TIA B’S LA WAFFLERIA IS YOUR NEW FAVORITE BREAKFAST SPOT

frenchish

Sometimes, brunch calls for something a little lighter—although one might wonder if bacon and brie in a crepe is “lighter,” but we won’t tell. Try the spinach crêpe ($14) that makes you feel like you’re being good. It’s topped off with a drizzle of crème fraîche, so you’ll feel just a little French-ish.

frenchish

3509 Central Ave NE Neighborhood: Nob Hill Category: Eatery Phone: (505) 433-5911 $$

Limonata Cafe

Tucked behind the hustle and bustle of Central Ave. is a sweet little row of shops and cafes on Silver Street. Limonata Cafe is one of those spots, and they have a damn good cup of coffee. Also, amazing fruit and homemade whipped cream toppedwaffles for your sweet spot.

Limonata

3222 Silver Ave SE Neighborhood: Nob Hill Category: Cafe Phone: (505) 266-0607 $$

EatABQ

The Foodie’s Guide to the Duke City

Tia B’s La Waffleria Is Your New Favorite Breakfast Spot

They Serve Up Waffles For Any Mood

CADE GUERERRO

CADE@ABQ.NEWS

One of the tastiest waffle shacks in New Mexico, Tia B’s Waffleria has been serving Albuquerque a slappin’ breakfast menu for some time. A little shack resting in the heart of Nob Hill, this little adobe house has been converted into one of the best breakfast and lunch spots in town. If you haven’t heard about it yet, now you’ve been warned. Word will eventually catch your ear, telling you that you need to try their fluffy, delicious and creative waffle menu. Tia B’s has suffered like any restaurant during the pandemic, but their losses are few and far between. The restaurant switched up the menu to sustain during the hard times. They balanced the gain and loss of their profit margins. The one determining factor was the loss in staff. After losing their general manager, it forced Executive Chef Jeremy Jordanian to step up from behind the kitchen and control the front of the house as well. “Since our menu really wasn’t made for takeout, I had to buckle down and figure out how to adapt to the new climate,” Jordanian explains. “We shut down for a month, put in a walk-up window and worked off the hip to figure out what worked and what didn’t. After the front house manager didn’t show up, it was a bit of a learning curve, but my cooks stepped up to the plate and helped Tia B’s keep its traction.” And, boy, is this true. During the pandemic, I made my way up to the newly constructed walk-up menu to grab my favorite dish, The Elvis ($9). Jordanian trained the cooks on how to continue the Tia B’s consistency of waffle preparation. My Elvis waffle was perfectly made. Beautifully topped with bananas, bacon and peanut butter sauce, it made the boxed entree look like a five-star packaged delight. As Jordanian remains in full control of Tia B’s daily operations, he seeks to get as creative as possible with the future of the Albuquerque staple. “We got some things in the works, especially with springtime rolling around,” Jordanian says. “We got some cool ideas, some different items we may be featuring soon, but now we are focusing on opening to our original hours again.” If you get a hankering for sweet or savory waffles with unique toppings, seek the Albuquerque waffle king. Check out waffles featuring more of a spice such as the Rancheros Waffle ($9.50) or a waffle that tastes like home cooking like the Biscuit and Gravy Waffle ($9.50), Tia B’s gives you a range of mouth-watering breakfast dishes—oh, if you’re looking to avoid the gluten, all of these dishes have the option to be free of the “g.” Stop by, grab a bite and make sure to tell say “hi” to the kitchen staff. I’m sure they would love to see you smile as you take your first bite of homemade goodness.

Tia B’s Waffleria

3710 Campus Blvd NE Neighborhood: Nob Hill Category: American Phone: (505) 492-2007 $$

EatABQ

The Foodie’s Guide to the Duke City

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

Devilishly Rich Ramen Rules at Oni

Japanese Inspired, New Mexico Flavored

($7.50), the beef croquettes ($7), the shoyu ramen ($13) and their weekly special: red shrimp ramen ($16). While waiting, we peered inside the slick new restaurant that Linver hopes to open up properly in the coming months. A stylish wooden bar runs along the walls under the windows with stools underneath, resembling a spread-out version of a classic ramen shop in Japan. On one side of the bar is a small selection of cassette tapes and vinyl records for sale; above it runs a black-and-white painted mural of all manner of people wearing onistylized demon masks and sipping sake. We got our order in just 10 minutes. Five minutes later, after rushing home, we dug into appetizers that were still nice and hot. The pork dumplings, as we’d been told when ordering, were not Japanese-style gyoza; these boiled dumplings were more Chinese in nature. While not exactly a substantial serving, they were quite porky and packed a spicy punch, as they were literally swimming in chile oil. The beef croquettes were interesting. While they did not have the crunchy-outside/fluffy-inside that the Japanese value, they were intensely savory, filled with shredded and mouth-meltingly tender, locally-raised, grass-fed beef. The accompanying homemade “bulldog” tonkatsu sauce packs a huge kick of ginger, cutting through the grease of the deep-fried croquette. And the ramen? I started with the classic shoyu style. Raising the bowl for my first slurp (you get more flavor!) of broth, I got an intensely smoky aroma. The first taste confirmed it: The broth was salty, smoky and didn’t pull any punches! In fact, it had so much smoke on it that it conjured up Texan BBQ. The noodles were more cooked—and therefore softer—than you’d find in Tokyo, but they worked well with the char siu pork (which also was a far cry from the classic version, as was the egg, poached in water instead of the semi-hardboiled in soy sauce and mirin version that a more traditional place would employ). The addition of slightly-charred cabbage and asparagus worked perfectly with this smokebomb of a ramen bowl. The red shrimp special, up next, looked killer. Each shrimp was encrusted in chile pepper, shredded nori and both black and white sesame seeds. The broth was packaged separately to reheat as needed and pour over the noodles, veg and protein. I was floored when I opened the broth. It looked like a deep-red birria consome! But the aroma was complex, the notes of N.M. red chile resting on a heavy dose of ginger with a rich stock lurking below. Charred cabbage, sauteed snap peas and fresh leeks provided a nice light counterbalance to the fiercely heavy broth and somewhat mushy noodles; I’m not so clear on what role the reconstituted shiitake serves here. But the shrimp were the real star. Oni has shown their stuff by taking quality wild red shrimp and pairing them perfectly with their unique and perfectly-spiced red chile shio tare seasoning. While considering our order, I had asked my girlfriend, who is Korean American, if we should try a side of their Kimchi (a Korean preparation of fermented cabbage). She argued that serving a Korean dish at a “Japanese-inspired” place owned by non-Asians was “doubly colonial minded,” as the Japanese had committed numerous atrocities in Korea while ruling over those lands in the not-sodistant past. And, in the context of the most recent antiAsian violence, in our nation, we discussed the myriad issues with purchasing “Asian” (albeit “inspired”) food from non-Asians during this pandemic, when so many AsianAmerican dining establishments in the U.S. have been forced to close due to a mix of COVID precautions and racism certainly fueled by comments from the ex-president. It was a conversation worth having. My take on Oni: If you want authentic, quality Japanese Ramen please go eat at Magokoro. However, for fresh and novel approaches that undeniably celebrate local flavors and farmers, hit up Oni Downtown— and either way do not forget to slurp that broth for the full flavor experience.

Oni

600 Central Ave. SW (505) 503-6722 Neighborhood: Downtown Cuisine: Japanese Inspired Hours: Patio seating Wed. to Sat. 4-8pm; takeout window Wed. to Fri. 11:30am-8pm and Sat. 4-8pm Cost: $$