Mac's La Sierra Restaurant | Albuquerque

Wednesday - 5 June 2002: Albuquerque, New Mexico - The trip east on I-40 to Albuquerque was uneventful. The speed limit is 75 mph and the truckers drive 80. They zip past us and scare the heck out of us. DT flashes them that it is safe to pull-over in front of us, but they don't pull-over. They are never going to pull-over. They are on a mission.

We arrived at a nice campground, the American RV Park, just west of Albuquerque at about 1:30 pm, unhitched, and were downtown to try the first of several restaurants on my list for lunch just after 2:00. (NOTE: I spent 4 days in Albuquerque 6 years ago for our friend, Lisa's, wedding - so I am showing DT about a bit.)

Our lunch at the M&J Sanitary Tortilla Factory was nice. (NOTE: This restaurant is now under new ownership, and the reviews are not good.) We did arrive after the lunch crowd, so there were few patrons. The mangers/owners were seated at a table in the rear, eating lunch. Our waitress, Stella, was very friendly and made us feel like we were long-lost friends. I am a very friendly person, so really appreciate the same in strangers. I had blue corn enchiladas - and they were divine. I opted to not have the fried egg on top though. It was served with beans and rice. I did not try the rice, but the beans were very good - especially when used as a dip for the fresh-fried tortilla chips. DT had the chicken tacos. The tortillas were fabulous, but the chicken itself was un-sauced, which I thought very strange. As is our road food custom, when no one is looking, we "switched at half-time", so we could try each others choices. The main difference in the Mexican food here and the Mexican food at home is the spice-level - it's hotter here.

After lunch, we took a drive out to the University of New Mexico and toured the campus. (They have a golf course.) The entire campus, founded in the late 1800's, is built to look like a pueblo. The Lobo's have a beautiful campus and the shops and restaurants around campus are very interesting and eclectic. Imagine going to college on Route 66! We also drove Route 66 through downtown. The core-area of town is being completely re-built. I could not believe the difference in 6 years - and it looked great when I was last here. Albuquerque is seriously in an urban-renewal phase, trying to have the people who work downtown, LIVE downtown. Then we went to Old Town and strolled the streets. Here are a few photos of the lovely Old Town plaza.

San Felipe de Neri Church


The center plaza bandstand

Old Town is the heart of Albuquerque's heritage. The first families settled near the banks of the Rio Grande in 1706. The original homes are now shops and restaurants along the plaza. This area flourished until the railroad arrived and most businesses moved a half mile away to be nearer the railroad. Today, it is shopping and dining area, busy with tourists.

Finally, we needed a rest - it was very hot again today - so we came back to Goldie. At about 9:00 pm, we found we were hungry again and headed out on Route 66 in search of food.

DT says: After identifying six restaurants where you could have your intestines removed without surgery, and only two days in Albuquerque, we decided we must visit three per day. As our RV has LP gas, one burp could send us to Roswell, New Mexico. (Buy stock in Pepsid AC or Tums now.)

We tried Mac's La Sierra Restaurant (6217 Central Avenue Northwest) where every car in the parking lot had New Mexico plates and there were few empty parking spaces. This was a good sign. La Sierra had three dining rooms, all of them dark and covered with paintings of bull fighters slaying bulls. The sign outside promised "Steaks, Mexican Food, Breakfast All Day". Their specialty is "Steak in the Rough", which is ground beef, spiced and shaped in "fingers" and deep fried. People seem to come for miles to eat Steak in the Rough. Our waitress, Kate, showed-up to our table about 15 seconds after we were seated and asked us what we wanted. I figured most of the people here were regulars - the I-don't-need-a-menu type. We asked for more time and beer. The beer boy told us they were out of cold beer glasses... I guess this was some sort of tragedy, but we happily drank our beer from plastic water glasses. Tastes the same! I had (more) enchiladas. DT tried the chile rellanos. (We switched.) The sauce on my enchiladas burned my lips - it was divine. The sopaipillas were divine - they floated off the plate. Kate told us she had worked at La Sierra "on and off" since she was 16 and she was now 60. The guy at the front counter, Sandor, was Hungarian. Obviously La Sierra is an International Restaurant.

Mac's La Sierra on Historic Route 66

RV Park: American RV Park