Address: 6313 4th St NW, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, NM 87107
Phone: (505) 345-3935
January 2012: This review was written by GF Lady, the previous owner of GlutenFreeAlbuquerque.com and is used here with her permission.
I’ve had Sophia’s Place on my list of restaurants to try for several months. However, I don’t know who told me about Sophia’s nor did I know anything about the food served there. What a mistake not to investigate sooner!
I grabbed a friend and we headed to 4th Street just South of Osuna. Sophia’s is a tiny, one-room restaurant, and you can see the entire dining room and kitchen in the moment you enter. Right away, I started getting nervous about the potential for cross contamination.
We spoke with one of the chefs, and he explained that the green chili stew was made in separate pots and did not come in contact with or contain flour (or anything else with gluten). Based on his assurances, I placed my order and hoped for the best. I was definitely rewarded for this decision! I received a beautiful bowl of Green Chili Stew which was, without exception, the best Green Chili Stew I have ever had. I finished it before I remembered to take a picture for this page so I’ll just have to return and order the Green Chili Stew again. Darn.
My friend ordered the Calabacitas Chili Relleno and she noticed that this Relleno was not breaded. After a few bites,she was certain that it would be gluten free because it only contained vegetables and cheese. After a detailed conversation with the restaurant owner and the aforementioned chef, we determined that this would not be gluten-free after it was placed on the restaurant’s grill. However, if I ordered the Calabacitas Chili Relleno uncooked along with the tomatillo sauce ‘to go’ and sautéed it at home in a fry pan, it would be gluten free. That’s exactly what I did and my Chili Relleno was divine.
Sophia’s Place is open for breakfast and lunch. It has been featured on ‘Diners, Drive-ins and Dives’ and there are framed articles about the show hanging in the restaurant. What a great find!