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Weekdays Restaurant has been around nearly 20 years and prides itself on a hearty breakfast. (Richard Pipes/Journal)
Finding a new and interesting place Downtown for lunch puts a little spring in one’s step, especially if you’ve gotten too accustomed to the regular spots. However, once you find Weekdays Restaurant, tucked in between two imposing buildings on Silver Avenue, you’ll be both excited at the prospect and kicking yourself – it has been in business nearly 20 years.
This is indeed a fairly typical workday eatery, with sandwiches, hearty breakfasts and staff that take care of you just like any motherly figure from our real or romanticized memories of Malt-O-Meal commercials – sending you off to your day with a warm belly and a smile. The dining area is clean and rather generic, but the friendliness of everyone – servers to patrons – makes for a pleasant sit-down meal, nonetheless.
Weekdays is a big believer in a hearty breakfast to start your day. To that end, the sign out front reminds us, “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper,” and the menu is loaded with morning delights. I love to see the underutilized breakfast quesadilla on any menu; the A.M. Quesadilla ($5.75) is filled with bacon, onion and chile in addition to eggs, then served with guacamole and salsa.
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Weekdays Restaurant LOCATION: 415 Silver SW (mid-block, tucked down a breezeway), 505-842-8455; www.weekdaysrestaurant.com HOURS: 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Mondays-Fridays; closed Saturdays and Sundays NO ALCOHOL |
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For a light lunch, find some decadence in the Cobb Salad ($7.75) with chunky blue cheese dressing, lots of real blue cheese, egg, chicken, avocado and bacon bits. Like any diner, Weekdays offers tuna salad sandwiches, grilled cheese and the like, though locals might opt instead for a New Mexican burger ($7.25) with chile and cheese.
Chile lovers can still revel in a flavorful Sirloin and Chile ($7.25) on sliced sourdough. Tender sirloin made the sandwich stand out, but the American cheese was making it seem more like a Philly (and not entirely in a bad way), and the sourdough had little character.
Plates for the heartier “Prince” lunch eaters should include a taste of the Enchiladas ($7.75) with chicken and green, a gently spicy dish for these last few weeks of lower temperatures. Options abound with New Mexican lunch plates – first choose the format of burrito, enchilada or quesadilla. Then, select chicken, beef, carne adovada, turkey, or veggie as your filling, and of course red or green chile on the whole spread. Rather than a tortilla, these plates come with a square of cornbread – not a bad idea for the enchiladas, but it seems superfluous as a side for a burrito.
As a side interest, co-owner Patti runs catering jobs and bakes up a huge selection of sweets to enjoy with meals or take along for later in the day. There’s a dense fudge brownie covered in a swirl of frosting, but my choice was a chewy and buttery cookie bar large enough that it begs to be shared (trust me, anyone around will ask for a taste).
