Review: Slate Street Cafe - Albuquerque, New Mexico

 

I first discovered Slate Street Cafe when I worked in downtown Albuquerque. I always loved the food, and the atmosphere, and the cupcakes.

M and I had one of our first dates here. It was one of those magical dates where no one in the restaurant existed except for us. I'll always remember that lunch as one of the best dates that we ever had together, and always have a soft spot for Slate Street. Cheese ball city, I know...but it happened!

Another reason I have a soft spot for this place is because, a few years back I made the owners wedding invitations. They were a super hip and contemporary design that remind me a lot of the style of the restaurant.

We hadn't been back in awhile, so when he was here last week we decided to hit it up. It was no surprise that the experience was just as good as the times we had dined here before. We were seated right away, which was nice. We arrived around 12:30, and totally missed the usual lunch crowd and wait. 

I was starving, so I convinced M that we needed the housemade potato chips with sea salt and green onion dip to start. Delicious! They were fried to a golden perfection and crunchy and salty, just like I like 'em. For lunch I had the brown bag fish and chips. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this dish. I have had it the majority of the times I've visited. The fish and chips are actually served in a brown bag and the fish is not your usually cod, it's dark beer battered salmon!!! You get a huge portion, served with housemade chips. I always substitute the chips for fries though and since we pigged out on chips for an appetizer, I thought it was the better choice. A housemade lemon basil tartar sauce accompanies the dish, as well as several slices of lemon. 

M ordered the  mushroom & provolone mac & cheese with a grilled chicken breast. It was all baked together in his own little casserole dish and was a accompanied by a huge Parmesan Brittle. It was delicious too! The has a thick and creamy sauce. There was a ton on mushrooms, and a ton of chicken too.

It was so sad, in the end we decided not to get a cupcake or any dessert for that matter. We were just too full, which is a good thing right? Oh well, it leaves us something to look forward to next time...I know for sure that there will a next time. I love the cool ultra hip atmosphere and the great food. We'll have to check out the dinner and brunch sometime, so that gives us something to look forward to. I heard brunch was amazing. I'm crazy about eating out for breakfast though, I don't like to do it unless I'm traveling. Weird right?