After spending the morning at Petroglyph National Monument, we headed back to our accommodations to freshen up. It was getting kinda warm so we wanted something on the lighter side. I had Vinaigrette on my list during our previous visit to Santa Fe and recalled that they had a ABQ location as well. Turns out that the restaurant was just a 15 minute walk from the hotel. Plus, we'd be walking thru Old Town and could take our time and explore a bit on the walk back.
The place was almost full when we arrived, but we got the last table outdoor table.
We were glad to get that table as the only outdoor seating still available was this…..I wonder if folks actually sit here?
As you can tell by the name, Vinaigrette specializes in various categories of salads; savory, sweet, "balanced", and so forth, along with some sandwiches and a few sides and soup.
I wanted something refreshing, so I ordered a concoction called the "Pepino", which featured cucumber and lime juice, along with club soda.
This was quite refreshing and not overly sweet.
We also ordered the Kale Fritters.
We enjoyed the crunchiness and earthy tones of the fritters, which went surprisingly well with the Sriracha Aioli. It was a tad on the salty side of things, but was not a bad dish overall.
The Missus got the "Omega".
This was mostly lettuce and really didn't have as much kale as the Missus would have liked. She thought the toasted pine nuts would be great in a salad, though it really clashed with the provided Blue Cheese Vinaigrette. The avocado was just one small piece. This salad needed more acidity added to really balance out all those greens.
I got the Spinach Mushroom which was a much better choice for our tastes.
The earthy, slightly sweet sauteed mushrooms, with savory bacon, and a slightly sweet-sour honey-balsamic vinaigrette was a nice combination. I wish there were a bit more onions for pungency and more boiled eggs to keep the Missus happy, but this was not bad.
The staff was very friendly, the crowd….well, as you can figure, very hipster-healthy-ish. Still, we didn't want anything too heavy and this did the trick….at least for me.
Vinaigrette
828 Central Ave. SW
Albuquerque, NM 87104
After lunch we took our time strolling back to the hotel. There seemed to be more businesses open on this day, but things were still really quiet.
We enjoyed wandering thru the various patios.
There was a definite charm to this place…..
While we had stopped to look at the Cottonwood Madonna the previous day, we had just walked past the San Felipe de Neri Catholic Church.
There has been a church on this site since Albuquerque was founded. The original church collapsed in 1792 and San Felipe de Neri Church was founded in 1793.
There's a museum and gift shop located in the Sister Blandina Convent onsite.
And of course the Cottonwood Madonna.
And if you want to read even more about the Cottonwood Madonna, you can read more here.
As interesting as San Felipe de Neri Catholic Church was, I found something even more interesting down this patio.
As we were looking at various shops, something caught my eye.
So I walked on in.
It was a beautiful little chapel.
This is the Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
It has an interesting story and is even said to be haunted.
We enjoyed strolling around Old Town.
We got back to the hotel and relaxed until it was time to head out for dinner. I had made reservations at a nearby Wine Bar & Bistro, but when we walked over our reservations our reservations were MIA. The place was quite busy and we didn't want to wait so we decided to head on back to Kitsune.
And ordered our food and had a seat in the back patio this time.
I found out that the cocktail that was made for me the night before was called the "Autumn" and featured Blue Corn Whiskey.
Smoky, but not overly sweet.
Of course we got the Karaage.
Which was just a good as the previous night.
And we also got the Pork Belly Rice "Bowl".
The rice on this evening was much better than what we had the previous night; though I'm not sure about that mayo. The pork belly was a bit more chewy than I like, but the seaoning and sauce was pretty good; not overly sweet. The pickled onions handled the palate cleansing duties well.
Not bad for two nights in a row.
Kitsune ABQ
524 Romero St. NW
Albuquerque, NM 87104
We then walked on back to the hotel. On the way back, we stopped at a shop and got some liquid refreshment and a snack.
And sat on the porch and watched the action below.
We went to sleep early as we'd be headed out to Pecos National Historical Park , then it was off to Santa Fe in the morning!
No, this wasn't cheap, but the meat, while being a tad more chewy than I prefer was quite beefy, the broth had a nice beefiness, was decently rich, with good five-spice tones, not overly salty, with a mild spice to it.
The dumplings were quite large; the wrappers too brittle and chewy. The filling for the jiaozi were very beefy, with nice celeri tones, seasoned quite well, but quite tough. We were surprised that the black vinegar-soy dipping sauce was not half bad. This was our least favorite dish of the meal.
Before my ramen "took to flight" I dug in. As with my previous visits, the tamago was perfect, still warm, with a runny yolk. The firm noodles were indeed that, good stretch, slipperiness, and chew.
There was one thing I quickly noticed when my bowl arrived; the portion size seems a bit larger than before. Also, the sauce was a lot "redder" in color and while it had a decent savory-nutty – pungency, was also saltier than I recalled. The beef was not quite as nicely velveted and was on the chewy side, though I've had that happen on previous visits.
The rice was perfect, but the sauce was greasier and milder in poultry flavor than what we'd had earlier and the turkey meat was more chewy/tough as well. 
And even though it seemed pretty busy along the whole 500 meter route, there was a laid back vibe to things. And so, we actually enjoyed this night market more than the 
The woman working was quite a good salesperson. She saw the Missus and I walk up and immediately started conversing with the Missus. And apparently this tactic worked as we got a Hujiao Bing – a pepper bun. 
As you walk within the park, you'll come across amazing trees. An example would be the "three generation tree". Where one tree grew upon another, each serving as a base for the next generation, a symbol for all who some here.
There were very nice wooden paths and bridges making Alishan a very easy visit. Perhaps too easy for the Missus as She was getting kinda bored with the whole place. Whereas I enjoyed the view and the trees. Oh the stories they could tell!
