Loving Loyola's

I like to think I know good food. I work in a fine dining (for Albuquerque) restaurant, I am not shy about trying new and interesting (sometimes eclectic and scary) food trends, and I love to eat. The only food that I can think of off the top of my head that I truly dislike, is meatloaf. Why? Who knows. It cannot be the meat, I love meat. Perhaps it's the loaf; however, I really don't mind loafs. Obviously, it has to be the combo of meat into loaf form. Whatever, this blog isn't about stinkin' meatloaf!

In addition to loving food, I love going out to eat. Specifically, I enjoy Mexican (New Mexican) food. Green chili, red chili, beans and rice, pork, pork, pork, and tortillas. Living in NM, I have had the opportunity to try almost every (New) Mexican joint in town. Well, a handful of them, anyway. I have had the pleasure of eating chips and salsa at Sadie's, enjoying soft chicken tacos with green chili at Cecilia's, Margaritas at Cervantes. Crashing a wedding at El Pinto, only to enjoy their carne adovada was superb. Lunching at Frontier for their South West hash browns, while taking the grandparents to Casa de Benevidez for an early dinner is nothing new. I have seen almost every table at Los Cuates, and traveled to Mary and Tito's. To say that I am uneducated in good NM food would be as false as Pamela Anderson's tits. Excuse me, breasts.

Unfortunately, I am overly prone to stomach problems. Just looking at me wrong can make my tummy hurt. Furthermore, I am convinced all of my problems stem from the food I eat. So, unless I stick to boiled chicken and white rice, yours truly is a gastro-abdominal (Is this a word?) mess. Self diagnostics have confirmed that I was/am lactose intolerant, gluten intolerant, caffeine intolerant, veggie intolerant, hipster intolerant, and so on. I own everything from Beano, to Pepto, peppermint pills and pro-biotics. I take Yucult, Chinese herbs, Imodium, and Gas X. Specifically, the one 'style' of food that truly angers my insides is spicy (New) Mexican food. Murphy's Law states, naturally, that the one food I dearly love will be my demise. In order for me to take the risk and consume some of this often craved delicious staple, strict stipulations are in order. I cannot work or have anything important to do later that day. There are to be no immediate road trips or activities where I am in close quarters with others for long periods of time after consumption. And I definitely cannot be without a couch, for lying down in the fetal position in mid afternoon is best completed on a couch. Normally, the only time these guidelines may be broken are in the case of a true hangover. Nothing is better for such a circumstance than good, greasy (New) Mexican food.

Yesterday, I had amazing food!

No, I was not hungover. Just hungry. A lazy Sunday morning of house hunting and cruising the city made for a very large appetite. The Man and I usually have the same round-about conversation every time we decide on eating out:

me-'where do you wanna eat?'
man-'It's up to you.'
me-'well, what are you in the mood for?'
man-'anything, I'm just hungry.'
me-'I can't decide...'
man-'how about Chinese?'
me-'ugh, no, it's Sunday morning, I don't want Chinese in the morning'
man-'okay, sandwiches then.'
me-'uhhh, no, that doesn't sound good either'
man-'well, you pick then!'
me-'i don't know....are you in the mood for anything in particular???'
man-'arrghhhh!!!'

True, yesterday could have continued on that path, yet, we were in the right place at the right time. I didn't have any standing plans later in the afternoon, we were starving, and (New) Mexican food appealed to us like it was the answers to all of our problems. After hearing a few friends rave about a local restaurant, Loyola's, The Man and I decided to try it on.

This place fit like the perfect pair of jeans. At twenty till noon, on a Sunday, it was packed. Lines for a table were 6 people deep, as was the line for the register. Old family photos adorned the wall and the turquoise and peach color scheme screamed 1991! Loyola's, however, was clean! Perhaps we were 7th in line for a table, but we didn't wait more than 4 minutes. The service was as friendly as it was attentive; I never saw the bottom of my coffee mug! The special for that day was Tamalitas- small pork tamales. Accompanying my pork filled masa cakes were re-fried beans and Spanish rice. I chose to smother it all in green chili and to get a side of red, as well. I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED!

1. The beans were the perfect amount of creaminess to sodium. Melt in your mouth re-fried beans. With cheese on top.
2. The rice was not overly saucy, but had the right amount of spice.
3. Green chili. Not creamy. It was chopped green chili with FLAVOR! (Pork to be exact)
4. Red chili. Perfect heat. (I like it hot). Not grainy, just smooth spicy red chili.
5. Portions- big enough to fill you up for days!

Even better yet, no stomach pain later that afternoon. Weekend brunch for moi almost always consists of mimosas and bloody Marys. To be honest, I don't really like having brunch sans booze. (Maybe I have a problem). Eating at Loyola's yesterday, changed my mind. After ingesting my way all over New Mexico, (Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Cuba, Portales, Farmington, Raton, Santa Fe, and even Tucumcari), I can proclaim my whole hearted love for Loyola's and their scrumptious food. It was everything I wanted out of (New) Mexican food and more. And on the way out, I saw a little girl eating a corn dog, my first and all time favorite food. Clearly, this place wins in my book!