We're eating our way down Route 66!

Il Vicino in 20 words or less…
Excellent personal Wood-Fired Pizzas, sandwiches and other Italian dishes. It is loud, boisterous, and crowded but friendly. The tables are close together and it’s loud enough so that kids and personal conversations get lost in the din. Check out their website.

Overall Score
7.5

Variety/Style
Gourmet Pizza, Italian

How is this different from all the other restaurants in this category?
It is a more lively, almost bar-like atmosphere – the kind of place you would meet friends for drinks but with excellent food. If you want quite or romantic, look elsewhere. You order at a register and your food is brought out. They also don’t have appetizers or desserts – it’s a full meal or nothing.

What we had
Grumble had vegtarian lasagna – not a slice, but a entire mini-lasagna made in a soup bowl. It was wonderfully mozzarella-y, and ranked as the best vegetarian lasagna she’s ever had.

Eck went for a Molto Carne pizza with marinara sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, sausage, capocollo ham, calamata olives, mushrooms, and fresh oregano. Il Viciono’s was having a special with a small pizza, a half salad, and a drink for $10, so the pizza was smaller than usual – about the size of a side dish plate. The regular pizzas were perhaps a little bigger than a dinner plate. The crust is very thin, but still chewy in the middle. It honestly could have been a little crisper on the outside. The toppings were excellent – not greasy, runny, or over/undercooked. And they tasted fresh and flavorful. Overall excellent.

For a side salad, we shared the Fresca Salad – basically spinach with slices of tomato and mozzarella around the outside – it needed a little salt, and will probably be better in June when better tomatoes are available.

Price
Good Price – a snooty pizza runs $7-8 bucks, and nothing over about $9. We made it out for $22 bucks, including a tip.

Service
Order at the counter, take your number card to your table, and your food is delivered surprisingly quickly to you. The line to order can get long, but moves really quickly – make sure you know what you want when you reach the register though – noticeable pressure to get ordered and out of the way fast. My diet coke ran out and would have never been noticed had we not flagged down a server to ask. But once we asked, they were quick to refill

Ambiance
See above.

But…
Being in the heart of Nob Hill, finding parking can be a bit tricky. If you want something else on the side of your pizza, be prepared to pay for a full, dinner sized salad. Not a place for privacy, mellowness, or quiet.

Yasmine’s Cafe in 20 words or less…
If you’re in the mood for something more exotic than hamburgers, head over to Yasmine’s for food you probably haven’t ever heard of!

Who
Eck and Grumble for dinner.

Overall Score
7

Variety/Style
Middle Eastern

How is this different from all the other restaurants in this category?
There’s adventure in the air when you walk into a restaurant and don’t understand most of the items on the menu. Plus, the dessert case is the best-stocked and most attractive of any of the Mediterranean restaurants we’ve been in lately.

Yasmine’s also seems to get the seal of approval from the people who ought to know - Albuquerque’s Middle Eastern population. When we’ve visited, we’ve often dined next to tables full of women in headdresses.

What we had
Grumble had lamb in a delicious homemade pita, along with a tomato and cucumber salad.
Eck had the Jerusalem Salad (salad made with tomato, cucumbers, lemon, and tahini), three great dolmas, and the entire pickle condiment (which he loved). Eck has experienced their gyros on past visits, and attests to their yumminess. He says they were packed with delicious meat.

We hear that they have the best shawermas in town.

Price
A little pricey, honestly. Appetizers start at just 35 cents, but the largest plates go up to $19.00! We got out for about $12.00, but neither of us got full meals or drinks.

Service
Order at the counter and pick up your food when they call your number.

Ambiance
The space is small and decorated with hookahs, colorful bags, and embellished stools (all for sale, of course!)

But…
Some of the items on the menu sounded super yummy, but we just couldn’t bust out $15.00 for dinner in a cafe with plastic plants.

Central Park Deli in 20 words or less…
Cute, small, and friendly with an impressively large and creative menu.

Who
Eck and Grumble for lunch.

Overall Score
7

Variety/Style
Casual Southwestern deli.

How is this different from all the other restaurants in this category?
The menu is much more creative than other delis we’ve visited.

What we had
Grumble had the Deli’s version of a Waldorf salad, complete with generous hunks fo yummy bleu cheese, huge walnuts, and cinnamon-sprinkled apples. The raspberry vinegarette was more sweet than Grumble usually likes her dressing, but it was a nice compliment to the musky, tangy blue cheese. Sadly, her plans to continue enjoying the salad for dinner were foiled by a few too many minutes in a hot car, which turned her leftovers into a wilted mess of lettuce and vinegar.

Eckleburg had the Italian sub, which he labelled “good, but not worth $8.” Nonetheless, he ate the entire thing.

Price
Moderate. Nothing on the menu exceeds $8.50, but almost nothing goes below $8.00, either.

