
• Lucia at Hotel Andaluz
• McGrath’s at the Hyatt Regency
• Pars Cuisine
• Prairie Star at Santa Ana Golf Course
• Sandiago’s Mexican Grill on Sandia Peak
• Savoy
• Scalo
• Seasons Rotisserie & Grill
• Slate Street Cafe
• St. Clair Winery & Bistro
• Trombino’s Bistro Italiano
• Zea Rotisserie & Grill
• Zinc Wine Bar & Bistro

Dickey's Barbecue Pit

By Jerry Ireland
4811 Pan American Freeway NE, Albuquerque, NM
Menu at: dickeys.com

The Food (taste/flavor/quality of food & drinks)
>>>>= a favorite, can count on it being good every time

The Atmosphere (environment, wait staff, comfortableness)
xxx= good but could be improved

Price (what to generally expect to pay per person per entree)
$$ = $10

Value (what you get for your money)
** = okay - overpriced for quality/taste

When I was eating at Dickey's Barbecue Pit in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I kept thinking about the line in Pulp Fiction, "It's the little differences. I mean, they got the same sh** over there that they got here, but it's just – it's just there it's a little different."

The reason: I used to frequent the original Dickey's in Dallas, Texas and it has always been one of my favorite barbeque joints. While the Albuquerque version has the same good food, some of its differences threw me a bit. But that’s what happens when you turn an original into a franchise, you loose a little of the charm and quality.

One of the things I like about the Dallas version is it is a down home cafeteria style restaurant. You get in line, get your food and get to business. In Albuquerque, it is a sit down restaurant. Also the motif of the restaurant was different. The Dallas Dickey's is essentially a dive and the Albuquerque smokehouse seemed like a cross between a TGIFriday's and the original. It lacked none of the dive quality that gives the original its charm. Now, I know this is a positive for some people, but I prefer the simplicity of the cafeteria and not having to wait for my food and refills on my drink.

In Albuquerque you have a more expansive menu. You can get starters like hot wings and nachos, several types of sandwiches (chicken hoagie, hamburgers, and ham and cheese) that you won't find at the original because a true Texas smokehouse would be embarrassed to carry these items. Also, the salad choices are much more diverse compared to the original. Again, some people may find this to be a positive, but to make room, they removed one of my favorite sides from the menu. The original has outstanding green beans, and that used to be a staple of my Dickey's experience. But when I ate in Albuquerque there were no green beans. This must be changed.

One thing that remained the same is the excellent barbecue. I ordered the beef brisket and sausage plate. The brisket perfectly melts in your mouth, which is how I like it. The sausage explodes with taste. The sauce is a bit sweet with a little tang too it. Of all the excellent Texas barbeque sauces, Dickey's sauce remains my favorite.

I tried the onion strings, which are essentially thin stringy onion rings and I liked them. I also had the Caesar salad and it is more than serviceable but nothing to write home about.

One other difference is the price. The Albuquerque smokehouse's prices were a couple of dollars extra. I assume that is because of the restaurant style seating.

These differences took away from my enjoyment of one of my favorite restaurants, but I would say that the Albuquerque restaurant is a cousin of one of the best BBQ restaurants in Texas and that makes it among the best in Albuquerque.

Rudy’s Country Store and Bar-B-Q

By Angele Sionna

2321 Carlisle (at I-40), Albuquerque, NM
Menu at: rudys.com

The Food (taste/flavor/quality of food & drinks)
>>>>>= always great, unique, and flavorful no matter where you’re from

The Atmosphere (environment, wait staff, comfortableness)
xxxx= comfortable

Price (what to generally expect to pay per person per entree)
$= under $10

Value (what you get for your money)
***** = superb -lots of quality/taste for what you pay

Barbeque is really all about two things when you get right to it: the sauce and the meat. Great meats are slow cooked with flavorful woods that subtly permeate their smoky flavors into the food. Done right, they practically melt in your mouth. The sauce, on the other hand, needs to be bold. It should stand-up and grab your attention.

In my mind, barbeque meat and sauce doesn’t get any better than Rudy’s Bar-B-Q. The secret is the sauce. It’s distinctive with peppery flakes, a sweet tanginess, and a zesty kick that shoots across your tongue as you’re savoring all the flavors. This once small town country store in the Texas Hill Country has become an expansive enterprise with 25 restaurants across the southwest. (You can see a list and map of every location HERE.)

My most recent visit to a Rudy’s was in Albuquerque on Carlisle at I-40 as a lunch stop on our road trip to Texas from Arizona. (read more about that road trip HERE.) It was PACKED! But then I’ve never been to a Rudy’s that wasn’t. This particular Rudy’s is a franchise operation. They have the same look to the building and the same menu, and except for not having the choices in type of brisket (lean, juicy, etc), you could mistakenly think you’ve wondered into the lone star state... down to sipping a glass of their excellent sweet tea.

Rudy’s Bar-B-Q is all pit-style flame cooked with oak wood, which gives everything a delicious smell and taste. My favorite is the sliced turkey. It is smoky and juicy with hints of buttery flavors. Add the “original sause” with its peppery, zesty kick and I’m in food heaven. Their brisket is probably the number one item on the menu. It is tender, juicy, and melts in your mouth. You can smell the oak that’s used to smoke it in every bite. Another top item: sausage links which have a little kick to them but aren’t spicy. All of the meats are served by the pound (or quarter pound or half pound).

Sides are the only things about Rudy’s that could be improved. While I love the buttery boiled potatoes, everything else is just okay. Luckily, all the meats are served with sliced bread so you really don’t need much else in the way of sides. Don’t forget to order up a large sweet tea (with serve yourself free refills) to top off your meal in true Texas style.

The seating is family-style on wooden picnic tables. They have indoor seating, covered porch seating, and a few outdoor tables too. On a busy day, you’re more than likely to be sitting with some hungry strangers but that’s part of the fun. Everyone seems to adopt a friendly Texas attitude when they walk thru the doors.

I miss great barbeque being a Texas-native living in Arizona. So whenever I am even sort of going to drive near Albuquerque, we head to this Rudy’s. The top quality food at reasonable prices means I’m a Rudy’s life-er.

We even order the “sause” from the Rudy’s website to make our home-cooked briskets great. (Admittedly, mine is nowhere near as awesome as Rudy’s but our friends who’ve never been there think we’re the best cooks they’ve met.) You can order a large bottle of their original “sause” for $9.49 (for a 38 ounce bottle) plus shipping and make your home cooking stand out as well. They also have a subtler blend of spices in their “sissy sause.” This is my husband’s favorite. No matter if you’re in Texas, New Mexico, or half way around the world, you can get a little piece of barbeque heaven with this "sause" in your cupboard.