Thai Tip

I have eaten a fair amount of Thai food over the years, it is one of my favorite Asian cuisines due to the great flavors and heat; however, I cannot digest curry too well and Thai food has a fair amount of curry dishes, so my assessment of Thai cuisine may be incomplete. I have eaten at a number of Thai places in Albuquerque, but I have never been or heard of Thai tip. This is a hidden gem. The restaurant is very small and tucked away in the corner in the strip mall in the north east corner of Wyoming and Constitution. The restaurant has about ten small table tops that can seat around thirty patrons. The decor is modest. Prior to my initial visit, I phoned ahead for certain details and a gentleman who spoke English without any accent, so I was unsure of what I was in store for. The man who answered the phone was the owner who is a jovial, middle aged Anglo man. His wife, Tip, who is Thai is the cook. From a friend, I heard this was some of the best Thai food he had eaten since Thailand, but he was only in Thailand for less than a day. However his short stint in Thailand allowed him to have a great taste for Thai food. He was dead on about Thai Tip.
Pictured to the left is a kind of soup that I cannot recall what it was, but my dinner companion had no complaints about it. I ordered the beef pad gra prow which is chilies with Thai basil. I asked for it as a hot of ten out of ten. The owner advised against this and listened to his advice. His recommendation was get it Thai hot and get it hotter next time if I could handle the heat. Another one of my companions ordered the pad thai. I am glad that I went with the spiciness warning. I could handle the heat, but I also enjoyed the other flavors of this dish. My dinner companion who ordered the pad thai shared and it was excellent as well. One of my companions asked for soy sauce, the owner was pleasant when he advised against this, but he did comment that this was not Chinese food that that the soy sauce would alter intended flavors of the Thai food. I thought his advice was well done. At a handful of excellent restaurants, you will not see salt or pepper on the table, because the chefs feel that you do not need to modify their food. I know as Americans we have a bad habit of seasoning our food before we taste it. I too am guilty of this. I love pepper in my food and start throwing it on there before even lifting a fork. The owner did oblige and brought my fellow dinner companion the soy sauce. She used it sparingly on her rice. Pictured to the right is the pad gra prow dish that I ordered. The consensus about Thai Tip is the food is great. It's great due to the freshness of the ingredients. The owner told us that he is a frequent shopper. They may hit the store four time in one day. Thai Tip is some of the best Thai food I have had. I would give Thai Tip a rating of three and a half stars out of five.

Standard Diner

Standard Diner has been open in Albuquerque for a few years and I've eaten there a handful of times over the years. The Standard Diner is located on Central and Arno in East Down Town or EDO as I've heard it called. The building originally was an old service station built in 1938. It does have the service station appearance, but the inside is a very well decorated restaurant. This restaurant too has been featured on Diners, Drive In, & Dives. It is a diner, but it's a diner with an upscale twist. The diners that I am familiar with are greasy spoons with a menu is high in fat content that is served by a lady with has the blue uniform with booths that are a weird vinyl color. The diner is far from what I am used to for diners. The outside is a yellowish stucco with great windows for patrons to look out. The parking here is tight, but where in EDO is it not? The walls are different colors, but they are subtle and go together very well. The place looks retro, but is is very tastefully done. The booths line the walls of the main dining area and they are made of wood with vinyl padding. The middle area has tables and chairs made of wood that has a nice dark stain. The flooring has mixed surfaces: tile and carpet that compliment each other very well. The ceilings are vaulted in some areas and look great.

The picture to the above right is an Otis burger which has sliced beet, a fried egg, grilled pineapple, bacon, and cheddar. I was not brave enough to try what appeared to be a culinary train wreck to me, but my former roommate LEG is far more adventurous that I and gave it a go. LEG is quite the foodie, his parents used to run a great steakhouse for a number of years while we were in college, he worked their in many different capacities, and he just loves great food. From what I recall LEG enjoyed the different textures and all of the flavors went together surprisingly well. On the trip with LEG, Pookie came along too. I cannot recall what she ordered, but she did enjoy it. Pookie is a selective vegetarian and their menu accommodated her dietary choices.

