Albuquerque, New Mexico probably is not the first town that leaps to mind when you savor thoughts of fabulous, indigenous, American cuisine, but it should be. Throughout this capital of Native American-Mexican-Spanish-American cultures is enough interesting and tasty grub to keep your palate interested and over-heated for weeks. And from a recent visit (my second in a year), I can confidently pronounce the food every bit as tasty as that in Santa Fe, an hour to the north, and much less expensive.

Here is the article on Albuquerque published today in John Mariani’s The Virtual Gourmet, or continue to the next page to read the text in the ELV format. Either way, you’ll want to hop a Southwestern flight to ABQ immediately for some bowls of green, red, posole, and a green chili cheeseburger!

The first thing I do upon arrival is to make a beeline to Duran’s Central Pharmacy (1815 Central N.W. Albuquerque, New Mexico 87104, (505) 247-4141). Duran’s is a small lunch counter tucked in the rear of the drugstore, and its all-female staff is justifiably famous for turning out some of the best green and red chile in Albuquerque. If you’ve never been to New Mexico, chile here means chile peppers, not the “chili” beef stew most associate with the word. The green and red you get here are thick, mildly spicy vegetable stews of those roasted chiles. As good as Duran’s versions are, what we come for is the carne adovada.

For the uninitiated, carne adovada is meat (usually pork) marinated in red New Mexican chiles, baked (the way purists insist) and then simmered in red chile sauce. The three-way infusion of chiles into the meat gives it a succulent, deep heat that other meat stews can’t touch. We time our visits to New Mexico to begin on Thursday because that’s the only day of the week carne adovada is served at Duran’s. We get ours with a couple of huge, thick, fresh made flour tortillas, and maybe a small bowl of green chile, just to make sure everything is right in the vegetarian chile universe. Duran’s has other New Mexican classics on its short menu, including stuffed sopaipillas (Wednesdays and Fridays only), and a torpedo (one of those giant tortillas filled with potatoes, chile and cheese), but it’s the carne adovada that has us licking our chops the moment the plane hits the ground.

After checking in to our casita at Casa de Suenos 310 Rio Grande Ave., Albuquerque, NM 87104, (505) 247-4560) – within a short walk to Duran’s and Old Town Albuquerque, we decided one lunch isn’t enough, especially when Monroe’s green chile cheeseburgers are just down the street. Monroe’s (1520 Lomas Blvd. NW Albuquerque, NM 87104, (505) 242-1111) has been around since 1962. It’s not much to look at (like many of the superlative eateries in ABQ), but its low-key diner vibe masks a commitment to some serious cheeseburgers. A thick patty of good ground beef comes smothered in melted cheese with a heaping portion of house made green chile strips on the bun. They also make their red chile on-premises, and in a close contest, I had to give it the nod over Duran’s for the intensity and depth of its chile-ness. The sopaipillas here are also outstanding, but we were disappointed in the chile-infused fruit pies – which had too little of the expected jolt to ring our chimes.

No culinary tour of ABQ is complete without at least one stop at the Frontier (2400 Central SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106, (505) 266-0550). You might be a tad intimidated by the gargantuan barn-like space, long customer lines, and huge posted menu, but take a breath and you’ll figure it all out in no time. Those lines move mighty quickly because everyone knows they’ll be ordering a bowl of top notch posole (green chile hominy stew), a huge breakfast burrito with hot green chile, and what may be the best sweet cinnamon roll on the planet. Well, perhaps everyone doesn’t order those, but we found them a perfect way to start the day, as have thousands of University of New Mexico staff and students since Frontier opened its doors across from the University back in the ‘70s. And the Frontier hasn’t closed for a minute since it opened, making it the perfect stop for late night carousers and early, early-birds.

Those seeking something a bit more upscale, but still homey and authentic, should cruise out past Kirtland AFB to Cervantes Restaurant and Lounge, 5801 Gibson SE, Albuquerque, NM 87108, (505) 262-2253. For 35 years Roberta Finley has run this bastion of New Mexican cooking, focusing on the green and red chile concoctions for which this region is famous. Those green and red chiles are from the same plant – what non-New Mexicans call the Anaheim chile – and what is referred to in-state as the Hatch or Mesilla Valley chile. The red is simply a riper version of the green, but both deliver a deep, back of the throat heat that more explosive peppers never approach. In terms of sensory resonance, it’s like comparing a bass drum to a violin.

