Leah "Messy" M.'s Profile

After deciding to take a ride to Deming from Las Cruces for the afternoon, I turned to Yelp to help us figure out where to eat. As some Yelpers might agree, it is better to have 4-star reviews by a lot of people than 5-star reviews by just 1 or 2. And Irma's fit the bill.

Though Deming is a small town, Irma's was bustling. It seemed like everyone agreed that this was the restaurant of choice in the area and we were happy in our choice.

Now that we have a baby in tow, one of us usually peeks into a restaurant and gives it a once-over to see if it is baby-friendly - you know, enough room to place a carriage or at least car seat, loud enough to cover his crying or yelling should it be one of those days, and fast enough that we won't have to wait too long for our entrees as to not test the baby's patience.

Again, Irma's satisfied these requirements too. Very family-friendly and there was actually quite a number of babies around.

Now onto the food: Previous Yelp review said the salsa was hot, and yes, it was - but it was good - and not too hot as to inhibit inhibit enjoyment.

I ordered the cheese enchilada with onions and an egg (which was so amazing at The Pepper Pot in Hatch, NM, that I had to try it here too). It was very tasty - the tortilla were nicely down, just the right amount of onion. But unlike The Pepper Pot, the red chile sauce on this enchilada didn't have quite the kick I would have liked.

However, my husband had the gorditas and he said it was the best that he's had in New Mexico yet. And he pretty much ordered the gorditas at every Mexican restaurant we go to. He particularly like the doughiness of the gordita shell.

However, we had entree envy when we saw table after table getting these fish-shaped skillets of sizzling dishes, which we learned were called Parilladas. Think, fajita skillet but larger (for 2) with strips of beef, lime, and other veggies. It looked delish and we'll definitely be getting that the next time we go back. And we will be going back!  

For two people, lunch plus two iced teas came to $18. Score!

When looking for a caterer for a family party, I didn't want the same old-same old (in an Italian family, that would be a tray of penne vodka, one of chicken scarpiello, and sausage & peppers) which is great and all but party after party, its gets to be a little boring.

So, we went on a mission to find that something different, and where did we end up, but an Italian caterers from the Bronx. Go figure. However, we didn't order the old standbys but instead knocked the socks off our family with trays chicken sesame meatballs, rigatoni with braised short rib, stuffed sole with crabmeat, Greek orzo salad, avocado & brie crostinis drizzled with pesto - just to name a few of the delicious things we ordered from Dave, the Mesa Grill / Bobbie Flay-trained chef.

Nick & Dave were very helpful in us picking our menu and delivered everything (with the sternos and all) right on time for our party. And though we ordered a lot of food (Italian family, remember?) everyone came back for seconds and thirds so we barely had leftovers. No waste - which is great!

Battaglia's made our day and happily fed our group of 60 people. This family will definitely have them on speed dial for future parties.

Tiffany's is a place that I not only don't mind taking my family to when they come to town visit but I recommend we go. When we want a solid meal that is full of flavor and will guarantee we will leave full, this is it. It's in an awkward location-all the way off the road behind some buildings and the decor is nothing to write home about, but the husband-wife owners are friendly and sure know how to make tasty gyros. The portions are huge, the feta comes crumbled rather than cubed, the baklava drenched just right in honey. It is a little pricey but worth it because you'll leave happy. One note: we ordered the gyro pizza once to go and while good, it was enormous (literally loaded with toppings, the entire pie had to weigh at least 8 pounds). Make sure you have friends with you to eat it!

After trying a few other nail places around town, I was so happy to find Ruby Red. It is the only nail salon I go to now. It is nicely decorated-- sort of drama meets cozy. The staff and customers are friendly so if you feel like chatting, there is always someone willing to. It kind of makes you feel like you are part of a secret club and the secret is that this place is exactly what you want in a nail salon.The only downside is that it can take a few days before you can come in for your appointment so it does take some advance planning - but, hey, it shows that they have a strong clientele.

I've been there twice. First time I was hopeful, the second time I was just giving it a second chance since maybe I didn't order one of the better options. But after two lackluster experiences, I have to say, Mix Express is off my list. While I thought their rice was good, they skimped on the tofu in favor of really, really mediocre vegetables The broccoli that was so steamed it was yellow and lots of part of the veggies that just weren't edible, like the stems. It is convenient and the people who work there seem nice enough, but I really cannot bring myself to try them again. Disappointing.

