Los Equipales, Albuquerque, NM

Filed in archive Reviews on May 1, 2007

Dinner at Los Equipales, Albuquerque, NM, two weeks ago.

This place is known for their seafood dishes, but the picture of the excellent ceviche my hubby and I enjoyed didn't turn out well, so I'm posting the other pic instead of my daughter's order. No one else was in the mood for seafood, so we also ordered the lime-marinated skirt steak as well as the carnitas de puerco, which turned out to be a bit too hot for our 8-yo, though I personally liked the chile-tomatillo sauce interlaced through the pork cuts, highlighting the taste of the meat with just the right combination of tangy heat and smokey goodness. The fish tacos were very well done -- stuffed with chunks of tomatoes, lettuce shreds and cod fish, but I do like my tortillas on the crispier side. The taquitos our 5-yo ordered, however, were marvelous, crunchy and filled with a cumin-and-garlic scented beef mixture -- the waiter suggested that for the kids, but the servings are rather generous and I'm sure even an adult would be happy with it. Dinner started with julienned jicama and a ranch-type dip made spicy with a dusting of chile powder, a palate refresher that could also be used mid-meal. Though the food was more than enjoyable, what really made the evening special for the kids was being serenaded while we ate. Micky Cruz and company provided the music, and now my boys are wanting to learn how to play Oye Como Va.