Most foodies have pondered the expession “Never trust a skinny chef.” Maybe you’ve even mused if there’s any truth to it. Your line of thinking probably goes something like this: “If a chef’s cooking is any good at all, how can that chef possibly resist stuffing himself (or herself)?” With this train of thought, every chef should look like Paul Prudhomme, the brilliant Creole-Louisiana Cajun chef who once weighed more than 500 pounds. Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, who’s not shy about expressing his opinion, called the notion that you shouldn’t trust a skinny chef “BS.” To the contrary, the volatile Ramsay believes “In order to be consistently excellent, a chef must “stay fit.”
As my friend Bill Resnik and I strode into Sammy’s Cafe & Deli, we ran into the very fit Chef Marc Quiñones who had just finished his morning run. Chef Quiñones runs distances some of us get tired driving. He’s the proverbial high-energy somatype, a dynamic whirling dervish in constant motion. Moreover, he exemplifies a paraphrase of a famous Homer Simpson quote: “Chef Marc Quiñones: Is there nothing he can’t do?” At least in the culinary arena, the answer to that Jack Handy deep thought is “no.” Not only is Chef Quiñones the director of culinary operations and executive chef for the fabulous Ex Novo Brewing Co., he’s the mastermind behind the menu at Sammy’s Cafe & Deli.
Sammy’s Cafe & Deli is the more casual restaurant sibling to Ex Novo. Sammy’s is named for the son of Ex Novo CEO and founder Joel Gregory. The fact that sandwiches is its bailiwick is strictly coincidental (“sammys” or “sammies” is perhaps the most unpopular nickname for sandwiches). Sammy’s is located on the Route 66 intersection of Central Avenue and 6th Street. It’s got a “cozy coffee shop meets bustling deli” vibe. To the detriment of those of us who enjoy sandwiches at all hours of the day and night, Sammy’s is open only from 7AM to 1:30PM.
A week before its launch in October, 2024, Chef Quiñones gave me a tour of the wing which houses Sammy’s. My skeptical nature doubted the space would be ready for guests. I should have remembered my adage “Chef Marc Quinones: Is there nothing he can’t do?” The space is not only finished, it’s quite attractive, fully operational and a welcoming milieu. Best of all, the nauseous smell of fresh paint fumes was absent. Instead, the aromas were of freshly brewed coffee and condiments used on the construction of sandwiches.
Chef Quiñones realizes there will inevitably be high expectations for any restaurant of which he’s a part. He also knows there will be comparisons. Because the chef was born in New York City, some will compare Sammy’s to the Big Apple’s ubiquitous bodegas. There will inevitably be comparisons of individual entrees: “This banh mi isn’t like my favorite banh mi at…” It isn’t Chef Quiñones goal to make a better version or an exact version of everyone’s favorite item. In fact, he takes liberties with several items. That’s a chef’s prerogative and I’m all for it as you’ll read below.
Bill and I met up with Peter Rice, editor of Downtown Albuquerque News. If you’ve ever doubted the veracity of the revitalization of Albuquerque’s downtown or if you no longer trust mainstream media, you need to meet Peter Rice. He’s in the news business because he noticed the “grim direction the journalism industry was heading” and decided to do something about it. Like so many of us who pay attention, Peter is a cautious optimist, especially of his beloved Albuquerque downtown. We waxed eloquent about its “Breaking Bad” perceptions shared by visitors and locals alike and together solved all the world’s ills in a delightful hours-long meal.
Like us, Peter had never before visited Sammy’s, along with Ex Novo a cornerstone of the downtown revitalization we’ve been hearing about for more than twenty years. The Sammy’s menu will revitalize your faith in sandwiches. It’s a medley of familiar sandwiches and breakfast favorites constructed with Chef Quiñones touches. It’s a menu New Yorkers would find as familiar as denizens of the Duke City do. Indeed, the menu includes such Metropolis favorites as Sunday lox and a “New Yorker” breakfast sandwich. There are only three sections to the menu: All-Day Breakfast, Greens (salads) and Handhelds (sandwiches). Bagels and schmears are sourced from Sunday Bagels while pastries come from the Knead Dough Bar.
If there’s one aroma that has a siren’s call effect on many of us hapless caffein-addicted souls, it’s the aroma of coffee being brewed. Sammy’s coffee comes from Michael Thomas Coffee Roasters, a local purveyor of life’s second most popular beverage (behind water) in the world. Sammy’s has two coffee artists (barista isn’t sufficiently descriptive). First is Derek who took excellent care of us when we visited Level Five . One of Chef Quiñones greatest strengths is in recognizing and cultivating talent. He recognized Derek’s strength in customer orientation and brought him onboard as the manager at Sammy’s. Another exceptionally talented employee is Stefan who probably served me a couple hundred red chile mochas at Cafe Bella. Seeing Stefan was akin to a family reunion.
