San Antonio may be but
a blip on the map, but its storied and pioneering history make this
sparsely populated agricultural community arguably one of New Mexico's
most important towns.
In 1629, San Antonio was the site on which
Franciscan friars planted the first vineyard (for sacramental wine) in
New Mexico (in defiance of Spanish law prohibiting the growing of grapes
for wine in the new world.)
San Antonio was the birthplace of
Conrad Hilton, founder of the ubiquitous Hilton Hotels and more
importantly, one of New Mexico's original legislators after statehood
was granted in 1912.
San Antonio was also the gateway to the
Trinity Site in which the first atomic bomb was detonated in 1945.
While these events are
historically significant, they are also inextricably bound by one common
element--the uncommonly ordinary facade that houses the extraordinary,
world-famous Owl Cafe.
Conrad Hilton's father once owned the
saloon in which the bar in the Owl Cafe once held prominence and
presumably sold the fruit of the vine whose progenitors may have been
among New Mexico's original grape stocks. According to local lore,
the fathers of the nuclear age spent much of their free time cavorting
at the Owl Cafe where original owner Jose Miera installed a grill and
started crafting the green chile cheeseburgers that would ultimately
achieve unprecedented acclaim.
Ostensibly, the
restaurant was named the Owl because legal gambling was conducted at all
hours of the night in the back of the restaurant, ergo by "night
owls."
Today feathered fowl are still important to San
Antonio's local economy as thousands of bird watchers flock to the
nearby Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge to crane their necks for a
glimpse of geese, ducks and cranes. The Owl Cafe offers welcome
respite from the rigors of bird-watching.
Rowena Baca, a
descendent of the Owl Cafe's founder and current proprietor of the Owl
Cafe, holds on to tradition, preparing the world-famous green chile
cheeseburger in much the same way as her grandfather did.
The meat is ground on
the premises, patties are hand-formed and the ingredients (mayo,
lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion cheese and green chile) are unfailingly fresh.
On a double
meat burger, the succulent meat and melted cheese bulge out beyond the
buns. The meat positively breaks apart (the consequences of not
using filler) and its juices make consuming one a lip-smacking,
multi-napkin affair.
The green chile is as near to green chile
nirvana as you'll find on any burger in New Mexico. Non-natives
might find it a bit hot, but locals think it's just right.
Ironically, it's not green chile grown within easy walking distance in
San Antonio's famous
Sichler Farms, but a special blend of
chile from the
Albuquerque Tortilla Company. The
reason given is that the Albuquerque Tortilla Company's Chile is already
roasted, peeled, chopped and sealed for freshness. Somehow it makes
sense.
Another Owl tradition
you can't help but notice is all the dollar bills tacked on the
restaurant's walls. Patrons leave messages or write their names on
dollar bills then tack them on any available free space. Once a
year, the money is collected and given to charity with more than $7,000
donated thus far.
On an average summer day, the Owl Cafe
will serve an average of six to seven hundred burgers. The
population of San Antonio rivals that of a larger city during lunch and dinner
hours when the Owl's several parking lots are overflowing with hungry
diners.
The front dining room will accommodate
only a few of them. Fortunately the restaurant has several dining
rooms; you've got to go through one to get to another.
In 2003, Jane and
Michael Stern, rated the Owl Cafe's green chile cheeseburger on Epicurious.Com
as one of the top ten burgers in America--lavish praise indeed for one
of New Mexico's historic gems.
It has garnered similar acclaim by
other notable critics, having transcended the generations by sticking to
a time-tested formula of providing great food at reasonable prices.
Disputably there may be better green chile cheeseburgers out there, but
there are none more famous.
The other "must have" in addition to
an outstanding green chile cheeseburger is a bowl or side of beans with
green chile. The aroma of steaming green chile wafts through the
dining room as your waitress approaches and you're the envy of any diner
who may not have ordered this favorite of New Mexican comfort foods.
The Owl Cafe has several other menu
items, but rarely do you see anyone foolhardy enough to order a
sandwich, hot dog or nachos.
Skip the dessert at the Owl and head
next door to the San Antonio General Store where Anne Lund serves some
of the very best homemade fudge anywhere as well as ice cream (Dreyers),
drinks, snacks and sandwiches. Lund actually bought the General
Store from Rowena Baca's daughter and spent about a year perfecting the
wonderful fudge (which is made with real butter and cream).
Perfect is the operative word for fudge in which you can taste the
quality and a whole lot of love from a confectionary artist.
