Our friends, John Martin and Lynn Garner and I couldn’t help but laugh. There before our very eyes was the depiction of a meme come to life. In the dining room of la Sirenita was a papier Mâché reproduction of the bottom half of a mermaid. It reminded us of a meme we recently shared. That meme depicted a grizzled sailor marooned on a desert island. On the first panel of the meme the sailor smiled lasciviously as a beautiful and buxom mermaid approached the island. The second panel shows the sailor cooking the bottom half of the mermaid on a rotisserie. Yeah, it’s gruesome, but come on, it’s funny, too.
The bottom half of a mermaid wasn’t the only unique art on La Sirenita’s walls. One framed painting depicted a rather disfigured Marilyn Monroe. Another portrayed a black woman in the throes of a foodgasm. More conspicuous than the artwork was the absence of other diners. While the bar was packed, the only other diners in the capacious dining room were two eight-year old brothers, one of whom innocently asked if The Dude was a poodle. Though our debonair dachshund was insulted (rightfully so), he has too much class to make a scene.
Our server told us La Sirenita tends to pack after Lobo games and in the evenings. As Duke City diners begin to discover the barbecue-slash-Mexican food eatery, she hopes a lunch crowd following will develop. We were surprised at the sparsity of diners, wondering if that was an indication of the quality of the dining fare. Empty dining rooms was never the case for more than five decades. The adobe-hued edifice which houses La Sirenita was once home to Quarters B-B-Q, one of the city’s premier pantheons of smoked meats. Signage on the building still names (prominently) Quarters B-B-Q. There’s a taller streetside sign indicating you’ve arrived at La Sirenita, but you might still miss it.
Newcomers whose vehicles weren’t auto-programmed to drive to Quarters will find La Sirenita on the corner of Avenida Cesar Chavez and Yale. Decades of smoking meats ingrained the inimitable aromas of barbecue on the walls of Quarters. Because olfactory senses trigger memories, you might just find yourself transported back to Quarters when it was THE place to go for good barbecue. When you find yourself craving Quarters, you’ll be happy to learn that Connie Nellos, the long-time owner of Quarters shared family recipes that La Sirenita carries on with respect for the legacy. La Sirenita’s website indicates “Each Brisket, Pork Rib and Sausage is prepared with love and care! Always served with a side of the famous Quarter’s BBQ sauce!”
My brother Mario and his friend Rudy visited La Sirenita after the University of New Mexico Lobos had trounced nationally ranked San Diego State in a thrilling basketball game. They both had barbecue, proclaiming it “just like old times.” Our foursome (John, Lynn, my Kim and I) were jonesing (that can’t be right. Maybe Martinezing?) for Mexican food. More specifically, we wanted birria. There’s no shortage of good to great birria in the metropolitan area, but intrepid explorers that we are, we’re always on the look-out for the next great birria place.
La Sirenita opened its doors in March, 2023. According to its website, the restaurant is “proudly women, veteran and Mexican owned,” a formidable triumvirate which virtually ensures good food. Moreover, La Sirenita specializes in “authentic Mexican food from the state of Michoacán.” The website further explains that ” Mexican food traditions and preparation vary by the region and state due to the differences in locally grown crops and spices that are indigenous to the area!” Most of us are acquainted with Michoacan branded helados, hielos and other ice cream and frozen ice treats, but Michoacán also has a highly respected culinary culture.
La Sirenita’s menu has something for everyone. That menu is segmented into distinct areas: breakfast, sandwiches (spelled “sandwhiches” on the menu) , appetizers, main, soup, salad, Quarters BBQ, sides and kid’s menu. While the “build back better” economy has made frequent dining out cost prohibitive, the menu offers some real bargains. Most noteably, some entrees are accompanied by one or two sides. Some of those sides include a baked potato ($4), elote cup ($4), side salad ($6) and more. We quickly figured out that by ordering an entree with two sides, we’d be getting a lot of food for not a lot of money.
As we perused the menu, our amiable server ferried over a basket of chips with a two-ounce plastic cup of salsa. My brother and his friend Rudy both found the salsa rather incendiary. Our server warned us the salsa inherited its fiery qualities from jalapeños and a “secret ingredient.” After devouring two chips piled high with the salsa, John and I determined we needed a portion of salsa for each of us. John is a man after my own heart. Though his metronymic might be “Martin,” he’s got to have some “Martinez” in him. John can keep up with me bite for bite in enjoying the most piquant chile and salsa. We both loved La Sirenita’s salsa, especially its delightful, endorphin-generating afterbite. The chips are thick and formidable. They need to be to hold as much salsa as we piled on them. Neither my Kim nor Lynn would dare risk third degree burns on their tongues by sampling the salsa.
Both Lynn and I ordered the birria plate (three quesabirria tacos, four-ounces of consommé and two sides), a $17 bargain. My two sides were a loaded (cheese, butter, bacon, sour cream) baked potato and an elote bowl, both $4 sides. Do the math. At any regard, both Lynn and I had plenty leftovers to take home. The quesabirria tacos (three per order) were generously loaded with shredded beef bathed in the consommé. The edges of the taco shells were crispy, providing a delightful textural contrast. The consommé wouldn’t register on any Scoville scale for piquancy, but it was flavorful with plenty of chopped cilantro and onions. Sides of the addictive salsa were provided.
