Prime

Prime offered us a delicious Valentine’s lunch. I had the grilled cheese and my boyfriend had the steak sandwich. I really enjoyed mine, it had spinach, mushrooms, and smokey cheese along with truffle fries. He said his was just alright for Vernon’s quality. The host wasn’t particularly friendly but it was close to closing time. Wasn’t as in love as I was when I first went to Vernon’s, but it was worth one visit.

So… the prices have been raised, 4 bucks for a lil cup o’ soup is a little outlandish. The food is still good, though I think there’s a little less meat in the sandwiches. Combine that with the higher prices for the sandwiches we’ve resorted to using our coupons more religiously.
Beyond that I can’t complain about the service nor the quality. My mom thinks the nachos are to die for, I have yet to try ‘em.
It’d be nice if the host/​hostess was on time to answer the phone when they open, I wouldn’t have to wait 10 – 15 minutes for a couple of carry out sandwiches.

We arrived at Prime around noon on a Sunday. This restaurant was our second choice as our first choice was very busy serving the church crowd and hungover crowd simultaneously. After today this will be our first choice more often. So a shout out is in order to all you churchgoers and people that like to hit the bottle. But I digress. As we arrived we had a choice to sit indoors or outside in a lovely southwestern style patio. We chose to sit inside. The dining area was relatively small yet had a fine dining feel to it with black tablecloths and white napkins. We were greeted promptly. Our server was very busy attending to many tables yet was still able to provide excellent service.
Onto the food. I ordered the Florentine sandwich and my wife ordered the French Tizzy. The Florentine was superb. It was loaded with mushrooms, spinach and artichoke hearts. The best part was the focaccia bread. Many times this type of bread is tough and hard to bite through. However, this was not the case. The bread was extremely soft and tasty. It was almost like a scrumptious butter biscuit. The sandwich also came with a side of papas which included potatoes, onions, green chile and bits of bacon. The papas were just as good as the sandwich. The balance between all the flavors was simply divine. The French Tizzy is French toast with strawberries and bananas and comes with a side of sausage or bacon. My wife was worried that the fruit would make the toast too sweet but it was perfect. Again, in this dish the flavors balanced nicely and it was cooked to perfection. Delicious!
I would be remiss to not comment on the forks they have. The forks have some good and bad qualities to them. The good is that there is a slight bend at the end of the fork which contours perfectly to your grip creating a natural balance when holding it. The bad is the fork is on the heavier side and the prong side is a little too narrow making it more difficult to pick the food up.
So there you have it. The only negative thing I have to say about this place is about the forks. Additionally, the prices are fantastic. Most dishes are under 10 dollars. That means this place is awesome! It really is. Great food for great prices. Go try it for yourself.

Really expensive, alcohol, prices are off the chart high. Our chips and crackers were stale.

Have been here quite a few times and have enjoyed every meal. The food is made with high quality ingredients and takes the concept of a sandwhich to a whole new level. I love the north 4^th, south side and black&blue. Have been here for brunch once and the Bloody Mary bar was awesome, with all the antipasto toppings you could think of it was a meal in itself! The eggs vernodict made for a delicious compliment to my perfectly customized cocktail.

Have come to Prime on different occasions all short & sweet visits and all have been superb! This is adjacent to the higher ranking Vernon’s and I knew I was in for some pleasurable & palatable food. Love the creativity with the menu names, I think the owner is always very creative & passionate about his ideas on new business projects and shows he takes time and thought process about creating his empires.
I ordered the «Pesci» blackened Tuna steak not sure whether they have it anymore on the menu, but it is absolutely to die for, cooked to perfection and so tasty, I ordered a salad in place of fries which was good. The price points are worth it as I know I am getting quality and I treat my body good (just sayinn) lol… The only thing I think they may need to change if they haven’t already is the chair seating as it does remind me of outdoor seating on a patio and not very comfortable. I think having some more appropriate seating would really do the magic and create an entire feel of what this quintessential gourmet sandwich shop represents.
I’ve also had brunch there as well and it was lovely, food was fresh & delicious! Reading the previous reviews on customer service lacking or no one in site when they walked in, I would say that my particular customer service has always been good.
I always look forward to my quick bite at Prime when Im in the area of Los Ranchos!