Coincidentally, before our visit Stefan had been wondering what my impression of Sammy’s Mexican mocha would be. Don’t tell Michael Gonzales (owner of Cafe Bella), but Sammy’s Mexican mocha is at least the equal of my beloved red chile mocha. It’s profoundly rich, chocolatey and comforting. Not to be outdone, Derek served me two of his creations: a green chile chai cortado and a unique cold coffee topped with Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. The latter has a flavor reminiscent of horchata while the former is like a warm blanket on a cold day. As a purveyor of coffee alone, Sammy’s is among the city’s best.
30 October 2024: Bill, Peter and I shared an El Cubano ( six-hour pork lechon, honey ham, mojo mustard, Swiss cheese and dill pickles on panini). At the risk of hyperbole, Sammy’s El Cubano is the very best Cubano I’ve had in New Mexico. Chef Quiñones joked that it’s a Boricua (a person of Puerto Rican descent) version of a Cubano, among the differences being the mojo (marinade) used on the pork. Unlike the Cuban version of most Cubanos, Sammy’s version does not include citrus juices. There are other differenentiators such as the balance between assertive ingredients (mojo mustard and dill pickles) and more innocuous flavor profiles (sweet ham, pork lechon). Then there was the panini, not so “sharp” that it can slice the roof of your mouth to ribbons as other panini have done.
30 October 2024: Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw once said: “England and America are two countries separated by a common language.” I had no idea I’d have to learn a new language when the Air Force sent me right out of high school to Massachusetts. In the Bay State, sub sandwiches were “grinders,” milk shakes were “frappes” and sodas were “tonic.” It took me a while to get used to that vernacular–not to mention the non-rhotic (or “r-dropping”) pronunciation of words that included the letter “r.”
It made me both nostalgic and happy to see a grinder on Sammy’s menu. Gregory’s Italian Grinder (Genoa salami, Prosciutto, spiced ham, lettuce, tomato, pepperoncini, pickled red onion, red wine vinegar and oregano dressing, Provolone cheese on Italian bread) could have passed for one of the hundreds of grinders I enjoyed in the Boston area–not only in appearance, but in the melange of ingredients coalescing into a delicious whole. Crusty Italian bread is the perfect canvas for an Italian grinder. It’s nice to know when I’m craving the flavors of my former home, I can find them at Sammy’s.
31 October 2024: According to The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, during the 1930s, many American Jews abstained from eating eggs Benedict, the then-stylish but unkosher American Sunday brunch classic. They substituted lox slices for the ham, a schmear of cream cheese for the hollandaise sauce, and a bagel for the English muffin. Thus was born a Jewish American classic, so much so that lox and bagel and not eggs Benedict can now claim the title of New York’s brunch classic. Today, bagel shops are popping up even in the Mother Land of Israel.
Fittingly Sammy’s version of lox and bagel is called Sunday’s Bagel & Lox (creamy dill spread, smoked salmon, pickled capers, red onion and fennel frond relish. “Fittingly” is a dualistic term because the bagels are procured from Sunday Bagels and because brunch is a Jewish Sunday tradition in New York City. You don’t have to be Jewish to love lox and bagel, a favorite of both mine and Bill’s. Sammy’s version is superb. The smoked salmon is so butyraceous that it practically melts in your mouth. Every element–pickled capers, creamy dill spread, red onion, fennel frond relish–on this breakfast favorite is bright and zesty.
31 October 2024: By all rights, I should be mad at my friend Bill for having ordered the Reuben, a sandwich I had coveted. What spared him my wrath (as if I could possibly be mad at my dear friend) was that I now had an excuse to return to Sammy’s the following day. It’s likely christened The Crazy Reuben (house-brined and roasted corned beef brisket and Swiss cheese on thick marble rye with housemade Russian dressing topped with fresh sauerkraut) because diners will be crazy about it. This is one seriously outstanding Reuben as in “best in the city” outstanding. Though sauerkraut is a listed ingredient, the crispy, fresh greenery was more akin to a slaw, a very good one. Russian dressing is a huge plus even though I would never kick Thousand Island dressing off the table. The marble rye is a superb canvas for a superb sandwich.
31 October 2024: Bread is one of the many things my Kim eschews in pursuit of more healthful eating. I don’t tell her the term “banh” in her favorite sandwich (banh mi) actually translates from Vietnamese to “bread.” Chef Quiñones knew there would be a risk in offering a banh mi on the menu, but he also knew he his version–called Excuse My Banh Mi would win over even staunch cynics. His banh mi (Chinese barbecued pork, pickled carrot and daikon, cilantro salad with sweet soy aioli on a crusty baguette) is fantastic. Even though my Kim essentially only ate the sandwich’s innards, she’s a believer.
If every restaurant in Albuquerque’s Downtown was nearly as good as Sammy’s Cafe & Deli, downtown revitalization would become a reality and downtown would be the dining destination it should be.
Sammy’s Cafe & Deli
701 Central Avenue, N.W.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(505) 633-9103
Website |
LATEST VISIT: 31 October 2024
1st VISIT: 30 October 2024
# OF VISITS: 2
RATING: 24
COST: $$
BEST BET: The Reuben, Sunday Lox, El Cubano, Gregory’s Italian Grinder, Pardon My Banh Mi
REVIEW #1430