Desert Grows Kitchen

FYI they are in the process of moving and are currently closed for business. Facebook page says they will pos when they will reopen.
Wish I would have known this before we drove across town to try it out today.

It appears this location is closed. When calling the number listed, a message tells you that they’ll be closed as they transition to a new location. This information would have been nice to know before bringing my family here for brunch and finding an empty building and a bunch of construction materials strewn about.
We’ll give it another shot when everything is back up and running.

Driving through Albuquerque on a road trip from New York to Los Angeles, we stumbled upon this gem due to dietary restrictions (i’m vegan) and in search of fresh produce. The backyard was spacious and beautiful, and the chef welcomed us and had a long discussion about the farms where nearly all of the produce was locally sourced from, as well the ethics of clean eating.
I had a burrito which was delicious and HEALTHY, while my friend had the pancakes. Everything was delicious! Would recommend this place to anybody looking for a healthy, locally sourced, organic meal in a friendly atmoshpere.

A delightful brunch with friends under the cottonwood. Fabulous fresh food. The owner grows much of his own vegetables. The Carne Adovada Burrito was so good.

Fabulous good! Wonderful concept! We sat on the patio under the blue New Mexico sky and the yellow cottonwoods. Piano music wafted through the air. They are moving soon, just down the street.

So you are in the north valley, and craving delicious food that is locally sourced and masterfully prepared. Sure, many of you would automatically think of Farm and Table. A great choice. But, thankfully, by no means the only choice! If this craving hits, make sure you also give this little place a try.
Desert Grows is an unassuming little place located right on 4^th street pretty much right across the street from Dan’s Boots and Saddles. The signage is pretty confusing and the place can be a little hard to locate, so just look for a vintage pickup truck parked right up front. Then go around the corner, and you will find yourself in a wonderful courtyard.
The restaurant itself is in an adobe building, but the food is cooked in a food truck out back in the courtyard. And this food is absolutely delicious! On my most recent visit, I had a perfectly chilled hibiscus tea, some hijiki seaweed salad, a little side of chicharones, and a calabacito and pinto bean burrito smothered in red and green. The chicharones were exactly the way gods intended– a little chewy, a little crispy, a little fatty, and 100% yummy. I was impressed by the attention to details in the burrito. The corn, for example, was perfectly grilled before being added to the meal, and this really brought out its inherent sweetness, which contrasted nicely with the perfectly roasted green chile. Their red was complex and smoky. The hijiki salad was a nice light touch to round out my meal.
The food-​both vegetables and meats-​is locally sourced; in fact, the owners also run a farm in northern NM where much of the food comes from.
The service, while slow, is very friendly and heartfelt. The courtyard is a wonderful respite from the busy street just in front. The food is delicious. It is quite vegetarian friendly. It is also affordable, and will leave you with enough spare change to pick up a bale of hay from Dan’s across the street.

Very nice hidden gem! Fabulous fresh food as they said. We ordered salad, meatloaf panini and simple pasta with tomatoes sauce. Everything tasty and leave a good fresh taste in your mouth.
All staffs were friendly and make you feel more like you are visiting friend’s house than restaurant feeling.
Did not had a chance to try their dessert because we were so full. But if we are in New Mexico again we sure will pay a visit to this place.
Please come visit and try everything!!!

I have to admit that my first experience at Desert Grows was less than stellar. The limited farm-​fresh menu proved to be more exciting than I anticipated, but not so much for my other guests. The service was rather abysmal, it was unbelievably hot out on the barely shaded patio, the credit card reader evidently doesn’t work when the wind blows or there are clouds, and no one enjoyed the coleslaw with rosewater that we were served. Several of my guest commented that they were dismayed that all restaurants in the city were moving towards a sandwich style operation. What bummed me out the most was my meatloaf Panini was OK but not great. It was a special treat for me to eat meat AND bread, and it was a bummer when it was not really that great. I will most definitely come back and give it another shot… once they get it more together. Or maybe I was just there on an off day.

BOOM!!! Unilocal does it again! I love you guys!
This is hands down some of the best food in Albuquerque! Just incredible!
I had the carne adovada breakfast burrito — smothered — Christmas — HEAVEN!!! Possibly the best carne and red chile I’ve had in my life! It came with a side salad — all ingredients straight from Chef’s garden!
FD (foodie daughter) had pancakes — which she dubbed «best in the world»! They were glorious! The homemade Anis syrup was BEYOND DESCRIPTION!
All this for $ 20!!! I may live here :-)

This gem of a place is hidden in the rear courtyard of a nondescript building, with only a white flag letting passersby know it’s location. Still. We’re so glad we stopped by. We liked it so much we’re marking it as our Saturday brunch spot.
We tried the French toast, shrimp taco plate, Cobb salad and the breakfast burrito. Shrimp tacos were particularly outstanding — the tacos were pan fried tortillas filled with with melted queso, shrimp, maybe a (apricot?) remoulade/​curry — an inviting twist. The tomato vinaigrette was freshly prepared for the side salad. Tomatoes were heirloom, with skin lightly skimmed off. Careful, there are pits in the tacos though (apricot?). French toast was great, not overly sweet. Cobb salad had the nice vinaigrette that worked well with the smoked chicken. Actually, everything was excellent! I’d stop by and get a breakfast burrito daily if we lived closer. On the burrito: It wasn’t the typical slop affaire — the potato was carefully prepared and seasoned, all charred just a little on the outside!

