Duran's Central Pharmacy

If you're looking for New Mexican cooking while in Old Town, try Duran's. The food tastes like home cooking at its best. The friendly wait staff and the fresh tortillas are just a few of the reasons locals love this place.

The food counter tucked away at the back of Duran's Central Pharmacy has been a local mainstay for over 50 years. It has almost a cult following, and some swear it has the best chile sauce in town. One thing is certain: Duran's makes the best tortillas I've had in Albuquerque.

The menu is limited, with just a few items for breakfast and lunch. But when those few items are done well, perhaps a range of options doesn't matter. I had the huevos rancheros breakfast (7.40), which consisted of two eggs, potatoes, beans, cheese, chile and a fresh buttered tortilla. Instead of the eggs coming on corn tortillas, a small dab of potatoes appears in the swimming sea of chile sauce. The potatoes are mashed and flavorless, but they were perfect for mopping up the sauce, along with the heavenly--did I say heavenly--tortilla that also works as a sopping tool. The food was good, the only drawback being the potatoes, and for a local, the chile was not as piquant as I like. Another breakfast option is the breakfast burrito (8.90), which has eggs, potatoes, cheese, bacon or ham, and your choice of red or green chile. Portions at Duran's are large.

While having breakfast, I noted that other diners were having lunch items. There are chicken, beef or cheese enchiladas (8.40), the taco plate (8.90), and stuffed sopapillas on Wednesdays and Fridays. On Mondays and Tuesdays, the specialty is tortilla soup.

But the best part of Duran's is the sense of community. Locals meet there to conduct business, take in a bite for lunch, or get an order to go. The friendly wait staff knows its regulars, and the customers know the staff. My waitress, Mary, shared that she has waited tables at Duran's for the past 11 years. The friendly atmosphere coupled with good food may have a lot to do with why this little lunch counter has thrived for so many years.