Cervantes bottles its own line of bottled green and red, and they tasted just fine to us on the sopaipillas stuffed with well-spiced ground beef, or with chunks of pork (green), or carne adovada (red). The green chili cheeseburger was also spectacular. Served open-faced on a thick flour tortilla, it comes smothered in chiles, and everyone at our table gave it the nod over Monroe’s version, although we went back to Monroe’s the next day and had a couple more of theirs just to make sure.

At Cervantes, as in every New Mexican restaurant in Albuquerque I’ve tried, the rice and beans on the plate deserve savoring in their own right, and put to shame what most Americans think of when they order Mexican food. And the tortillas are generally larger, thicker and more scarred with griddle marks than outsiders are used to. They are served with butter melting on them, and you get as many as you want. You might think that the holy trinity of these tortillas with green and red (or “Christmas” if you ask for both) would get boring at meal after meal, but the ingredients are so fresh, and so of-the-place you’re eating them in, that palate fatigue is never an issue, and within a few days you will be debating the relative merits of these locally famous eateries like a native.

Of the new guard of swankier joints, The Grove Café and Market (600 Central Ave, SE, Suite A, Albuquerque, NM 87102, (505) 248-9800) serves an upscale mix of artisanal breakfast items, a truly stellar croque madame, and a number of in-house baked goods that make it the go-to breakfast place in town. Every table we saw seemed to have the house specialty – an old-fashioned English muffin with Heidi’s Organic Jam – on it, so we took the plunge and found it perfect in all respects, although made to American (read: huge) proportions. Located right on the old Route 66, organic is the watchword here, and even the delicious pancakes with crème fraiche trumpet the provenance of the ingredients that go into them.

For our final meal, our native guide (Hugh Alexander Curtas, UNM Class of ’08) led us to a tiny, obscure strip mall that didn’t appear to house any sort of food service even as we were standing in front of it. They then led us to one of those standard metal-glass doors that usually lead to a chiropractor’s office or a muffler shop. Once inside, however, we entered the world of Chef du Jour, 119 San Pasquale Ave. SW, (505) 247-8998, www.999dine.com) and knew we weren’t in traditional Albuquerque anymore. The spare, tasteful dining room was created by Chef Jennifer James – a local hero who sources local products and riffs on them daily with a menu that doesn’t know how to repeat itself.

Our meal began with a bright, fresh chilled pea soup with mint, followed by mussels in a spicy tomato broth. From there we filled up on what the menu called “fillers” and the rest of the world calls main courses of pasta with herb butter and spring vegetables, seared scallops in a carrot broth, a perfect rack of (local) lamb with hazelnut mint pesto and smashed peas, and a pork t-bone with black beans, rice, and house-made banana ketchup. The ketchup was so good I asked for three refills, and wondered aloud why they just don’t rename the place the Banana Ketchup Cafe. Like the rest of the meal, desserts were simple, sophisticated and satisfying with the chocolate-nutella-banana crepe and the root beer float – made with house-made ice cream and local root beer (naturally) – the clear standouts. The wine list is very short and limited, but very reasonably priced.

While we were there in May, a USA Today story came out rating the most expensive and inexpensive places in America to vacation. Albuquerque was ranked #1 as the best budget vacation spot in the country. Eat at any of these restaurants and you will see why. In all of them (except Chef du Jour), you can indulge in New Mexican’s finest cuisine for less than $40/couple. Dinner for two at Chef du Jour (one of the more expensive places in town) will run around $120 for two, with a modest wine.

Aside from the price though, what is impressive about Albuquerque is a palpable commitment to the indigenous cuisine of the area, and to featuring local products throughout its food chain. From local artisanal beers, to the chile-infused fudge of The Candy Lady (524 Romero NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104, (505) 243-6239, (800) 214-7731), to the serious wines of Casa Rondena Winery (733 Chavez Road, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, NM 87107 (800) 706-1699, www.casarodena.com), to the cult of the green chile cheeseburger; there is a feast of good eats along this section of the Rio Grande, in a town that takes its food and drink very seriously.