Cocina Azul | Albuquerque

The original Cocina Azul location opened on Mountain Road in 2010. Owners, Frank and Evelyn Barela, based their menu on traditional family recipes, applying their culinary nuance to familiar New Mexican favorites, like enchiladas, burritos, tamales, adovada, and tacos. With a combination of delicious food and great service, they quickly garnered a base of loyal customers. Though early attempts to expand to the west side of Albuquerque and downtown, the two most recent additions to this family-owned restaurant group are thriving, with one location on Montgomery and another on Holly (all three are in Albuquerque).

Whereas the chile isn’t outrageously hot, it does have flavor and presence. Tourists with limited tolerance for spicy foods might want to order the chile on the side. The same is true of the salsa. It’s tasty, certainly not overly hot to the New Mexican palate, but hot enough to get the attention of your taste buds.

Regardless of what you order, there are no bad choices on the menu. I typically get the Huevos Rancheros if I am there for breakfast or brisket-something if I am there for lunch or dinner. The brisket is available in multiple forms, from brisket burritos to brisket enchiladas. I love the brisket street tacos and brisket rellenos.