Cocina Azul
1134 Mountain Rd NW Albuquerque, NM 87102
505-831-2500
Hours:
Sunday to Thursday 9:00 am – 8:00 pm
Friday to Saturday 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
Cocina Azul is a local chain, but it was our first time checking it out after we went to the farmers market on a Sunday morning. We went to the downtown location at 11:30 am. It was packed. They restaurant serves breakfast items and they looked fantastic. We’ll have to come back for breakfast one day.
It’s really hard to find good New Mexican food with soooooooo many options and everyone’s different recommendations. We’ve found a few that are pretty good, but far more that aren’t. This one, is very good. Cocina Azul has a large menu and even some items not listed on the menu if you ask. We got our menus and immediately orders the chips and salsa with both Rojo and verde salsas.
Our waitress took our order after we’d taken a look at what we wanted to try. I almost went with the fish tacos, but I heard they may have flautas on the menu. I asked about the flautas and sure enough, they did. Autumn ordered the ribeye street tacos. Both plates come with a choice of sides. I went with calabacitas (squash), and fideos (small noodles in a tomato sauce). Autumn picked beans and posole (a stew with hominy and pork). The chips and salsas arrived shortly after we ordered.
The salsas were very different as the Rojo, or red, salsa was made with dried chile pods. It was a bit spicy and also very different from the salsa I know. However, it was good and had a bit of heat. The verde, or green, salsa was a very different salsa and was also good. Both are unique and deserve a try, especially with their chips. Our food came out very quickly and we had barely started in on the chips and salsas before our entrees were laid out in front of us.
The food was great. Autumn’s tacos were tender and were a great street taco. She really liked the posole, which isn’t my favorite, but it was one of the better ones I’ve had. The calabacitas was soft yet firm and had so much flavor and freshness from the squash. The fideos were very different than one might expect with noodles and a tomato based sauce. It was almost in a broth of tomatoes. It was delicious and I understand now why it’s such a popular dish is New Mexican cuisine. The beans were also pretty good. The flautas were decent but also fairly boring. They were filled with chicken and wrapped in corn tortillas and then fried. They were good, but I consider this more like a taquito. The food was all very good. There was still sopas or sopaipillas to come!
These were tick and perfectly fried. There wasn’t any grease left over at all! Hallelujah! That’s hard to find. You pair them with a bit of honey and you’re set. Check this place out. We’re excited that there are more restaurants throughout the city and I hope the food is just as delicious as this location.
