One of the best parts of my job, along with helping people buy and sell Albuquerque real estate, is staying in touch with clients that I have worked with. Today I had the the privilege of driving downtown to eat lunch with a good friend and past client (it was a good transaction and our friendship survived!).
My friend works in downtown Albuquerque, so he knows all the new places that open up and, today, I benefitted from it. One new place that has been open for about two weeks is "bRgR" (pronounced burger...in case you didn't figure that out). He describes it as a hip burger joint. Since I didn't know quite what that was, so I was excited to find out.
This hip burger joint is on Central and 3rd on the northwest corner. It's not very big so we arrived early to beat the lunch rush. The interior is a little difficult to describe. Lots of grays and reds and there was a bar right in the middle with a few local brews on tap. In the back of he restaurant is the kitchen and grill where you can see the grill masters (sounds better than cooks) making the meals. It was very clean and not too big, which was good. Kind of an industrial feel with high ceilings and you could see the duct work. Because it was on a corner of the street, windows surround the restaurant, which lends itself to a ton of natural light. It feels very open and big despite the actual size.
The menu was pretty unique. About a dozen beef burger choices (including Kobe burgers) which ranged from $6 to $8, which I thought was a great price point. The only bummer was that fries and onion rings were separate but only $2 per serving of each. They also had sweet potatoes tots which had a hit of chipotle, which we couldn't figure out if it came from the actual tot or the ketchup. Either way they were interesting....in a good way!
They also had a few "exotic" choices which included Yak (I had no idea it was legal to eat Yak), Bison, and Kangaroo. When I saw these I immediately looked to see if they had a Koala appetizer. I hear their meat is very tender!...that was a joke.
With all the interesting choices before me I chose a yard bird burger! AKA, chicken burger. I know. Pretty sad. But even that was completely unique. It was actual chicken ground up and mixed with, what looked like, spices and possibly a few peppers. The patty was topped with a white cheddar sauce, apple smoked bacon and avocados. It was fantastic! I don't think I have really had chicken done like that and it completely agreed with me. The portions were perfect as well. Over all, a great place to eat. Both of us walked out of there spending about $15 each and that was with drinks and one side each which we could have done without. Not too bad.
So, the next time I am out showing Albuquerque homes for sale, I will try to make it a point to visit bRgR. Definitely worth the trip!!