The Honey Baked Ham Company — Restaurant in Albuquerque

I went here to get a ham last minute because Cracker Barrel did not honor its advertised promise to cater through Christmas day and was out of food by the 22nd of December. I live paycheck to paycheck like most people, I tried 3 stores before ending up at this place, which I had never heard of. I'm glad I went. However, the meat itself was excellent. I got the turkey and the ham. It comes smoked so you don't have to cook it. Technically, you don't even have to heat it up. You can serve it cold or room temperature because it's already cooked and it's cooked very thoroughly. The glaze and the cutting were perfect. It's the first of January, and I'm still making turkey sandwiches to get through the last of what we have.

The meal I got came with 4 sides. The sides aren't anything special. They're good, don't get me wrong. They're basically fancy TV dinner casseroles. Picture like Marie Calenders family sized Mac n cheese, mashed potatoes, etc, but more fancy and a little smaller. It was enough for everyone at our small get-together to have a nice plate and some leftovers. The meats stole the show for sure.

So it's great if you want to have some meat and stuff for the holiday, there's no reason to cook your own ham or turkey when you can buy them already cooked and probably better than you'd make it anyway. Unless you have your own smoker, I'd highly recommend buying the ham and turkey for whatever occasion, but probably skipping on the sides and making your own. The sides are where you have fun cooking anyway, so I think that'll be a smarter way to do it next time.

I wasn't too impressed with the service and the kind of employees they have. Some of them looked like they were recruited fresh from the county jail. I'm talking, tattoos on necks. And not even the men. It was the woman at the register! Not exactly screaming "holiday spirit," but I digress. The service itself wasn't bad, just mediocre. A lack of eye contact, leaning on the counter, low talking, low energy, that type of thing. It also wasn't explained to me why the same food I ordered online cost an extra ten dollars when I went to the store to pick it up. To be fair online, there is a warning (after you pay) that says the final price may be different when you show up. I thought, okay, maybe local taxes or whatever. No, it was just ten dollars more expensive. Absolutely no explanation on that, on the receipt or by the staff who didn't know.

I'd enjoyed the food itself, and that's what's really holding up the review. Because I didn't have to stick around and eat there, I can accept that service and atmosphere aren't the...

Unfortunately this is not a good review for this holiday. I had pre-ordered a turkey for the Sunday following thanksgiving. I received a confirmation email and felt set for our family celebration. I went in on the Friday before per the instructions only to find they did not have any turkeys and would not be getting any. Now I understand things happen and if I would have been notified this was happening, I could have made other arrangements. My gripe is that I was not notified and at the very least, told it may not happen. I was asking this exact question when I went in, but one of the workers, not sure if manager or not, got real short and rude with me. They wanted to basically sweep it under the rug and offer a gift card. I did not accept. Anyway, I’ll think twice going these based on the lack of communication...

I have bought ham in this store several times, and it's always good. Yesterday I tried the Original Ham sandwich, and a caramel apple walnut pie. The sandwich was great (5 stars) - I must remember next time to specify mustard as my condiment. Yes, I know, mustard is for roast beef, mayo is for ham. But I don't like mayo, and I do like mustard. It goes on all my fast food burgers and sandwiches.

The pie, although it was extremely tasty, like most commercial pies, it's a LOT more crust than apple. I wish pie makers would get that right. Believe me, we notice when you don't. So three stars for the pie, giving a 4-star rating overall.

I will continue to get ham from here, though....