I don’t like the usually burnt coffee. I whine a bit about increasing prices. Sometimes I find myself the recipient of sporadically inept hands in the kitchen.

BUT.

Flying Star, like Ari LeVaux said in his recent Alibi article, is the “friend you hang out with all the time, even though you sometimes complain about him”. And like an old friend, a heck of a lot of people would miss Flying Star if it were missing from the local dining landscape.

NINE, count ‘em, nine locations. Gorgeous interior design. Local roasting that has upsized several times. Over nearly 25 years, the operation has both grown and refined itself, finding solid ground in serving what most people want, most of the time, at prices that are perfectly fine (mostly).

Remember that organic costs more. Imported butter for great pastries costs more. Local chicken costs more. And in the middle of a recession, everybody hurts. Raw ingredient costs are up at least 25% for restaurants in the last 4 years, yet menu costs are up under 10%. That means that even though it sucks to pay more, the restaurants are sucking it up, too, and that includes Flying Star.

This is roundabout way of me congratulating Ari for his article. He appreciates what Flying Star does, even with a few grumbles thrown in.

This week was Matt Rembe, owner-operator of Los Poblanos Inn and Cultural Center (not Los Poblanos Organics - that’s another entity, as I’ve been informed in the comments).  That’s a mouthful!  I’ve gotten weekly boxes from Los Poblanos Organics before from Monte Saarsgard and his bunch of talented crew.  Their produce has always been wonderful, even if they occasionally take flak for utilizing California as a source when locally grown options are thin.

The show should be up on the archives page by now – check back and listen at your leisure!  I recommend you listen while the show is live – you can comment, ask questions, or call in to be a participant.

After a quick talk with the owners of El Bruno’s Restaurante y Cantina in Cuba it is revealed that the original location of Garduno’s on 4th Street in Albuquerque will be the second location for the beloved El Bruno’s.

For years El Bruno’s has been a welcome stop for all who travel the 550 (formerly the 44) between Bernalillo and Chaco Canyon, Durango, and Farmington. The chile is pleasantly hot, the food FAST, and the atmosphere relaxing like the rest stop it should be. No, it is not the absolute killer best New Mexican I have ever had, but it is really really good and better than anyone could hope for on that stretch.

It will be interesting to see if having the restaurant so close by will make Cuba not as interesting, or if the food will change, or even if I will finally visit one of the forgotten restaurants in Cuba that are probably pretty good and horribly neglected all these years.

I ate at Perennials a while ago and it was fine.  That’s about all I have to say, sorry Harrises!

But any locally owned establishment that isn’t serving bad food is a good place to support and give your love and money to – the Chili’s and Outbacks of the world will do just fine.  Or not.  And that wouldn’t be horrible, either.

Calico Cafe is tucked up in the near north valley and offer some amazing comfort food and killer brownies, if you’re into that kind of thing.

Give it a whirl, and do your best to stay off KASA’s email spam list after that.  Heh heh.

Today I left the Los Ranchos farmers market with $200 worth of fishies – salmons of all kinds, from coho to silver to sockeye and some bellies thrown in for extra fatty goodness.  Brenna of the Fishhugger team is my hero and I have to admit that I do feel a little guilty each year when I come by and buy last year’s stuff at a seriously killer discount instead of pumping up her profits with fresh catch.

However, I did get about 2 pounds of fresh sockeye which will be used for sashimi – perfect texture and not too fatty for good mouthfeel.  A little bit of the sliced up bellies and all of the rest of the 23# or so is silver salmon from 2007, frozen rock-hard.

Brenna also handles dry ice with her bare hands, another hero-worthy behavior I’m not planning to emulate.

Desserts?  Now we’re talking!  Tonight, as it occurs monthly, is the PUDDING CLUB event at The Old House at Casa Vieja.  I can’t think of many more reasons to embrace your inner sugar fiend and cruise on up the scenic path to the North Valley and have some amazing sweets.

Here are the details – please call ahead!

(If you miss tonight, July’s event is set to be an all chocolate theme.)

An Albuquerquean by birthright, Francisco is currently a resident of the City Different, and so far I’m not holding it against him.

How can I, when he is taking up the torch to demonstrate to his city-dwellers that the Duke City has food worth eating and is not a cesspool of strip malls and freeways? Of course I can’t. He led a group this weekend to experience the comfort and panache of Gold Street Caffe, on the one day of the week they offer Southwestern Eggs Bennie, piquant with jalapenos and tasting of fine butter.

We talked about the great hole in the wall places around Albuquerque,  from tacos to burgers and everything in between, plotting to draw all Santa Feans down here for gustatory revelry.

He had not, however, been acquainted with Sophia’s Place, and that is what I present here, in photos as well as previous reviews by both myself and other food writers. Enjoy, my friend!

Gil Garduno’s write up

Duke City Fix column from 2006

ABQ Journal review (if the link is broken, I hope to have another copy of it available ASAP!)

Alibi (Jennifer Wohletz)

Kenny and Brenna spend their winters in Phoenix, but one of the sure signs of spring in Albuquerque is the start-up of the first couple growers’ markets and Brenna herself, toting a young one or two.

By this time, Kenny is preparing for his summer fishing season, so he’ll be around just for a short while. Catch them both this Saturday the 17th at the Los Ranchos Growers Market.

On the menu? Wild Salmon and NM Grassfed Beef along with local, in-season greens. Live music is a feature at the market, for those so enticed (me, not so much…). Market details as follows (click for a Google map):

Los Ranchos Growers Market
6718 Rio Grande Blvd NW, Los Ranchos NM
Sat. May 17, 7-11am