This is a place that Las Cruces needs. Things I like:

- Big, good bagels with generous amounts of cream cheese (and even better that they put the cream cheese on for you because I can't stand these coffee shops (yes, I am talking about you Starbucks & Dunkin Donuts) that just give you a little container of cream cheese and a plastic knife and tell you to go for it.
- Really good chai. Any place that can make a good, hot chai will get my repeat business
- Drive thru window. I've only used it once but it was convenient.
- It is a place I could spend the morning doing work there on their generous size tables.

Things that could be better:
- They could expand their panini selection. It seems like they are all generally the same with one variant ingredient.
- Also, the paninis could use a few seconds less of sizzling - the two or three times that I've ordered them, they are always a little too bit toasted. I still order them though.... well, I think that is because they don't really have many other lunch options and if I want to get a drink and lunch, that's what you have to choose from.

The bagels and chai will keep me coming back though!

As a native New Yorker now living in New Mexico, in a town where Mexican restaurant are ubiquitous, upon seeing Zeffiro's promoting their "New York style pizza", I was undoubtedly skeptical.

After trying their location on University Ave. a few times (which is set up more like a regular pizzeria... get your slice at the counter), I thought their pizza was pretty decent but it was their salad dressing that drew me back multiple times.

But we decided to try their main location off of Main Street which really is a world of difference. Here, it is a sit down restaurant, with many options to choose from gourmet pizza creations  - where everyone gets their own pie a la Italian style. I'd said it is Italian style more so than NY style, but with being hands-down the best pizza in town, they can all it whatever they want.

We were greeted by fresh cuts of bread and olive oil (which were so tasty that we ended up buying a loaf of sourdough to take home with us), and we ordered our entrees.

It was a hard decision... the white asparagus & prosciutto pizza or the quattro formaggio. I went with the later and it was delicious. The crust was perfect - crispy on the outside and doughy at the same time.  I was a little surprised that the pizza didn't have any tomato sauce on it, but it was so good, after one bite, I didn't care.

My lunchmate ordered a pasta dish with chicken and raved about how the chicken was perfectly cooked and juicy.

The only thing I was disappointed in was my drink - I ordered the Arnold Palmer (1/2 iced tea, 1/2 lemonade) but the lemonade was too weak to balance out the iced tea the way it should have. It tasted more like an iced tea that had several lemon slices squeezed in it, instead. This didn't really stop me from enjoying my meal since I just asked for water instead.

So, when family from NY comes to visit, I can rest assure that I have one familiar place to bring them to if they get a pizza craving.

After eating Mexican food for 5 straight meals in a row,  by the time dinner rolled around on my last day in Las Cruces, I about had my fill of enchiladas and tortillas. However, I heard this place was not to be missed so I decided to take one for the team and we head to Andele.

It was a Saturday night and the place was packed. During our half hour for a table, we could eye the salsa bar from the entrance and it was looking good - plenty of shades of red and green to satisfy any palette.

Once we sat down, we ordered sangria (surprisingly good), got the token basket of tortillas (probably one of the better one's we had while on our trip), and I could dip to my heart's content into all of those salsas.

Then came dinner -- we shared what was a huge, delicious pile of pork tacos, and then a plate that had a little bit of everything -- a tamale, an enchilada, and some other stuff. The tacos were hands down the best I had during my trip, and maybe even in all my years of taco-eating. For real. I'd go back just for them again.

It is definitely worth the wait in my opinion!

I tried the tuna dumplings and they were every bit as good as I imagined. Expensive, but definitely worth it. I may have liked for them to make it as maybe three smaller ones instead of two, since they were pretty large. The presentation was also beautiful.

One update - I used to have several business meetings at One World because it was really convenient to my office. The only, slight, issue is that you never know what kind of music you are going to get... sometimes chill reggae, sometimes headbanging rock... and the time of day doesn't seem to matter much. Occasionally, it would be too loud to have a conversation or to talk on the phone. So, if you are planning on meeting there for an important business meeting, you may want to check it out first to see what's playing! (A few times, I've had to redirect my meeting to Chocolatea around the corner, which usually has quieter jazzy kind of music). Other than that, I love it there and it is a great place to meet for coffee or tea!