Thoroughly modern Milly's: For more than 40 years, ABQ restaurant has served up American, Greek and New Mexican favorites

The first morning of their first visit to Albuquerque, my parents had breakfast at Milly’s on Jefferson. They went back the next day. And the next. In just one week, the friendly servers, the food and the coffee made them devotees. They still go there every time they return.

Milly’s has been inspiring that kind of loyalty since it first opened on Candelaria in 1983. The Jefferson spot opened 10 years later. Both restaurants, named for founder and owner George Daskalos’ mother, serve breakfast and lunch seven days a week.

Thoroughly modern Milly's: For more than 40 years, ABQ restaurant has served up American, Greek and New Mexican favorites

My wife and I visited Milly’s Jefferson location on a recent weekday for lunch. The restaurant’s location on the east side of the street is marked by a colorful circular sign at the sidewalk, behind which sits a blockish building stuccoed in blue and white: perhaps a nod to the Daskalos family’s Greek heritage?

We grabbed what looked to be the last spot available in the cramped parking lot. Inside, the two dining rooms were buzzing. We lingered at the front counter for a moment, taking in the appetizing display of baked goods in the display case there, before a server hit us with the always welcome “sit anywhere you like” instructions. Since there was only one table left, the choice was easy.

Artwork for sale hangs on the walls of the two mid-sized dining rooms and X-shaped LED lights loom above. The crowd filling the two rooms on this day was a diverse one. At the next table, workers in reflective vests plowed through plates of chocolate chips pancakes, doing some quick carbo-loading before heading back to the job. At another table, a couple of old-timers chatted over coffee, seemingly in no hurry.

An energetic team of servers maintained order amid the clamor. The staff practices a very efficient team-based approach. It’s not a place where you have to flag someone down to get your check or a coffee refill.

The menus have breakfast stuff on one side, lunch on the other.

The all-day breakfast menu is divided into sections titled New Mexican, American, Omelets and Skillets. It offers a pretty comprehensive selection spanning the savory, sweet and spicy. Prices land mostly in the $10 to $15 range.

The Famous Huevos Rancheros ($11.49) were attractively presented. On one side of the plate, two eggs over easy hid in a thick pool of red chile sauce topped with a white and yellow mosaic of melted cheddar jack cheese. The rest of the plate was divided between hash browns and beans. A pile of fresh chopped tomato artfully topped off the dish. The eggs were cooked just right, their yolks bursting with a stab of the fork and enriching the mildly spicy red chile sauce. The hash browns, topped with an armature of shredded potatoes crisped on the grill, were very good.

Like the breakfast, most of the lunch items cost in the $10 to $15 range, although the burgers are a bit less expensive. New Mexican specialties include Burritos, Enchiladas and Tacos. The Green Chile Stew ($5.29) was served in a wide-mouthed bowl with a folded flour tortilla alongside. The broth was thick with soft cubes of potatoes and tender chunks of pork. I saw a couple of pieces of bacon in there too. The green chile was noticeably spicier than the red chile sauce that came with the huevos. Spicy, smoky and a little sweet, it was terrific.

The Daskalos’ Greek roots are evident in a section of the lunch menu that offers Gyros, Spanakopita and Souvlaki. We tried the Chicken Souvlaki ($12.79). It came on a large plate with a bowl of Greek salad poised on one side. Arrayed under two big slices of tomato, the small pieces of chicken were tossed with sauteed onions and green peppers. The chicken was juicy but flavorless and benefitted from a dip in the accompanying cup of tzatziki-like sauce. The slightly stiff pita was served on the side per the request of a gluten-free diner.

The salad had the usual assortment of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and olives under a pile of feta cheese. The single dolma on top was sloppily wrapped but otherwise impeccable, the grape leaf tender, the filling minty. A tangy Greek vinaigrette dressing was served in a cup on the side.

Among the 16 sandwiches I counted on the menu were classics like a French Dip, a Philly Cheesesteak and a Club Sandwich with ham, turkey and bacon. Looking for something new, I ordered the Turkey Crisp ($11.59) to-go on the recommended rye bread. The sandwich was sliced and speared with a couple of toothpicks. The bread, grilled and a little greasy, was clamped around a generous pile of thin-sliced turkey topped with melted Monterey jack cheese, both obscured by a giant piece of lettuce. A spread of green chile blazed underneath it all, cooled slightly by the faint black licorice flavor of the bread. A smallish schmear of guacamole topped it off. A decent sandwich, but the finely diced potato salad served with it had a fatty, unpleasant aftertaste.

Desserts options on display in the aforementioned case at the front of the restaurant include breakfast pastries, baklava and slices of pie and cake.

Gluten-free items are not marked on the menu, but the servers seemed familiar with the options.

Milly’s tried-and-true recipe for success combines brisk, friendly service with reliable eats. After 41 years, it remains a draw for locals and tourists alike.