248125 4 Location 576164 <p>If you love really great gourmet food, then <a href="If%20you%20love%20really%20great%20gourmet%20food,%20then%20Chef%20du%20Jour%20is%20for%20you.%20Not%20pretentious%20or%20snooty,%20the%20food%20and%20service%20here%20are%20top%20rate.%20The%20restaurant%20has%20a%20very%20warm%20welcoming%20atmosphere%20that%20would%20work%20well%20for%20a%20special%20occasion%20or%20a%20casual%20night%20out.%20%28We%20came%20in%20jeans%20and%20t-shirts%20and%20felt%20perfectly%20comfortable.%29%20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold">Chef du Jour</span></a> is for you. Not pretentious or snooty, the food and service here are top rate. The restaurant has a very warm welcoming atmosphere that would work well for a special occasion or a casual night out. (We came in jeans and t-shirts and felt perfectly comfortable.) </p><p>Our evening there started with being allowed to choose from one of several comfortable tables. We were then brought our menus along with an amuse-bouche of two spoons full of creamy&nbsp;delicious asparagus mushroom quiche along with two little glasses of red wine. What a lovely way to be welcomed to an eating establishment.</p><p>We then ordered, starting with the soup, a delicious carrot ginger (vegetarian; the restaurant has a nice selection of vegetarian meals, along with traditional meat fare). Our server told us he made all the soups, and later we learned that he is also the restaurant owner. He couldn't have been more charming or attentive to our needs.</p><p>&nbsp;For our salads, we each tried one of the dressings, the house garlic and a slightly sweet lemon vinaigrette. For my entree, I had the crab cakes (normally an appetizer but they were happy to make it as an entree for me) with a spicy aioli sauce. Brad had the pork loin stuffed with apples and shallots with Bourbon cream sauce, hazelnut mashed potatoes, and grilled veggies. We were both very happy with our selections.</p><p>Not only was the food fantastic and the service great, but the prices were reasonable. Our tab, including a nice bottle of Malbec, was about $60.</p><p>&nbsp;The menu changes weekly. If I lived in Albuquerque, I'd want to go every week to see what they are cooking up.</p><p>&nbsp;The restaurant is just a couple blocks from Old Town in Albuquerque, but if you didn't know it was there you would never see it. It's in a strip mall on San Pasquales, right near the corner of Central and Lomas.</p> 2008-10-29T14:36:34-07:00 816218113 2008-10-24T17:00:00-07:00 0 -9223372036854775790 258044 7845673 248125 0 258398 0.209081166388499 2008-10-24T17:00:00-07:00 Published 25.0 2008-10-29T14:44:01-07:00 97932 0