Bama’s 1865 – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

When we tell people we lived in Mississippi for eight years their typical reaction is something akin to “OMG, that must have been terrible.”  Lumping Alabama and Louisiana into their diatribes, they typically perceive we lived in a poorly educated, mostly rural and unabashedly racist region.  It surprises them to learn that New Mexico ranks below those three states among the least educated states in the country (only West Virgina ranked lower).  We lived in Ocean Springs on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, an almost contiguous metropolitan area from New Orleans to Mobile.  It’s as modern as you can get.   In terms of racism, the Deep South has made significant strides and isn’t as racist as the Boston area was when I lived there.

Tragically, racism has always been a way of life in the Deep South.  It made me wonder if Bama’s 1865, Albuquerque’s newest Creole-Southern restaurant, was named for the turmoil that ravaged Alabama that fateful year.  Not only was Alabama left virtually destroyed by Union Forces, poor decisions during “Reconstruction” brought consequences that plagued the state for more than a century.  In 1865, Alabama  signed the Thirteenth Amendment (Amendment XIII) to the United States Constitution abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude.  Alas, because of the prevailing and pervasive racial prejudices of the state’s white inhabitants, newly freed  people continued to endure hardships. Alabama’s antebellum-era “slave codes” were replaced by a social and legal system of separating citizens on the basis of race.  That system remained intact through the mid-twentieth century

When my friend Bill Resnik and I visited Bama’s 1865 we tried to find out how the restaurant got its name.  Our server kindly tried to find answers for us, but because ownership wasn’t on the premises, we came away speculating.  We did learn that Bama’s 1865 got its start as “Bama’s Gulf Cuisine” in Brewton, Alabama.  Owner Clarence Williams–who was born and raised in Hobbs–moved back to his state of birth in 2023.  In December, 2023, he launched Bama’s 1865 on Osuna Blvd. at the Salt Yard East structure.  Bama’s 1865 occupies the largest space in the complex with a capacity of 150 diners.

As only one of two restaurants specializing in Creole-Cajun-Southern cuisine (K-Lynn’s Cuisine in Rio Rancho is the other one), Bama 1865 fills a void.  Aficionados like my friend Bill have longed for the day in which we could once again enjoy one of America’s classic cuisines.  Having lived just over an hour from New Orleans, we’ve been pining for the cuisine we enjoyed for eight years.  If you’re wondering what an “Alabama” restaurant would know about Creole-Cajun-Southern cooking, you probably don’t know that Mobile, Alabama was arguably the first site of Mardi Gras in this country and shares in many of the same culinary traditions.

Bama’s 1865 doesn’t resemble the stereotypical Creole-Cajun-Southern restaurant.  It’s not adorned in the purple, green and gold colors of Mardi Gras.  Instead of Mardi Gras trappings, you’ll find banners and photos celebrating Alabama’s most prestigious and powerful football universities–the University of Alabama and Auburn.   The restaurant’s front section near the entrance is a bar area.  The dining room is rather spartan, but it’s got two large flatscreen televisions strategically places so diners can watch sports.  Seating is more functional than it is comfortable.

If you’re familiar with menus at Creole-Cajun-Southern restaurants in the Deep South, you’ll be thrilled to see Bama’s 1865 includes many of your favorites.  These are the flavors of the Gulf Coast, the flavors we loved during our time in Mississippi.  Menu sections include appetizers, salads and soups, Bama favorites, burgers & bird, desserts and sides.  The appetizer menu is so unlike that of most restaurants in New Mexico.  You won’t, for example, find salsa and chips or even conventional fries.  Instead, appetizers include crab cakes, shrimp and boudin.  You’ll also see French fries, but these are topped with a gumbo sauce.

It’s not everyone (even on the Gulf Coast) who likes boudin (pronounced “boo-dan”), but Bill and I do.  Boudin  is a cooked sausage made from pork meat (including pork liver and/or pork heart along with scraps of pork meat from just about any part of the hog), rice, plus various vegetables and seasonings, all stuffed in a natural pork casing.   You may not be salivating at that description, but Bill and I almost did when we ordered Bama 1865’s boudin egg rolls (pork boudin with Monterey jack cheese and  Cajun aioli).  Each order includes two egg rolls sliced diagonally.  Our only complaint was that the egg rolls didn’t have enough liver flavor.  Yeah, we’re sticklers for authenticity.

During our time in Mississippi, we grew to love catfish, a Southern staple.  Thankfully the Magnolia State is the largest domestic catfish producer.  For nearly three months of relocating to Mississippi, we visited Aunt Jenny’s Catfish Restaurant every Sunday for lunch.  We’ve had mixed results with catfish since returning to the Land of Enchantment.  I stopped perusing Bama 1865’s menu when I came across Mississippi Catfish Opelousas (blackened Mississippi catfish topped with a savory Opelousas sauce made of crab, oysters, crawfish tails, sautéed onion, celery and bell pepper over dirty rice with grilled asparagus).   The catfish were spot on!  Perfectly blackened (coated with a mixture of spices (such as garlic powder and cayenne pepper) and fried over extremely high heat) and tender, the catfish reminded us of our favorite Southern fish.  The dirty rice (the rice turns a “dirty” brown color while cooking with the diced meats and spices) was quite good, too.

It struck me as strange that Bill would ask our server if the gumbo was made with okra.  After all, the word “gumbo” comes from the West African word “ki ngombo” for “okra.”  He reminded me of a restaurant we once visited in which the gumbo did not include okra.  As always, his memory is superior to mine–probably because he also has a bigger head.  Bama’s 1865 offers gumbo in a cup or bowl and with your choice of seafood, including alligator.  It’s replete with okra.  This gumbo is redolent with filé,  an herbal powder made from the dried and ground leaves of the sassafras tree.  It’s a heart-warming winter elixir that will transplant you to the Gulf Coast.  A side of Creole corn was unremarkable.

Memory is a funny thing.  We didn’t realize just how we liked Mississippi and the Gulf Coast until we left.  Now we pine to return someday.  It’s a 21 hour drive from our Rio Rancho home.  Bama’s 1865 makes it easier to go back South.

Bama’s 1865
6001 Osuna, N.E.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
LATEST VISIT: 25 January 2024
# OF VISITS: 1
RATING: N/R
COST: $$$
BEST BET: Gumbo, Mississippi Catfish Opelousas
REVIEW #1378