Originally Posted by
UNM1136
Rudy's smokes their carne adovada, and Blakes used to, and I think they still do. Both places offer pulled pork type sandwiches, but as a very, very minor menu role. Both places make their own food either in the restaurant (Rudy's) or at a commissary to send to the restaurants (Blake's comissary is off of Candelaria? Commanche? Between Carlisle and the Interstate). It makes sense, if you have a semi popular food item, to try to stretch it in different dishes.
The place with the sauce sixpacks is Whole Hog Cafe. Main place is off of Montgomery/Eubank. Just a couple of of months ago I saw a location off of Central between the Interstate and Edith. Dunno how long it has been there.
And while the carne adovada at Rudy's is pretty good I am usually there for breakfast. The Smoked Brisket, Egg, and Green Chile breakfast taco is my hands down favorite. Blakes and Rudy's carne are both of the shredded type. While great, especially when smoked, I like chunks of red chile braised pork that shred themselves either on my fork or in my mouth. The shredded type tends to get you more meat per burrito/taco. The cubed pork is what my granddad used to make. And is pretty good, if it is not shredding itself, skewered and grilled, the carne kabobs I started making in college.
Too bad the tortillas Rudy's uses, just like the buns from Whattaburger, trigger bronchospasms that almost make me yak by the time I walk from the breakfast table to my car. Always worth it so far. Their potato salad ain't too bad, either.
I have heard all my life about the County Line, and have always been led to believe they were too pricy for me. Friends rave about their beef ribs and smoked duck. Once the dining in this state gets back to normal, I think there will be a date night. I'll even take the wife along!
Interesting side note for the natives: when I was a kid Blakes used to give you ketchup for your fries in the little clear plastic cups. I was so upset, because the little packets were, in my mind, better. I assumed the clear plastic cups were so that they could buy #10 cans of ketchup and portion out small amounts in the cups at a cost savings. I learned from a retired APD SWAT/Canine guy that I had in some classes, that when he worked there in highschool the ketchup was portioned out that way because the comissary made the ketchup in house, and sent it to the individual restaurants. I miss the ketchup from a place that cared enough to make their own. Especially now that the quality of their beef seems to have slipped. But standardization makes for a consistent product. When I was a kid Blakes was an ABQ thing and we were happy to get them when the Los Lunas location opened. Now they are all over the state, and moving into Az, Tx, and Co.
ETA: Also, by the comment that the staff was no help, the service was not bad at all, but when I asked about the mustard sauce (my first real experience with it) thay either didn't know, or wouldn't share how it was made. When I was in cooking school it was suggested that higher end joints would happily give customers recipes for many popular dishes. Even to the point of having high end recipe cards availabe to give to customers. When I was the chef for a day and adaped one of my childhood favorite recipes one of the teachers visiting our little restaurant didn't know me by name, but had taught me in an online class. He asked for the recipe, and I gave it. He went in to be the Food and Beverage Director for one of the high end hotels, with a couple of high end restaurants in town. It was one of my proudest moments in cooking school.
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), worth a try. 
