On the menu one of the items listed is a Bruschetta, and I noted that the bread is house made, “Tuscan style”.  I remember having mussels at Vivace some time ago and nearly being unable to stop eating the lusciously grilled hunks of bread that rimmed the brothy bowl.  Now I see why I was hooked – bread made by someone who knows what the heck they are doing is a wonderful thing, especially then when it is drizzled with good olive oil and marked by the grill.

Maybe I need to go back and have more of it….

I noticed when it occurred and wondered why I didn’t visit the cozy little spot more often.  Sometimes I hit Mannie’s instead, but Loyola’s was also one of those places that made you feel almost like a regular even if you were not.

Someone who went there as often as I would have liked to was a fantastic writer on Duke City Fix who goes by “Masshole in Fringecrest”, and he wrote a poetic tribute to Loyola and her legacy.

Enjoy.

For example, calling JJ101 can be tricky.  Sometimes they don’t answer.  Sometimes the VM box is full. 

A much larger problem comes from their webpage.  It was dead in the water for nearly 10 months showing just a teaser banner, and now has “stuff” on it - but it is ALL images!  Guess what that means for their browseability on my smartphone?  Impossible to click on their phone number and call them, that’s for sure.  Hard for Google to index them, as well.  It means that my blog post from 11 months ago about them ranks #3.  That’s suicide in this era of “surfing the net for dinner”.

That being said, when it comes to the actual restaurant mechanics, they can do no wrong.  Wonderful food, friendly people, inventive flavors….  absolutely heaven.

And so, I post their weekend specials here now and then, mostly when I get around to it.  But please, ya’ll – fix that darn website!

WEEKEND SPECIALS 2/6–2/7
(subject to availability and change)
roasted atlantic monkfish (poorman’s lobster) in an aromatic tomato-saffron broth
topped w/ gremolata
grilled lamb tenderloin over whipped garbanzos, fried cauliflower tossed w/ fresh turmeric, dilled yogurt
sutcliff signature merlot–sexy & smooth
sutcliff chardonnay–slightly nutty and food friendly
chocolate pudding shots
british sticky toffee pudding

please call 884-3860 to reserve

Call to grab a seat and have a fantastic family-style meal with wine and probably more pig than you’ve et in quite some time.  The menu is below, call 884-3860 for a reservation and come hungry!

Tuesday:: Bacon, Glorious Bacon (today)  $35 +tax +grat  6pm  Seats left!!

Bacon-popped popcorn

JJ’s darn-near-world-famous Deviled eggs w/ sweet & spicy bacon

Bacon-wrapped blue cheese-stuffed figs

Classic B(acon)LT sandwiches

Bacon mac&cheese

Spinach w/ bacon vinaigrette

Swedish bacon fat cookies

Bacon & chocolate chip ice cream

Daily Lobo feature about forbidden hot dog dude

Scram, hot dog man!  I admit I have not eaten a vendor cart hot dog in Albuquerque.  Time to change that?

Ecco Espresso and Gelato

Now, I’m not saying that I’ve found the holy grail of espresso here in town, or that there even is one.  I give you as example that our bar of expectation is not yet high enough, a photo of a working “joe” having his morning beverage with rounded fingers barely able to grip the tiny cup and a portly wallet ready to throw a fiver on the counter:

…and then, let’s zoom out to take in the whole scene so that you can feel the seriousness that is espresso at 7:50am on a weekday in Manhattan:

Now, this is a place where it is all about the delivery of a premium product with lightning-fast service, perfection of skills, and style to boot.

Each and every one of the employees looked like they had been doing this for years, each wore a button down light blue shirt with a tie tucked in halfway so as to convey both formality and function as they darted up and down the 40′ space delivering hot brown beverages to customers who sipped and gulped them down standing up before heading to their train.

No to-go orders here, no chairs, no wifi, no music.  Just pure efficiency and a rigorous adherance to what they know to be holy and good:  ground fermented roasted berries assaulted with pressurized steam served in heated porcelain cups.

Capisce?

I am a huge fan of gin, mellow, strong, pungent, aromatic, everything.  But when I have a drink called simply, “The Collins” (at Nob Hill Bar & Grill), I hope to have some nice junipery flavor and a good kick from the alcohol.  Unfortunately, I got neither. 

Perhaps I’ll stick with a straight gin martini or just go for a more over-the-top drink like the the Ginger Refresher, with 3 kinds of ginger and bourbon.  Mmmm, ginger.

I could just have a flower, enjoy it, sip it and be done, of course, though the macchiatto was delicious.  I had to follow it up (short shelf life, ya know…) with some quickly softening and strong like it should be rum raisin gelato.  Sampling about 5 flavors like zabaglione, plum sake, ginger lime from the awesome list of choices, I finally decided on one of my old favorites, though Haagen Dazs does do a really fabulous and strong example of it.  Gelato is just much cleaner in flavor, not heavy or tongue-coating like the cream in ice cream.  I wonder if there’s a rum raisin “light” in the HD line… hmm.

Anyway, I definitely had to drink the espresso first.  Because I have my priorities, of course.  Coffee over gelato?  Actually, yes.  When its done really well, it can blow your mind.  And even if its just good, it is still comforting in a way that cold sweet things just can’t be.

Trust in your chef is a grand thing – just know that whatever Jennifer and Nellie are going to cook, it will be awesome, no matter what it is.  I love that.

Here’s the email I received this week from them:

Bacon, meet Donut. Maple, meet Bacon. Now, you kids don’t get into too much trouble, you hear? Hey, hey, keep your crispy fried crust away from cold homemade ice cream! It might drip as it melts, leaving wisps of steam to escape into the fragrant air all around the plate.

Uh-oh. Looks like Deb the amazing pastry chef has orchestrated a most unholy melange of a dessert, called the Maple Bacon Donut, hopefully a permanent resident at Nob Hill Bar & Grill. To add compliment to curiosity it goes for the phenomenal bargain of five bucks. Doesn’t a molten crapola cake at some Italian chain restaurant go for the same price? I rest my case.