Usually whenever I’m in an unfamiliar town or city I like to check out the restaurants and bars that come recommended by locals or other travelers.  I didn’t really have too much to go by when I found myself in Albuquerque last week, so I was quite excited to see a place like The Library Bar and Grill in a town that seemed so unexciting.  This Library has a huge façade on the building made up of giant spines of books with alternate titles that poke fun at some of the classics.  The outside of the building led me to believe that it was a place where people who had a passion for all things literary liked to congregate.  Or at the very least it gave me the impression that since it was so near the University of New Mexico’s downtown campus, it would be full of college students and academics.  My assumptions were quite inaccurate after I entered the building, looking for a run of the mill lunch- a burger and some fries perhaps, with a beer or two to wash it down.

The place was pretty empty inside and I found a seat near the street window.  My table was covered in a sticky film that made me think it had been used by drunks the night before in a less-than polite way.  It smelled vaguely of vomit in the building as well- not a great sign that it was a very clean place.  The pages of the menu were so sticky with dried-up alcohol and soda that I had a hard time pulling them apart to even read what was on them.  This really grossed me out, but I was in a charitable mood and felt like giving the Library another shot.

The waitresses were dressed quite scandalously.  I’m a 26 year old guy, and have been in just about every type of establishment known to man so I’ve seen some pretty horrible things relative to how people dress.  But the waitresses at The Library take the cake.  Their skirts were so short that, in an effort to save themselves from certain embarrassment and ogling, they held their hands behind their backsides to cover the skin that was shown each time they walked away from a table.  I know that for some people, under different circumstances, the lack of clothing would represent something very desirable, but I was there to have a burger and fires with a beer.  If I had wanted to go to a strip club I would have, but instead I expected some food.

The food I ordered was mediocre.  The coleslaw that came with my “Hang Ten” Hawaiian style burger was quite bad.  The beer was good though, and I quickly downed my first glass in order to give myself the composure that was necessary to deal with this place.  The service was also extremely bad.  My waitress pretty much just forgot about me after serving me my food.  It took three reminders for her to get a set of silverware and napkins for me and I waited almost 15 minutes for my check after I requested it.  Needless to say, the serviced matched the product and the atmosphere.

I do understand the need for party bars near college campuses, and perhaps I wasn’t picky enough in deciding where to go for lunch, but I wouldn’t recommend The Library Bar and Grill to anyone looking for anything above mediocre.