From New Mexico to Maryland

Heyo!

I am so so excited! In just one week's time I will be on the East Coast! (Do people capitalize "coasts" anymore? Yes? No? Well, I'm from the Midwest, that's what we do here.) I am going to visit my friend Megan who I haven't seen since school got out. It is going to be such a great time! We've already been trading links of what we're going to do, where we're going to go, and, of course, where we're going to eat!  I've already found a place that has an all you can eat dessert buffet on Monday nights. I'm flying in on a Monday. Coincidence? I think not!

I firmly intend to catalog all of our stops and give my personal reviews upon my return. In the meantime though, here are some pictures from a trip I took to New Mexico a few months ago with my dad and sister. My sister was there to look at gradschools. I was there to look at tortillas.

While my sister decided to forgo school in NM, I fell in love with the food. The flavors, the textures, the ingredients - so fresh and crisp. I've never been much of a spicy food person - but this trip changed all of that. I now carry around a bottle of hot sauce with me, just in case ;)

On our first day in Albuquerque we went to Old Town and had breakfast at the Church Street Cafe. The restaurant itself was beautiful and is in the oldest home in Albuquerque. I got the carne adovada al horno, a delicious pork roasted in red chile. It came with eggs over easy, potatoes and a homemade tortilla. The pork had heat, but wasn't overly spicy. My favorite thing was to wrap some pork, egg, and a little bit of potato in the tortilla before taking a HUGE bite. So yummy.

On our second day in New Mexico we had breakfast at Sophia's Place as seen on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. 

My sister got a breakfast quesadilla. Meaty and cheesy do not even begin to describe this dish.

I had the breakfast tacos with
eggs, bacon, and shredded cheese.
The coffee there was fantastic and
the bowl sized mug they gave  me
was much appreciated.



I liked having a salad with my breakfast; it made me feel less bad about buying one of their homemade red velvet cakes to eat later that day.

And Dad, ever the go-getter, ordered and ate this entire burrito that was the size of a football. The red salsa that came on the side of his meal was enough to put me off spicy food - but we persevered!

We did more than eat breakfast sure, but, it is fair to say that breakfast was my favorite part of our days in Albuquerque. I am now a convert of homemade tortillas. I found a recipe that I adore and intend to recreate my carne adovada in a few weeks!

A few of the other highlights from our trip included dinner at Monte Carlo Steak House.

A late lunch at the Whole Hog Cafe.   
These guys know what they're doing
with BBQ! They have six different
sauces and I loved all of them, but
couldn't take much of the hottest sauce.

And the portion sizes were crazy big! My sister and I split the ribs and pulled pork which were both some of the best I've ever had. The bark on the pulled pork was too good. 

And lunch at a local drive in that was simply glorious.

We only stayed for three days but it was 72 hours of the best eating I've had in the past year, that is for certain. I firmly intend to get back there one day if only to explore the places I didn't get to check off of my list. 

I cannot wait for next week. I've got a B-more bucket list and can't wait to see what gastronomic adventures Megan and I find ourselves in.

What are some of your favorite vacation eats?