I have had their burger and the prime rib special. The burger I had was just a diner burger with different toppings. The burger was greater than the sum of all of it's parts. I'm not sure on the availability of the prime rib special, but I meant to eat light that night, but they twisted arm and I had to get the prime rib or be subjected to the horrible torture of not eating it. From what I recall they had a special oven or method for cooking the prime rib. My piece was over done for my taste, but the flavors and marbling of the meat were great. I have had the side salads at Standard and they have great, good looking components that help one get to the magic number of five servings of fruits and veggies.

Each time the food has been pretty good and the service adequate, but not great. I would say the best way to describe the Standard Diner is an nicer restaurant with a diner shell. I would give Standard Diner a rating of three stars out of five.

http://www.standarddiner.com/

Mary and Tito's Cafe

Earlier this year, Mary & Tito's Cafe (MTC) on 4th street won the James Beard Foundation Award. The Jame's Beard Foundation's mission statement is "To celebrate, preserve, and nurture America’s culinary heritage and diversity in order to elevate the appreciation of our culinary excellence." I'm not too familiar with this foundation, but as I've heard, it's a huge honor. Prior to MTC, winning the award I had eaten there with some coworkers and thought it was pretty good. I've mentioned before in a previous blog that 4th street in Albuquerque is full of great New Mexican food and that MTC is one of the great restaurants. MTC appears to be a restaurant that was converted from an old house. It's a dive, but the food is good. On both occasions I ate the carne adovada, but in different forms. I've had the carne adovada turn over and a carne adovada plate. My last visit I went with a group of four friends. We were fortunate and missed the dinner rush on a Friday night. We came a bit before closing time.

Our meal began with chips, salsa, and guacamole. I am not normally a guacamole fan, but the guacamole tasted fresh to me and had a great texture. The salsa was good, but not great. Recently, a coworker of mine explained dynamics of the different salsas in the Albuquerque market. That everyone has their own opinion about who has the best salsa. I experienced this kind of dynamic in Buffalo, NY; everyone has their favorite Buffalo wing joint. I totally agree with him. Salsa in Albuquerque ranges in texture, color, taste, heat, smell, and every other description one can think of for salsa. I felt that MTC's salsa was just OK. Nothing very notable about it.

On this occasion, I ordered the carne adovada turnover that is pictured on the right. I did order it Christmas style, with the red and green chile, to sample both kinds of chile. The red was spicier but I enjoyed the meat and flavor of the green chile. The texture of the fried turnover was great. It was fairly light and flaky while covered with chile. This meeting of ingredients was great. You have tender, flavorful carne adovada stuffed inside a deep fried flaky shell that is covered in chile.

One of my friends ordered the enchiladas and they looked pretty good. The service at MTC is pretty standard for diner service. The staff was quick and friendly, but nothing notable. The facilities could be better, but it's an old house that was converted into a restaurant. The parking lot is unpaved and small. I think that MTC belongs on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives. I would give MTC a rating of three and half stars out of five.

http://albuquerque.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2010/02/08/daily8.html

Best Lee's

Best Lee's is good Chinese food, but not great. I did not want to make the long drive for Chinese food and wanted a quick meal. I've eaten at Best Lee's three or four times. The place is well decorated and is fits well in the upscale shopping center with a bad parking lot. The parking lot is new, but is in really bad shape. Best Lee's has a sign on display that they are in the Top 100 Local Favorites. I am unfamiliar with this award and did some research.The results were pretty limited. I guess sometimes Goggling stuff doesn't work out. Best Lee's does have a very friendly gentleman that is a manager or the owner. He calls himself "uncle" and is very warm. I did enjoy my interactions with him quite a bit. When I say the food is good, but not great, it's fairly Americanized Chinese food. The offerings are pretty plain, but they are good. The portion size is pretty good, but the to go containers are great.

On this visit I ordered the pork ribs that are boneless and a won ton soup. The food was good, but the pork ribs lacked the crunch that I am familiar with in this style of pork rib. The broth of the won ton soup was bland and the won tons did not have great won ton texture that I normally get. Again, I like this place for the decor, cleanliness, and the friendliness of "uncle," but the food is just good. For me it's good, quick, and convenient Chinese food. Best Lee's gets two and a half stars out of five.