This place is gonna be so very famous soon.
We were feeling adventurous so we tried this place, it’s literally hidden. Took us a whilst to find it but totally worth the effort. It has the rusted, raw and close to nature feeling when you first walk into this place — almost feeling like you’re sitting in someone’s backyard.
The chef was nice and personable, he came out and greeted us and made sure the foods were outstanding which they were.
We ordered the brisket sandwich and Mac and cheese, I tell you what, they were incredible. The brisket was moist, tender and flavorful. The buns were fresh and I have to give them credit for toasting their buns, who wants soggy buns?! Oh and their fries were outstanding, hand cut and home made! I liked how they left the skin on. You won’t get the extra crispy — processed taste and appearance of the «typical fries».
Mac and cheese? Amongst the best I’ve ever had. You can taste their passion and love — ya ya before you food and grammar police tell me that’s impossible — try it first and we shall discuss further ;)
I’d definitely come back to this place over and over again.

Amazing experience and food at Desert Grows! The crab cakes were some of the best I’ve ever had and I just moved to Abq from San Francisco. Little piece of heaven in the North Valley. I’ve been craving fresh ingredients and a tasty menu. And the prices were beyond fair for what you get. I can’t wait to come back and tell all my friends about this hidden gem! Come and check it out for yourself. You will not be disappointed. Great service and vibe as well! So yummy!

Blink when you’re driving by, and you’ll miss Desert Grows Kitchen. Located in Albuquerque, Desert Grows is a small, unassuming restaurant that feels almost like you’re eating in someone’s back yard. If you’re looking for good value in a relaxing outdoor setting, Desert Grows is a great option for breakfast or brunch.
As I do in many restaurants, I ordered the house breakfast burrito, and priced at a very affordable $ 5. The portion size was medium/​large, the burrito was packed eggs, potatoes, beans, cheese, green chile, and bacon (or ham) in a flour tortilla. I would rank this breakfast burrito in the top 3 of breakfast burritos in Albuquerque.
If you’re looking for a simply relaxed place in which to dine, you can’t beat Desert Grows. The outside patio — which does not face the street (like Hannah and Nate’s) affords a very relaxing setting for a meal. Don’t worry about the heat, a massive tree (cottonwood?) provides ample shade for even the hottest days.
Service was very good and the vibe was super chill. I believe they have music on Sunday mornings — don’t forget to tip the hired music well!
Even with all of the great places for breakfast in ABQ, I’d definitely come back here and looking forward to on my next trip to ABQ.

Best Cobb salad I’ve ever had. Great shaded patio with fountain. My kid loved the kid breakfast burrito.

The restaurant has got a wonderful brick and Adobe patio scattered with trees and potted plants and a working fountain. I was a bit skeptical of the food that might come out of the little trailer kitchen, but my chopped salad was wonderful! Served with a very subtle and not too sweet beet vinaigrette dressing and all kinds of tasty heirloom organic vegetables, avocado, egg, and a bit of meat. I recommend the chopped salad, and the quality of the food leads me to suspect that almost anything here would be good.

Stop what you’re doing and go eat here NOW. This «patio kitchen» in the North Valley, part of a hundred-​year-​old property (vineyard in the 1920’s!), boasts a locally-​sourced breakfast & lunch menu with enough variety to satisfy die-​hard NM diner breakfast fans, your tough-​to-​please vegan friend, sandwich junkies, and «go local or go home» food snobs. Chimayo Chile Dog, or Asian chop salad with duck confit?**sigh** Perhaps a Spinach breakfast burrito and an iced hibiscus tea… sitting under a 60-​year-​old cottonwood tree, enjoying live music on the spacious patio, you might just forget to order. Chef Armand will happily tell you about the day’s mouthwatering specials (still thinking about that Caprese Salad…), and the staff suggestions are from the heart – er, tummy. Don’t let the building renovations deter you; right now, seating is mostly outdoors, but there’s plenty of shade and a few umbrellas to keep you comfortable. Amazing fair trade coffee and a laid-​back atmosphere make this a perfect spot for a leisurely meal. A few kinks to work out in the flow of table service, but the friendliness of the staff, and their willingness to answer questions and share info, more than make up for a few extra minutes waiting for a refill or the check. This place has the potential to be your new favorite spot!

Nice place, I like the patio area, ni de place to chill and have since decent food foot a good price, first time there today and just got some burritos. The breakfast burrito with chiccaron was Yummy, the Carne adovado burrito was ok, I personally didn’t like the seasoning used in the came, tasted more like chili powder then actual red chili. They had a peach pancake social with fresh peaches they just picked, I didn’t know about it because I wad getting it Togo but if I knew I would of gotten them for sure
Over all good place for a farm to table type place, they’re prices are really good

This is the place we come to chill and eat scrumptious real food. There are places to sit outside as well as inside, shady tables and sunny tables.
The menu is varied enough to satisfy my wife with an Asian salad of farm to table veggies and a lightly sweet dressing.
And those breakfast burritos!
We live close by and we go there often. For some reason, the diners are very friendly as well as the restaurant owners and their family. We were happy to hear some music on one of those visits.
You must visit to experience the laid back atmosphere and the incredible food.

This place is a hidden gem in Los Ranchos! Great food, awesome service and great pricing for a farm to table restaurant! I would highly recommend trying this place out, its tucked away off on 4^th Street and has a very laid back atmosphere.

We visited on a whim, and the owner came out and greeted us and let us know of today’s specials. The one that caught our tastebuds was the Fathers Day Special-​A large steak with huevos rancheros. In a word «awesome»!! $ 13.00!
I bought a breakfast burrito to go and my son used the same word-«awesome».
He grows his own food and its called «local, local» meaning grown in immediate area (as I interpret it). Its hard to find so I will make it simple-​its directly across the street from Dans Boots and Saddles. It has an old car parked in front. Drive to the back and go right into the shaded courtyard.
I strongly suggest visiting and help this new local restaurant and grower show how its really done.