You’re probably getting tired of me ranting about the superiority of Mexican baked potatoes. La Sirenita’s tasty tubers are yet another example. Wrapped in tin foil when they arrive at your table, they’re perfectly cooked–not too soft, not overly salted. Best of all, they’re “loaded” with bacon and cheese, an unbeatable combination. The elote cup was both mysterious and delicious. We could discern cotija cheese and a somewhat mild chile powder, but there was a sweetness to the corn we couldn’t identify. Our server believes it comes from the type of corn used. Whatever the case, this was a delicious elote cup.
My Kim feasted on the flautas (six beef or chicken flautas), guacamole, sour cream and cotija cheese. Not only are there six flautas per order, each is stuffed with your chosen protein. Dunked in guacamole, the flautas were among the best she’s had in the area. The chicken was moist and tender, the antithesis of too many dry flautas. John had a beef burrito roughly the size of a log of firewood. His chosen sides were refried beans and rice. Indicative of how delicious his meal was, his plate looked “licked clean” when he was done. Note: A photo of the amazing burrito will be found on the “Red or Green” report for January, 2024.
We found fault with only one aspect of our meal at La Sirenita. That fault is not being in closer proximity to either of our homes. After our marathon meal three of us needed a nap. The irrepressible Lynn wanted to go shopping.
La Sirenita
905 Yale Blvd., S.E.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(505) 843-6949
Website | Facebook Page
LATEST VISIT: 19 January 2024
# OF VISITS: 1
RATING: N/R
COST: $$
BEST BET: Birria Plate, Elote Cup, Loaded Baked Potato, Flautas, Shredded Beef Burrito
REVIEW #1377
Finally made it back there today and again, FABULOUS food, attentive waitstaff but look at all of those empty tables! I think they have their hours, their menu settled down now so it’s time to check them out. I had the birria tacos with refrieds and a baked potato this time. All the accolades about the tacos still stand. As good as they are, and they are the best, that potato stole the show. Not only is a bite of baked potato with cheese and bacon the only way to go, the spud itself was incredibly tasty. I’ve never had anything like it. It’s truly indescribable so you are just going to have to try it for yourselves. I can’t speak for the BBQ, but they have the Quarters recipes if that tempts you. Easy to access, plenty of parking…haven’t you left yet??
It really is strange that La Sirenita (the restaurant not the bar) isn’t busier. For years Quarters BBQ was the only BBQ Duke City diners seemed to like.
I’m so glad you’ve discovered the greatness of Mexican baked potatoes. When we left England I feared we’d never again have baked potatoes of the caliber served at our favorite pubs. Mexican baked potatoes are even better!
Gil, they have everything; I don’t get it. A bar. BBQ. Tacos et al. Within proximity of all of the sports fields. Close to UNM and Snob Hill. Since the only thing that appeals to me personally in those last sentences is the food…..they are also a family place. So friendly and nice. I guess they just need more diners to become aware. I’ve already told my friends. Both of them!
$25 for 1 lb of ribs? That’s a bit steep isn’t it? $20 for two hot links? Are they made of gold?
Chile’
Quick question: is the birria beef or goat? And just a heads up, it’s COTIJA not COJITA
Thank you, Enrique. I stand corrected. It is indeed COTIJA not COJITA.
The birria is made with beef.
Off the beaten path. That’s the only reason I can think of why this restaurant was not standing room only and lines out the door for lunch. Also as you mentioned, Gil, once you find the building there’s not much about it to suggest the wonderful quality of Mexican cooking going on inside. It looks like a beer and barbecue joint. The minute our plates were set down in front of us I knew we were in for a wonderful dining experience. The quantity was immediately obvious and it only took one bite to verify the quality. I’ve enjoyed some wonderful birria tacos at various places around town but these were definitely the best ever. John is still raving about his burrito. The primary reason — both the tacos and the burrito had the birria beef (innocently named “protein” on the menu; shredded beef to the uninitiated; heavenly to those eating it.) I don’t know how they managed to get the meat so tender and keep it so moist. I barely used any of my consommé because the tacos themselves seem to have already been drenched in it, as evidenced by the copious napkins I used in an attempt to keep my hands clean. I almost woke up The Dude so he could lick them for me and we could have saved some paper. Next time! And there will definitely be many next times. I can’t think of any other place I’d rather go right now when that craving hits for a smothered burrito, a quesabirria taco or even a baked potato. (Having eyed Gil’s baked potato, I ordered one to take home for dinner. Now I understand why he has always said that Mexican chefs make the best baked potatoes because it certainly was muy delicioso.) I hope that word gets out about how great the food is here because I want them to get a lunch crowd and I want them to keep going. If the beer and the barbecue accomplishes that, it’s okay by me. Just keep that man in the kitchen working his Michoacán cuisine magic.
It was good? I went there a few months ago and left because nobody came to my table. I won’t wait fifteen minutes to have someone take even a drink order.
That could explain why you had to jimmy the lock open to get in…
LOL, I’m just messing with you!
It was a legit comment from a legit experience. I’ll give them another try.