Very impressed with this establishment! It is very clear that the team wants the customer to have a great experience. We were served on 12−06−14 by Alisha. She was very friendly and professional. She told us that our food would be out in ten minutes. At the nine minute mark she came out to let us know that our food would be right out and exactly ten minutes after we ordered, we ate!
I actually read all of the reviews prior to eating there and I noticed that a few people complained about the portion size. My opinion is this: If you need a buffet sized lunch, then by all means, go to Furr’s. If you want a great sandwhich for a great price served by a great staff, then check this place out.

We came in for a coupon. I had the ½ meatloaf hoagie and a house salad, he had a build-​your-​own burger and potato salad. Nice place for lunch, decent food, great service. We also got a tour of Vernon’s, I was curious and they obliged. Fun afternoon, can’t wait to get all cleaned up for a date night to the «speakeasy», I’ve heard good things!

Pretty good place. I’ve never been to Vernon’s, but I thought I’d check this place out. I thought it was a really great atmosphere. I like the 50’s Mob scene, so it was a nice welcome. The menu was simple, but there was only one thing that peaked my interest, which was basically a club sandwich. The other options had different odds and ends on it that does not appeal to me. Admittedly, I am a meat and potatoes kinda guy, so I like a straight sandwich without the extras. They were very accommodating to my request, which is always a plus. My only problem, and the reason for a 3 star rating, is the service was very slow. We only had a 45 minute window to eat. We were quick to order, but waited 35 minutes for our food to come out. It appeared the poor server was working alone, and would have someone come in, talk to her and leave. Regardless, she was very nice, very helpful, and very apologetic.

Meats were clearly quality. Hoagie was good– however, the sandwich I ordered (the hitman) stated ciabatta bread but got it on a hoagie instead. Hmm. Potato salad was okay, would go for their chips next time. However, good stuff. Am curious to try their steak sandwich.

There is absolutely no better roast beef sandwich in world than that served at Prime. Picture top grade, tender roast beef piled high between artisan slices of bread with New Mexico’s signature green chili and decadent melted cheese. The sandwich is so large you could easily share it, but definitely won’t want to. Prime’s sides are all delicious and fresh. Their soup, green salads, and potato salad are all so good that your biggest problem will be choosing which to order. Oh, their other sandwiches all look great too, but who on earth would willingly walk away from that spectacular roast beef sandwich – you’d have to be a devout vegan (and, if so, there are things for you too).

I’ll note that the decision to open a little sandwich shop just adjacent to Vernon’s steak house, which sells cuts ranging from $ 50-​$ 100, is rather audacious. The political consequences obviously disrupt some people’s overall experiences; John G likes «simplicity» in his sangwich, and he’s repulsed by an $ 8 Odell’s (so am I). By choosing to serve up what amounts to gourmet diner food, Prime walks a cuisine tightrope. The prices are stiff enough to scare away a fair percentage of the workday lunch crowd, and that’s a shame. The dishes coming out of this kitchen are absolutely fabulous and totally welcome in an area of the north valley desperately in need of better dining choices.
My South Side was exactly what it should’ve been, an artistically-​rendered take on a classic yawn. Prime rib of exceptional quality. Melty gruyère, not swiss. True, fresh green chile. Rich au jus. I’ve only eaten this number, like, two thousand times at other places, and I’ve been bored with it, like, two thousand times. Not here. Judging from what I peeped landing on the tables surrounding me, they’re nailing everything on the menu.
Want «simplicity»? Model Pharmacy is a good choice. No frills, just the basics. But for a few more bucks, Prime redefines the sammy.

This is a hole in the wall place. Nice little patio. The décor is minimalist. Not much really. They got 5 stars for their food. Everything is delicious. My coworker introduced me to this place. If I want croquet Monsieur and don’t want to drive to Central, I will go here. They have great build it yourself burgers and sandwiches too! And different types of iced teas.

