Danny Dines: Slate Street

Slate Street Billiards Bar and Grill has been a pillar in Rio Rancho for decades.

Not only is it THE spot for pool and billiards, but it has also won a mountain of awards that includes recognition from Albuquerque The Magazine, the Roadrunner Food Bank’s annual “Souper Bowl,” a mac and cheese festival, and plenty more.

“I like everything on the menu — honest to God — but the only thing that to me is just OK is the taquitos because taquitos are taquitos ... whether they are beef or chicken, they are just taquitos,” Steve Ricar said.

Besides being ambivalent about taquitos, Ricar co-owns Slate Street along with his partner Todd Mack. “We eat well in here for a little bar — well, actually not so little — a little bar in Rio Rancho. It’s a great place to sit, relax, hang out and play pool,”

Slate Street offers 16 9-foot pool tables, a billiard 10-foot table, a 10-foot snooker table, a lowly quarter box 7-foot table, darts, ATM poker and trivia, and a shuffleboard table.

They also have a ton of TVs, dry rub wing sauce for sale, pool equipment for sale, alcoholic beverages (30 tap handles and 13 local beers), and a selection of food items.

So, I decided to take a nice stroll from our offices to the nearby Slate Street location. It’s a six-minute walk, meaning I could listen to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and then five seconds of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Driver’s License” before I got there.

With the help of Ricar, I decided to order the cheeseburger soup, the Porky Tots, half an order of wings, and a green chile bacon and cheddar burger … no, I did finish it all.

First, I started with the cheeseburger soup, which was thick, rich, cheesy and hearty. In all the best ways possible, it was eating a cheeseburger with a spoon. Pretty safe to say that Slate Street has mastered the “art of the soup.”

“We do soups, 5-7 gallons at a time, and when it sells out, we will do another one. We change it up … it’s not the same soup every time,” Ricar said.

Next, came the wings, and these wings had a ton of meat on the bone. They were crispy, juicy and tender. I tried each wing with five different sauces: barbecue sauce, honey and hot sauce mixture, teriyaki sauce, hot sauce, and their house-made ranch.

Want to know something? Multiple people have told me that Slate Street ranch is better than a certain New Mexico pizza chain’s ranch. I won’t name the place, but it shares the same name — spelt differently — with Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders.

As I was finishing up the wings, I was reminded that my wing-eating technique still needs some refinement. Most people that see me eating wings are horrified to see how much meat I leave on the bone. I’ll tell the “wing-eating experts” the same thing I told my driver’s ed instructor: I am trying my best. I will get there eventually, and I am sorry about your car.

Anyway, next on the menu were the Porky Tots, which were tots topped with green chile pulled pork gravy, melted cheddar jack cheese and chives. These tots were crispy, the cheese was gooey, and the gravy made it very reminiscent of poutine. It was the perfect bar food.

At this time, I was fuller than Joey Tribbiani from “Friends.” However, I remembered another fictional character, Adonis Creed from the film “Creed II,” who chased excellence despite the odds. So, I whispered to myself, “Nobody puts Baby in a corner,” and pushed on … I got to stop watching so much TV.

I ordered the green chile bacon and cheddar burger, which came with fries. The patty was a half-pound flame-broiled steak burger, and it was a thick hockey puck indeed. I bit into it and was immediately taken to cheeseburger paradise. The fries were thick, crispy and delicious. I finished the whole thing, and I don’t expect to eat for another three days. Oh, and for dessert, I got some jalapeño poppers, which were the bomb!

Slate Street is a fun and safe spot that won’t disappoint with the food. Give it a try!