Little known fact (or relatively little known fact, or maybe everyone knew this but me): Monroe’s (6051 Osuna Rd. NE, Albuquerque) is open for breakfast! Yes! Having discovered this fact recently, I decided to visit them for my first run at the Huevos Rancheros Smackdown. To set the stage, I plan to use the same basic parameters when ordering my Huevos at every stop, just to make sure everything starts at the same level. Specifically, I’ll be ordering Huevos on a flour tortilla, with red chile and (non-traditional) sour cream on the side, eggs over medium. I’ll then evaluate the meal on options, ambiance, flavor, presentation, and value.
So, how did Monroe’s stack up in these areas?
Options – By ordering the Super Huevos, I was able to get my Huevos just the way I wanted, without paying extra for anything but the sour cream. Out of the box, the meal came with two eggs on a flour tortilla, with refried beans, potatoes, and a liberal coating of red chile and cheese. I was offered my choice of tortilla, toast, or sopapilla for a side. I went with the sopa… just because… well Sopas! So, A for Options.
Ambiance – Now, I perhaps have a different concept of ambiance than some folks. I like to feel comfortable when I eat out. This kind of precludes the hoity-toity places that charge a fortune for a
lettuce leaf and serve everything with a complementary side of snobbery. I don’t mind getting fancy now and then, but the fanciness had better be wrapped up in a healthy layer of cordiality and kindness. That said, I have to admit I really like Monroe’s on Osuna, just as a great place for comfort food. The decor is nice but not all that fancy, the menu is fairly traditional, but the waitstaff is super friendly and everyone is always pleasant, not to mention efficient. When you’re a woman dining alone, this is kind of a big deal. And when I have a friend with me, as I did today, I like the fact that I’m able to carry on a conversation in the restaurant without any difficulty hearing or being heard. So just off the top I give Monroe’s an A for Ambiance.
Flavor – Again, I have an existing passion for Monroe’s red chile, so I’m perhaps a bit prejudiced here. The red chile they use on their Huevos has pork in it, but the server asks up front if you’re comfortable eating meat. Since I’m a Protestant carnivore, the pork wasn’t an issue, but I appreciated the courtesy. And the pork did add a nice taste to the chile without overwhelming it. In addition to the great chile, the potatoes had a very pleasant smokey bacony flavor. Again, not something that would appeal to a vegetarian, but I really liked the flavor. The beans were tasty, and the eggs were… you know, eggs. Overall, the meal tasted great, so (at the risk of being boring) I’m going with another A for Flavor.
Presentation – Hm… here’s where I’m going to be a bit more severe. Now Huevos are always going to be a bit of a mess on the plate; that’s part of their charm. But notice how the tortilla is folded in half under the eggs. So if you want to get all that tatery-beany goodness on the tortilla, without ordering a side of tortilla, you need to kind of flip your plate around and… well, it’s not really easy. Believe me, I tried. Also, the potatoes look overdone. They aren’t really… just pleasantly crispy… but the appearance is kind of… off-putting. The real problem I had with the presentation, though, was the eggs. I requested over medium because I’m not fond of runny egg whites. But… there they were when I cut into the egg… all runny and gooey. The eggs were edible… I’m not a fanatic about this. But, I do prefer the whites done. In all fairness, maybe I should have told the server “over medium so the white is done” but I kind of assumed that over medium implied cooked egg white by definition. Anyway, the combination of issues brings my score down to C for Presentation.
Value – Rather than assigning a letter grade here, I’m going to look at number of servings for the price. At Monroe’s the Super Huevos go for $7.95… a very, very reasonable price these days. I was able to split the dish and take home half without feeling the least bit deprived at breakfast. Juniper was a bit disappointed that she couldn’t stuff herself cross-eyed on the left overs, but the meal still yielded a respectable two meals for just under $8, with another $1 for the sour cream. I could have gotten chips and salsa to go with this, just for the asking. But somehow it seemed weird to have chips at 9 am (and the feed-me-anything college student still lurking way down deep inside of me can’t believe I just wrote that last sentence).
Overall impression – Good Huevos, great chile. If I order the Super Huevos again, though, I’m going to be more specific about how I want my eggs done, and I’ll probably go with a tortilla on the side, just to balance the plate out. And maybe I’ll ask for extra sauce on the side. Who knows?
Next week… I think I’ll try Weck’s on Louisiana.