Ruben-esque Dining

Not sticking to sports ...
Like Relish sandwich shop, which I blogged about recently, Ruben’s Grill Mexican restaurant is a place I’d driven past literally thousands of times and never stopped.
Finally, on Saturday, I did.
Muy sabroso.
My normal M.O. on Saturdays, since that’s generally a 4 p.m.-midnight work shift for me, is to pick up something to go and eat it at my desk — thus fortified for the long night ahead.
This past Saturday, though, my wife, Barbara, and I had a successful garage sale. We decided to spend some of our well-gotten booty on a sit-down lunch.
It turns out our next-door neighbors were longtime fans of Ruben’s and highly recommended it.
They were not wrong.
Anyone who lives in Albuquerque knows there are hundreds of Mexican restaurants in our city. Even restaurants that don’t specialize in Mexican fare often have enchiladas, tacos, etc., on their menus.
It is, thus, hard to stand out among the crowd.
Without having tried all the competition, or anything close, I’d give Ruben’s ... let’s say ... 4.9 stars. It was that good, and that’s an opinion supported by reviews I found at Trip Advisor.
I ordered the cheese enchilada lunch plate with green chile. The melted cheese was so abundant, I couldn’t even see the beans that were supposed to have come with the order. But, yes, they were there, right next to the rice.
Initially, I didn’t think the green chile was particularly spicy. But soon enough, I had that telltale and welcome sheen of perspiration on my face.
As good as the enchiladas were, the Ruben’s Burrito Al Pastor that Barbara ordered was even better. Fortunately for me, it was so huge that she only ate half of it and took the rest home. Just half an hour or so before this writing, I polished off the other half for Sunday lunch.
As with so many tasty dishes, it was difficult to say exactly why the burrito was so good. I guess I’d have to say it was simply a symphony of flavors and textures — the pork, the lettuce, the onions, the cilantro, the tortilla, the red chile.
Our bill, with the enchiladas, the burrito and one ice tea, was $16 plus tip.
The menu is quite varied, and I look forward to my next visit — probably for takeout, either to take to work or to bring home after an early shift.
Ruben’s is located at 9708 Candelaria NE, just east of Eubank on the south side of the street.