I came into Prime for lunch one afternoon, mostly because I was starving and driving by it. It was packed. They sat me in the bar area where the private club usually is, I was alone in there, but it was nice. I ordered the burger and fries. First let me say that the burger was great, I got bacon, guacamole, and cheese, for the regular burger price, since they let you choose 3 toppings. The fries were a little wonky, I prefer them a little crisper than they came. But, over all it was a great deal, the price with tea was like $ 11.00, seriously it seemed like a awesome deal! When I come back to ABQ, I may just have to tootle down 4^th street and have another burger.

Just moved here from Westfield, NJ. If Prime were in NJ, I would be there often. Since I got turned onto it after having lived in ABQ only a month, I will probably be here once a week. Mmmmm… I had a «South Side» and it was perfect. Shaved beef with green chile and a terrific bread with a side of perfect potato salad.
The patio dining and attentive service was icing on the cake.

My family and I went for a late lunch (about 1:00 PM) on a Saturday, walked in the door and weren’t greeted. Other patrons offered that they just sat themselves, but weren’t sure if that was OK. We sat down and a server eventually approached and was only minimally friendly. We ordered and then waited a little over 40 minutes to have our food (a prime rib sandwich and a hamburger) delivered. Just prior to our food being brought to our table the waitress somewhat apologized by explaining that they only had one cook on this particular day. There are approximately 7 or 8 tables in the main dining room (it is very close quarters) and it seemed to be that everyone had a very long wait for their food. Several patrons exchanged exasperated glances with one another about the service. Requests for condiments and refills had to be made several times. Ketchup was brought for french fries at the end of the meal. I had to ask for the check three times. The overall experience was almost 1.5 hours.
The food was average, nothing to write home about and certainly not a good value (it was a $ 3 upgrade charge to have french fries instead of kettle chips). The atmosphere was strange — very cold and uninviting. The service was subpar and certainly not some place you would visit for a quick lunch. Overall, the food wasn’t terrible, but the service and experience was, which is enough to ensure that I wouldn’t return.

Tried to do Sunday brunch here yesterday. Three of us entered the restaurant, but there was literally no staff in sight. About 4 tables were occupied, a couple eating already. We waited 5 minutes but never saw a single staff person. I overheard a lady at a nearby table complain to the guy with her about waiting for a refill on coffee. Not sure what was up, but the vibe was not great so we left.

We came for brunch, and really liked it. More or less had the place to ourselves, and the service was decent.
I liked the croque madame, and everyone else liked their egg dishes as well. From what I gather this is a sandwich spot, and I’d like to come back to try their lunch.

I ate here for the first time recently and have to say I was really pleased with my meal. I’m a big sandwich person, but when I saw the asparagus quiche on the menu having a sandwich was nowhere on my mind.
The quiche was very tasty and served on a bed of fresh spinach. A cream sauce lightly blanketed my quiche and spinach. I have to say the best part of the meal was the side of quartered and fried potatoes. I have never had potatoes as good as these and will go back solely for those.
On the downside my friends had burgers and were highly disappointed with them. Granted I can’t vouch for their burgers, but they both said the burgers were very over seasoned and very peppery. They left disappointed and I left wanting to come back for more papas.
Additionally the staff is very nice and attentive to your needs.

We had been to Calico Café 3 times and so when that closed and reopened as «Prime» we were not sure about trying it (Calico had been expensive, made bland food and had pretty woeful service).
We had a Groupon to Prime and so figured it wouldn’t cost us too much to try it out.
They have around 15 – 20 different sandwiches, all priced $ 10 – 15 with a side of potato salad or chips (the chips are home made and very good). The sandwiches we had (Bootlegger and Sunrise) were very tasty. Perhaps they are $ 2 – 3 more than I would ideally like to pay, but they are very good.
We sat on the patio and the service was excellent — a real change from the Calico experience.
I think we will go back and try something else on the menu.