Eats, Etc.

It didn’t take long for The Farmacy to gain a following after opening at its original location on 8th and Mountain in 2016. The restaurant quickly outgrew the space — which had an indoor seating capacity of approximately 10 — and relocated to 3718 Central SE. Business has continued to thrive since then.

“When we first went in (to the new location) we were amazed at how big the kitchen was and how much room there was in the dining room,” owner Jacob Eliot says. “And then now it’s like, ‘We need a bigger space.’ On weekend days it’s like we don’t have enough room to seat all the people.”

The motto on The Farmacy’s social media accounts is simple: “We make good food that you will like!” That philosophy shines through in offerings such as the Rail Runner Reuben, a staple that fea- tures housemade corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing on marbled rye.

“It’s always just been our attention to each dish, plating each dish and just the consistency overall,” Eliot says. “We try and make anything we can in-house. We grind our own corn beef for two weeks and we cook it overnight.”

Other favorites include the Duke City Biscuit and Gravy, which features a green chile cheddar cheese biscuit with egg cooked on the inside. “I can’t tell you how I do it — it’s a little secret,” Elliot says. Waffles, made with a special homemade batter, come in both the sweet and savory variety and are consistently praised as among the best in town. And what breakfast, lunch or brunch would be complete without a mimosa, which is served in an Erlenmeyer flask for parties of two or more.

To keep up with customer demand, The Farmacy in January launched a dinner service, (Wednesday through Saturday from 4 to 9 p.m.), which offers share plates, burgers, salads, sandwiches and more. As with its breakfast and lunch, the establishment will focus on quality over quantity when it comes to menu selection.

“We try and keep it small and we stick to the very curated limited kind of things we think are the best,” Eliot says.

TRISTEN CRITCHFIELD

3718

(505) 227-0330 facebook.com/farmacyabq

PHOTO BY DON JAMES/ATM

After growing up in Mexico City and then spending the majority of his professional career in the restaurant and brewery industry, Jeff Jinnett felt like he had a solid concept in mind for a drinking and eating establishment.

“I always thought that really good, sort of simple Mexican food would go great with craft beer and craft cocktails,” Jinnett says.

He isn’t wrong. La Reforma opened in June 2019 at 8900 San Mateo Blvd NE in a spot previously occupied by Bosque Brewing. The establishment’s foundation is Mexico-style street tacos, craft beer and cocktails.

“Our menu is Mexican food with influences from Mexico City over to Michoacan up into Chihuahua. We wanted to do Mexican food as authentically as we could,” says Jinnett, who is co-owner of the restaurant. “We hand make our tortillas. We use real Chihuahua cheese. All our recipes are traditional Mexican cooking techniques for meats.”

There are six kinds of tacos available — carnitas, carne asada, al pastor, pollo asado, pescado and aguacate — all for

$3.50 apiece. Additionally, diners can choose from tortas, quesadillas, burritos and appetizers such as nachos and carne asada fries. Jinnett adds that La Reforma’s posole has received high praise from some customers as the city’s best.

“Our tacos are amazing. But we sell a lot of every bit of our menu,” Jinnett says. “Our philosophy is to have a compact menu, have it be small, but have it be fresh and prepared every day.”

La Reforma typically offers 12 of its own beers on tap. The latest addition to the lineup is a West Coast IPA specially brewed with honey from Los Ranchos. Eight signature cocktails are also available, each made with liquors that are distilled on site.

Even though adult beverages are served at the establishment, Jinnett emphasizes that La Reforma has appeal for all ages.

“I think it’s important for people to know that even though we’re a brewery and a distillery, we’re a family-friendly restaurant,” he says. “We have a wide-ranging demographic. We have all kinds of people that come into our restaurant, and we accommodate them. TRIS -

TEN CRITCHFIELD

it was also the name of the family’s first restaurant, which was located downtown in the 1970s.

It was back then, Madeleine Miller says, that her mother-in-law first introduced gyros to Duke City diners. Marina’s influence remains evident even after she passed away last August.

“Her presence is still strong here,” says Miller, who is one of the owners of the family-run establishment.

That begins with the gyros, which are now more prevalent in Albuquerque but are a signature item at Zorba’s.

“That’s what everybody thinks of when they think Greek,” Miller says. “By and large, we sell more gyros than anything else.

Zorba’s Fine Greek Cuisine is a legacy restaurant of sorts, carrying on the tradition established by Olympia Cafe for two decades.

Olympia Cafe closed in 2008 and approximately two years later, Spiros and Marina Counelis opened Zorba’s in the Northeast Heights. The inspiration behind the name is twofold: It comes from the novel Zorba the Greek, written by renowned author Nikos Kazantzakis, and

“I think it stands out because of the quality of the meat that we use,” she adds. “We make our tzatziki (sauce/dip made from Greek yogurt and feta). We don’t use anything that’s store bought. We hand cut our tomatoes, we hand cut our onions. I think people appreciate that.”

Also popular is the Zorba’s Platter, a combination dinner of traditional beef or chicken gyros slices along with the customer’s choice of a souvlaki stick (meat

La Reforma

8900 San Mateo Blvd NE (505) 717-1361 lareformabrewery.com skewer) with tzatziki. The approach to freshness and made-to-order quality lends itself to finding new favorites.

“I had somebody call me (recently) and said the Greek Chicken Salad was the best (they’ve) ever had,” Miller says. “It’s not a big secret. Fresh ingredients make for great food.”

That, coupled with a family atmosphere, makes Zorba’s a popular return destination.

“We love to know everybody. A lot of people come in and call me by name. It makes me happy. I like it that people feel that comfortable,” Millers says. “I hope they have a great dining experience, and I hope we can give them a little slice of Greece, even if it’s in New Mexico.”

TRISTEN CRITCHFIELD

ZORBA’S FINE GREEK CUISINE

11225 Montgomery Blvd NE (505) 323-2695 zorbasabq.com