Service
Like most delis, you order at the counter and they bring the food out to you. They leave you alone after that.

Ambiance
The space is creative but not overdone. It is situated near the lobby of the Silver Moon Lodge, but doesn’t feel busy or distracted. The big windows onto Central provide constant amusement - there’s always something interesting happening out there.

But…
Eck’s sandwich was a little too ordinary for it’s $8 price tag.

Who
Eck and Grumble for Grumble’s birthday.

Overall Score
9.5

Variety/Style
White tablecloth American food with French and Italian influences.

How is this different from all the other restaurants in this category?
They have a special section of “Flights” of wine – 3 1/3 full glasses of wine to try with dinner. A little more open, rather than intimate, but not as loud or crowded feeling as Scalo’s. Has a nice adjoining wine bar.

What we had
Bread basket – the best free bread basket ever. They give you 4-5 different types of bread, all of which were incredible. The give you an olive oil/balsamic vinegar/herb dipping sauce that I wanted to drink after the bread was gone.

Seared Ahi Tuna for starters, which was fantastic. It came with nice toasts, two types of olive garnish, and greens.

Grumble had the Scallops Wrapped in Prosciutto. They were delicious — perfectly cooked, and far from rubbery. They also accommodated a change request beautifully - instead of yellow wax beans, Grumble got tall broccoli and fingerling potatoes (and couldn’t tell that it was a substitution).

Eckleburg had duck, and it was the best duck (and one of the best meals) he has ever tasted. It was almost like several different duck dishes, as it came with a sauce, perfectly cooked baby bok choy, and a cherry garnish – so you could mix and match your duck with other tastes as you pleased – and all combinations were perfect.

Dessert – We shared a slice of brown sugar pound cake with fresh strawberries and a lemony sabayone (whipped-cream-like topping). It was good but not as good as everything else; Eck found the sabayone a bit tart, but Grumble thought it was a nice way to end the evening.

Price
Expensive. Our dinner entrées were $22 and $23, our appetizer $10, our "flights" of wine were $9 and $9.50 and dessert was about $7. Altogether, we spent about $95.00. Ouch! Good thing Grumble is worth it. Lunch is in the $8-$12 dollar range for entrees.

Service
Great service! They even have silver crumb scrappers to tidy your table after you’ve finished with your entrées. Waiters were in formal uniforms and were knowledgeable about wine (or convincing enough to fool us – which isn’t that hard). Service was a little slow, giving you a languorous time, but could annoy anybody under time pressure. It may have been an aberration, as we were seated at the same time as a large group.

Ambiance
A white-tableclothed small restaurant with reserved parking across the street. It is nicer on the inside than you would guess from the outside. They keep the light level up, and there are no booths, so this isn’t the place for super-intimate, candlight dinners. But it was definitely private and would be a great place to impress a date, or celebrate your honey’s special event (thanks for being born Grumble!), or for a high-flying business lunch/dinner. They also have nice art for sale on the walls.

But…
We only regret that we didn’t have enough tummy space to try the steamed artichoke. There’s always a next time!

Villa di Capo in 20 words or less…
Potential to be great, but slow service and so-so food make this old place more tired than classic.

Who
Eck and Grumble after a long day at work.

Overall Score
5.5 (We know! We’re sad too!)

Variety/Style
Italian

How is this different from all the other restaurants in this category?
They’ve been around for 50 years, they have a kitschy old building downtown, and they have a balcony.

What we had
Calamari for starters, which was slightly overdone and skimpy for the price.
Eck had Veal Parmesan, which was mediocre. The breading fell off the veal with a disappointing plop, revealing an overdone veal cutlet.
Grumble had the Vortellini, but was tired of the slow service and full of the half-assed house salad by the time it arrived.
We accidentally ordered garlic cheese bread, assuming that it came with the meal. We were disappointed to discover that this normally complimentary item wasn’t complimentary.

Price
Entrées were anywhere between $7-15 bucks, with the majority on the higher end.

Service
Service was sparse despite the fact that fellow diners were also sparse. After waiting too long for our diner to come out, we ended up heading to the front without our check because we were ready to leave.

Ambiance
This restaurant was once a grocery store in 1931, but there’s not hint of that now. Instead, the walls are covered in wood paneling, gold gilding, and paintings. The original pressed tin ceilings are nice to look at, and chandeliers hang everywhere.

Ragin’ Shrimp in 20 words or less…
Wow, this was really good food at a reasonable price. Just off Central. Entertainment book coupon.

Who
Eck, Grumble, and  Eck’s hip parents.

Overall Score
8

Category
Family

Variety/Style
Shrimp/Cajun

How is this different from all the other restaurants in this category?
They serve the only cajun food in town.

What we had
We tried a few different shrimp dishes – Cajun Shrimp, Curry Shrimp, and Jamaican Shrimp – all excellent. We also had the alligator appetizer, which was like chicken nuggets but with with alligator, and was totally awesome.

