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Rubens is a hole in the wall, and like most holes in the wall, it's excellent.
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Originally Posted by ksbyndsea
Oh my god, the tacos at Reubens are to die for!
Wow, I am glad to see some more love for Ruben's here!!
I started hitting Ruben's not terribly long after he opened (I saw on his windows that he advertised gorditas, and unlike Dog-E's stuff at TBell, I am always a *huge* fan of real, authentic gorditas which are sometimes hard to find in ABQ) and instantly was hooked. I LOVED Ruben's. I am glad to hear that his place is still alive and doing well. He cooks there constantly, and he cooks so good.
My wife, daughter, and I went there so frequently, that my daughter started calling Ruben's the "cactus restaurant" due to the cactus pictured on the sign. Ahhhh...I miss Ruben's. Definitely a good call for real *Mexican* food (like you'd eat in Juarez or Chihuahua City - not NEW Mexican cuisine).
Come on now though, that isn't even close to real Mexican cuisine. That is fast food SoCal-Mex. I mean, it is okay, but it is in the same caliber in my opinion as like a Chipoltle by our good folks at McDonalds. Fine enough for good quick semi-Mexican fast food, but certainly overrated.
You can do much, much better than BF in ABQ, but again, BF isn't even what I would term "Mexican food"...it is more San Diego's twist on Tex-Mex, fast food style.
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Originally Posted by Dog-E-Dog
I have been to Bumblebees and thought that was great for fast food.
Bumblebee's *is* good, however, it is again more in the mold somewhat of that whole Baja Fresh concept. It is more based around fish tacos, etc., more of a Baja / SoCal Mexican fast food concept.
Actually, I far prefer the Bee to Baja F., but to me the B is a bit overpriced even and not as authentic to real true Mexican food that I would like.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dog-E-Dog
I tried a few in Sante Fe, Tomasitos and Blue Corn. I was told Tomasitos was the greatest....it was fair. Blue Corn was decent.
Yeah, see, like Blue Corn is a great brewpub that does have very good New Mexican (not Mexican) dishes, if you want *real* Mexican food in the City Different, go to Los Portrillos on Cerillos Rd. Trust me, you won't be disappointed. Eat some gorditas to LP...good gracious you'll never want to sample TBell's "gorditas" again! Also, hit up Mariscos La Playa...the Mexican seafood there (true, genuine Mexican cooking) will put to shame even Bumblebee's (as much as I do like the Bee).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dog-E-Dog
I probably have a lot to learn about the difference in New Mexican, Mexican and Tex Mex.
Tex Mex, outside of maybe a chain or two, doesn't exist in ABQ. ABQ's cuisine is proudly based primarily around NEW MEXICAN cuisine...filled with chile, sopapillas, and the like. ABQ though also has a tremendously underrated unbelievably good Mexican scene too. For Tex Mex, head straight to San Antonio!
That is fast food SoCal-Mex. I mean, it is okay, but it is in the same caliber in my opinion as like a Chipoltle by our good folks at McDonalds.
I was with you in the semi-condemnation of Baja Fresh, until you compared it to Chipotle. Blech! Chipotle is a bland gimmick and, compared to it, Baja Fresh is high cuisine. It at least has some flavor and does a serviceable job at approximating Baja Mexican cuisine. One thing about Baja Fresh, though. It'll send you to the bathroom quicker than anything I've ever eaten (and I've eaten at some pretty shady taquerias in my time).
As for the original post, I haven't yet had Mexican food that I really thought was excellent in ABQ yet, but then I haven't eaten at the places listed here. I can't wait to try them!
I am sure I am going to get beat up over this but I just moved to ABQ from Tampa and have a big problem. I am not impressed with the selection of Mexican Food. It's probably my fault, maybe I am just use to the TexMex you get in Florida. Is it possible that the Mexican Food is better in Florida. I can get a couple of gorditas from taco bell and it would tasted better than some of the places recommened in these forums. Don't diss taco bells gorditas.
What am I missing? I guess TexMex and Mexican food are completely differenent huh?
What do you all suggest.... I know...move back to Florida. Seriously though? Any help?
I think for real Mexican food, you have to go to Mexico -- but it's obviously not all the same there either, there are regional variations and of course just different kinds of restaurants and everyone doesn't eat tacos and gorditas all the time. If the customers all look like they'd run if you shouted "la migra" and there aren't many Americans then it's probably the most authentic Mexican food -- which can be just a fairly simple inexpensive honest-to-good kind of meal.
Otherwise just keep trying lots of places and find the ones you like best, even if they're taco bell, if you like the food then that's what really matters. I think some of the best stuff is in the hole-in-the wall diners, or mom-and-pop kind of diners.
Otherwise just keep trying lots of places and find the ones you like best, even if they're taco bell, if you like the food then that's what really matters. I think some of the best stuff is in the hole-in-the wall diners, or mom-and-pop kind of diners.
Now malamute has it right. Each of us have our 'Special Places', thank God we don't all like the same place. Can you imagine how dull things would be.
I can't wait till 2012 when we will move to ABQ so I/we can do just what malamute recommended, try them all till I/we get a list of "MY PLACES". I doubt if we will all enjoy the same place, but that is alright
Dog, Most of what you listed in your post were chain restaurants which, while good, are nothing compared to smaller, non-chain restaurants. I agree with j760 - the food is never as good as where you came from. Originally from TX - for me there is no Mexican food like the Tex-Mex served there. But New Mexican cuisine certainly has its place and I am anxious to get moved and try it all.
When we first moved to the Seattle area we thought we'd NEVER like any of the "Mexican" food places up here - but we've adjusted and have now found several - despite their the overuse of cilantro.
Keep trying different places and different dishes - Taco Bell, Taco Bueno are fine for fast food but do keep trying the 'sit-down' restaurants, your taste-buds will adjust.
Don't be upset, OP, but I find this discussion highly amusing. One of MY pet peeves when I lived in Tampa was I couldn't find any decent Mexican food! Don Pablo's was the only Tex-Mex place in town; everything else labeled "Mexican" was really Cuban. But then, I moved to FL from the southwest (TX & AZ), so my expectations were different. I think once you know what to expect, you'll find you like New Mex cuisine (but you'll still miss Tex-Mex & traditional Mex, I know I do).
But I'm still chuckling
PS: Taco Bueno & Taco Cabana are so much better than Taco Bell!
IMHO - Taco Hell and Mexican food should not be used in the same sentence.
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Viva Ruben's!!
Also, hit up Mariscos La Playa...the Mexican seafood there (true, genuine Mexican cooking) will put to shame even Bumblebee's (as much as I do like the Bee). 
Each of us have our 'Special Places', thank God we don't all like the same place. Can you imagine how dull things would be. 
