Baseball and the Best Omelet of my Life in Albuquerque (and other delicious food treats)

It was a family trip to watch my nephew play in a regional baseball tournament. We drove from Denver and made a stop in Santa Fe for a delicious lunch in the old town center at the Anasazi Restaurant at the Anasazi Inn. I had a delious sesame crusted salmon entree served perfectly rare. The rest of the family ordered other items such as the Buffalo Burger, Beef Fajitas, Ahi Tuna Tostada and the chicken enchilada. All of the entrees scored an A+ for presentation and food quality. The service was also great. While lunch was a bit on the pricey side ($10 to $15 per entree), we felt it was good value for the money. We walked off lunch around the old town center and made a bee line for Ecco gelato. Some of the best gelato I've tasted outside of Italy. I enjoyed stracciatella and fig gelato. Mmmm Mmmm Good !!!

We arrived in Albuquerque and checked into the Marriott Piramide Hotel. It is a Mayan pyramid shaped hotel that has a beautiful airy atrium with a waterfall landscaped lobby containing a restaurant, bar and gift shop. The glass elevator whisked us up to our room on the 7th floor. The room was quite large, but unfortunately, it had two double beds instead of 2 queen beds, which made it a bit tight for sleeping since four of us were sharing the room.

The kids ran off to enjoy the indoor/outdoor heated swimming pool and indoor whirlpool, while the adults enjoyed a good microbrewed beer from the Santa Fe Brewing Company. The bar area has big comfy couches to curl up in and provides a great venue for people watching.

We headed off to Sadie's for good New Mexican cuisine, but the wait for a table was 90 minutes to 2 hours. We heard this place was good, but couldn't believe the crowds that spilled out on to the street waiting for a table.

We crossed the street and ate at a family style Italian restaurant. It was typical, good Italian fare like eggplant parmigiana, spaghetti (cooked al dente) and meatballs, lasagna, etc.

We headed back to the hotel and watched some movies on the 35 inch plasma TV in the room. We had to get up early to be at the ball park for an 8 A.M. start.

The Marriott offers a fabulous breakfast buffet for $4.95 for kids and $13.95 for adults. It is a good assortment of cereals, fresh fruits, eggs, bacon, sausage, etc. and also includes a made to order omelet station and made to order waffles. I elected the first morning to have a Belgian waffle with fresh strawberries. It was cooked to perfection by the chef, Joe. Golden brown on the outside, soft on the inside and piping hot. It was a real treat to start the day his way.

We took off for the brand new state of the art sports complex to watch my nephew's baseball tournament. It was a cold morning with a strong breeze. It seemed more like football weather.

The games were fun to watch and then we all headed off to Sadie's for lunch. We got there just as they were starting to serve, so lucked out in getting a table right away. The menu features all kinds of New Mexican cuisine with red and green chili. I opted for the chili relleno and carne adovado pork rib combination covered in green chili. Others ordered the stuffed sopapillas, chulupas and papitas. Sadie's is nothing fancy. Plastic tablecloths, plain white dishes, old stainless steel silverware and no presentation. Just great tasting, filling food at prices that won't break the bank. We now understand why this place drawers such a crowd. By the time we finished lunch, the wait for a table was 30 to 45 minutes.

We got back to the hotel just in time to witness a wedding ceremony being held in the atrium. The location provided a nice backdrop.

We headed down to Old Town to do a little shopping and visit the church, where I was Maid of Honor at my best friend's wedding 26 years ago. It was a fun trip down memory lane and not much there has changed. However, the surrounding suburbs have really developed quite a bit of urban sprawl.

For dinner, we decided to head over to Kell's Brew Pub. We sampled their red and brown ales. Both were quite tasty with a malty, slightly sweet finish. We were still pretty full from lunch, so shared a fondue of four different cheeses, beer and green chilies. It was quite good and was more than enough. While the menu states the fondue is enough for 2 people, we probably could have shared it between four people. There was a lot of it.

We headed back to the room and watched Slumdog Millionaire. Their on demand movies were a bit pricey at $15.00, but they did have a good collection of films and they are convenient.

I woke up and my first thoughts were of the breakfast buffet that awaited me downstairs. The restaurant was a lot more crowded this morning due to the large group of wedding guests. I decided on the Joel Omelet (#6 on the list). This is a special omelet created by Chef Joe. He convinced me to give it a try, even though I had to wait about 20 minutes to get it. His omelet station was going non-stop as he prepared over 50 omelettes on three burners. He was poetry in motion as he created his masterpieces with a big smile.

My omelette finally was prepared and was well worth waiting for. It was the best omelette I have ever tasted. The three eggs were fluffy with a golden brown finish and just the right amount of crisp at the edge. The inside was filled with sauteed mushrooms, onions and sausage, blanched leafy green spinach, chopped asparagus, fresh tomato and cilantro. Melted monterey jack added gooey goodness. It was topped with ripe avocado slices and a creamy lime sauce. A sprig of cilantro strategically placed was the piece de resistance. Joe stopped and wiped his hands dry as he watched me take my first bite. It was such a wonderful meld of flavors. Joe's face lit up as he watched me enjoy his creation. The man definitely takes pleasure in what he does.

We set off for the ball field fully fortified and ready to enjoy a beautiful, sunny Spring day. The team had a tough day, but really enjoyed the experience of playing in such a large tournament. The team packed up and each family headed off in separate directions. We turned our sights due north and headed up towards Taos.

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