You can order your food as “Mild,” “Medium,” or “Hot,” which is always hard, since you don’t know what those terms mean at this restaurant. We all felt that their scale was on the milder side (even Grumble, who is a heat wimp by Duke City standards). So if you are torn between two levels, go for the hotter one.

Price
Entrées were around $8-13 bucks, and with our entertainment cards, even cheaper.

Service
A little sparse, and our food took a little longer than average, but overall quite decent. There was a big group in at the same time as us, so the might have just been unusually busy.

Ambiance
This restaurant used to be a house, and you can tell – but in a good way. They have art for sale on their walls, and the tables are well spaced. It’s not a particularly romantic setting, and you’re not going to impress any special someones here, but you’ll be quite comfortable.

But…
Grumble’s food was cold and had to be reheated. Ok, and technically this restaurant isn’t technically on Central – but is one street north of Central. But there really isn’t anything between it and Central, and we decided it was close enough – hey, its our blog, right!

According to Wikipedia, our Pop ‘N’ Tacos are actually former Pup ‘N’ Tacos (and thus rejected Taco Bells).
Pop ‘N’ Taco in 20 words or less…
Sure its local, but if you can’t taste better than Taco Bell, you got some problems.

Who
Eck and Grumble, a couple times.

Overall Score
2.5

Category
Cheap Fast Food

Variety/Style
Mexican

How is this different from all the other restaurants in this category?
This is a local/indi version of Taco Bell, but not as good.

What we had
We tried beef tacos, chicken tacos, burritos, nachos, and hotdogs.  All were quite mediocre.

Price
Cheap – but there are better values elsewhere.

Service
Fast Food.

Ambiance
Old, well-worn fast food.

But…
There was a super cute girl working there.

KFC in 20 words or less…
We tried, but we just don’t like KFC.  However, the people getting it on in the parking lot was a bonus!!

Who
Eck and Grumble, but Grumble denies eating anything except the biscuit.

Overall Score
3

Category
Fast Food

Variety/Style
Chicken

How is this different from all the other restaurants in this category?
This is one of those places that we go to every couple of months, thinking, “This time it will be different, this time we won’t be disappointed.” Every time, we seem to leave disappointed.

What we had
Fried Chicken, $.99 Buffalo Snackers, and a biscuit.  Just not good, except for the biscuit.

Price
Cheap – but there are better values.

Service
Fast Food.

Ambiance
As we were driving into the parking lot at 5:30pm on a Thursday, we noticed that there were people in one of the cars parked right next to the building. They had definitely got to at least 3rd base! This almost redeemed the restaurant for us. Almost.

But…
See above.

The Original Golden Pride in 20 words…
Definitely built during a different era – with an antique stove, wagon wheel chandeliers, and faded pictures. Food just like others.

Who
Eck and Grumble

Overall Score
A tentative 6.5, but we’re still deciding.

Category
Fast Food

Variety/Style
Chicken

How is this different from all the other restaurants in this category?
This fast food place is a little more decorated than other fast food places – they spent a little more time and money decorating it. We probably wouldn’t drive out of our way to go to this Golden Pride, but it is definitely our favorite.

What we had
Grumble had fried chicken, which is our favorite in town. Eck had the ribs, which where excellent. Definitely better than KFC.

Price
Cheap.

Service
Fast Food.

Ambiance
See above.

But…
It is obviously a well used restaurant – clean but  worn.

Delicias in 20 words or less…
We’re still making up our mind about Delicias - a small Mexican place with excellent chorizo breakfast burritos and mediocre enchiladas.

Who
Eck and Grumble

Overall Score
A tentative 5, but we’re still deciding.

Category
Diner

Variety/Style
Mexican

How is this different from all the other restaurants in this category?
Eckleburg was scolded for having bad manners for the first time in years by the cute old guy at this restaurant.  The man put two sets of silverware on the counter for us to take, and when Eck greedily took his set first, the man reminded him that of the “Ladies First” rules and made him put his silverware back until Grumble took hers. Grumble thought the old guy was adorable (and Eck needed some training).

What we had
Grumble had the chorizo breakfast burrito, which was big and delicious. Eck had chicken enchiladas, which he really didn’t like. He ended up stealing Grumble’s burrito and not letting her have any more of it – and vowing to do the same thing next time. This caused Grumble to kick Eck, and the adorable old man to agree that he deserved it. Eck didn’t feel bad, because he maintained possession of a yummy burrito.

Price
We thought it was a little expensive for what it was. $5-7ish for breakfast.

Service
Adorable old man—big plus. Adorable old man’s son – not a great waiter at all.

Ambiance
This is a hole-in-the-wall, straight-from-Mexico-feeling place. It is clean with handpainted wall murals and tables.

But…
Go for the chorizo burritos, but we’re not sure if there is anything else good here yet.