Sophia's Place - Albuquerque, NM

My first thought was that this restaurant was kind of expensive.  I had Sophia's salad with chicken then the Panecota desert.  

They served bread which was lightly grilled sourdough.  Grilled asparagus really fresh and snappy. The tomato was a farmer fresh and deep red right through.  Very nice!  This was not ripened in the warehouse produce! A Healthy triple-d, how about that?

Pane cotta was strawberry and creamy. It was really delicious.   

Sophia's really looks like a dive on the outside, so it's within the triple-d scope.

Nice outdoor seating under a metal patio cover with the paint peeling.  I didn't care.  None of my photos came out, so you'll just have to go and see for yourself.

I would rate Sophia's a 9.0 on my own triple-d scale.

Sophia's Place
6313 4th St NW
North Valley/Los Ranchos
Albuquerque, NM 87107
(505) 345-3935

Cecilia's Cafe - Albuquerque, NM

Cecilias is a cool little diner in downtown Albuqureque, New mexico.  It's got a cool atmosphere. It is in a very old typical new mexico style building with lots of exposed brick and rough wood beams. I think that the only heat was from a wood stove in the middle of the serving area which wasn't lit on this January day, I might add.  I had to put my coat back on to stay warm.  I suppose this qualified as a dive.

The lunch menu showed that Guy ate a double patty bacon burger when he was here.  That was a little too much for me so, I just went for one of their burritos for lunch.

Service very friendly and fast.  The table they put me at first was a little dirty but, she fixed that quickly.  I had asked for a slice of lemon for my water.  It sure looked and tasted like orange slices.

Parking limited. Downtown area. Bring change for parking meter.


The burrito was really good.  It was chicken with just the right amount of chorizo spice in a bath of the New Mexico green chile sauce.    This is what you are looking for with a triple-D restaurant.

I would rate Cecilia's a 9.1.  Great points for food, good points for atmosphere, slightly negative points for cleanliness.  I would still go back.

Cecilia's Cafe
230 6th Street Southwest
Albuquerque, NM 87102
(505) 243-7070
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cecilias-Cafe/184663328221698

Standard Diner - Albuquerque, NM

The Standard Diner is absolutely not standard.  It is kind of an upscale diner which means that it is absolutely not a dive either.

The food was creatively put together like you would expect from a triple-d restaurant.  The first clue was the chipotle butter with really good sourdough bread that they serve to you automatically when you sit down.

This was not a finger food joint like you would find in Santa Fe. This is hearty comfort food.  Whereas the people in Santa Fe were dressed in expensive trim-cut designer clothes and sipped white wine, n ABQ the people were wearing jeans and sweaters and drank original formula Coke.

I ordered the monte vista with sweet potato fries.  A monte vista was basically a hot french toast sandwich with a fried egg on top.  Not a good day to skip taking your lipator.

The hot syrup had some kind of spicy kick to it. I don't think that they put jalepeno in it but, there was definitely something spicy added.  The sandwich had ham, turkey and cheese in the middle.

I orderd a cup of their Covina coffee which is grown by some Colombian ABQ residents who went back to Columbia to grow the beans and sell them in Santa Fe.   It was really rich and smooth.  Very nice.

I was there right after new year's eve.  There was a sign advertising "break your resolutions with us."  This would probably do it.

Desert menu looked really good but there was just no way. I'm sure that there are some people that can do it.

I liked it I would give it a 9.5 on the DDD scale. Worth checking out.


Standard Diner
320 Central Avenue S.E.
Albuquerque, NM 87102
(505) 243-1440
www.standarddiner.com