Dinner at Mary and Tito’s (Albuquerque, NM)

After a day at the balloon fiesta, we were ready for dinner. Close to our hotel was the legendary Mary and Tito’s, purveyor of what many foodies regard as one of the best places to have New Mexican food and a 2010 winner of the James Beard “America’s Classic” award. The accolades don’t stop there as food critics throughout New Mexico have showered heaps of praise.

I ordered the carne adovada, one of M & T’s signature dishes. It was extremely good (☆☆☆½), tender and flavorful chunks of pork, served Christmas-style. Both red and green chile sauces were excellent. There is something unique about the red sauce, spicy and full of chile flavor and glowing an almost unnatural red.

My wife’s chicken flautas were also real good (☆☆☆). Both were served with rice and refried beans. The beans were lardy, the only way to make them.

The corn tortillas we’ve had in the SW are slightly thinner than what we get in the NW, which also makes everyone’s tortilla chips lighter. Throughout our trip, we’ve noticed that rice seems to be an afterthought. Some of them have been mushy, M & T’s a little undercooked.