Sadie's — Restaurant in Albuquerque

I'll start with the Guacamole salad, it's was very pleasantly simple. Not a bunch of extra ingredients (like salsa), so it complimented entrees well. Now the Silver Coin Margarita was very much worth the $12. No watered down drinks here! Honest bartenders with knowledge of their spirits. I'm not one for sweet Margaritas, but the Prickly Pear was enjoyable. Nicely balanced, not overly sweet. Now for the entrees... well, this is where I lost my faith in having a great and enjoyable dining experience. It went to an acceptable dining experience... I went with something I had hoped to be "safe" and a good way to get a feel for the place. (After being raised by a Hispanic lady from Guadalajara as my nanny, I have my expectations). I ordered Sadie's Tacos~Chicken. Grilled corn tortillas with shredded chicken. You can add lettuce, tomatoes, etc., but I kept my traditional with meat and cheese. The chicken was quite dry. I was very disappointed. But did there flavor make up for the dryness? Unfortunately not. Should have added some chicken broth, or green chili when cooking; not just salt. Sorry, but a let down, not to mention they had entirely too much cheese (more isn't always better). The tortillas were grilled perfect however! Now they serve entrees with papitas (small fried diced potatoes) rather than rice, and beans. The beans were well cooked, but the cheddar cheese that lay on top covered the flavor... anyone for cheddar flavored pinto beans? Notice I didn't mention how the papitas tasted? Well, they're fried potatoes... All in all, not a bad meal. It was edible and I enjoyed the drinks, but I have enjoyed better food. Sorry. I just try to keep it real. *Side Note: I forgot to get as picture of my plate served, but the picture shows 1 of the 2 tacos plus the enormous...

Sadie's should be in your top 5 list of places to go while in Albuquerque. As 'authentic' as it gets, the vibe and food is all New Mexico has to offer. Generous portions of everything, lots of chips and salsa while waiting (not long) for our food, and great service should be expected when you visit any Sadie's location, from my experience. My last visit was no exception. It was a 'business lunch' among 5 of us over margaritas, a Burqueno tradition. There are too many 'listed' margs to put here, but there's a take for everyone to enjoy while crunching on fresh house-made chips and salsa - which you can also buy in to-go tubs, something locals take advantage of - they say to me "salsa is soup". My plate of enchiladas was just about as full as it could get, with juicy chicken and spicy sauce and just the right amount of cheese making for a very large lunch. But it's basically expected that you'll take something home with you, and they even give you small cups for the salsa if you want to take some home. We left with literal bags of food. I was quite tempted to take some sopapillas home with me but managed to resist the call of fried dough. On this afternoon, I won that battle. We took our time and enjoyed several rounds of margs while eating far, far too much for lunch, and the service was great from start to finish. They knew when to let us chat and cleared the table quickly and were just on point. They were fairly busy, so it's not like they were standing around either. The place had a decent buzz by the time we left almost 2 hours later, with a casual crowd that was as diverse as ABQ gets. This is the kind of place you go with your family, friends and business partners, future spouses, etc. to eat a nice dinner in a decent place without...

Oh, Sadie’s… bless your heart. I came in ready to be wowed—ready to have my taste buds whisked away on a magical red and green chile-laced adventure through the heart of Albuquerque. What I got instead was… a masterclass in mediocrity, served with a side of “wait, is this it?”

Let’s start with the combo plate. You’d think that a place with legendary status would use it to showcase the best of their best. Instead, it tasted like a sampler platter from the “just okay” aisle of a grocery store. Bland beans? Check. Rice that gave up halfway through cooking? Oh absolutely. Enchiladas that looked like they partied too hard the night before and just couldn’t bring the heat? You bet.

And then there was the chicken birria—which I was excited about until it arrived and basically whispered, “Hey, I’m here to let you down gently.” It had all the depth of flavor of a wet paper towel. No kick. No richness. Just some very confused chicken wondering why it had been dragged into this.

Now don’t get me wrong, the staff was friendly, and the portions were large—like comically large. But when your claim to fame is “huge plates of food,” I expect more than cafeteria-level flavor in bulk.

So why does everyone in Albuquerque swear by Sadie’s? I don’t know—maybe it’s nostalgia, maybe it’s Stockholm Syndrome, or maybe they just haven’t ventured beyond a 10-mile radius in a while. But if we’re talking straight flavor? Sadie’s isn’t bad… it’s just aggressively fine. Like a blind date who’s polite but makes you miss your couch.

Will I be back? Probably not. But hey, thanks for the free salsa and existential...