Category: New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011

AlbuquerqueBurgersDog FriendlyNew MexicoNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011Rating: Very Good

Laguna Burger (12th Street) – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno5:10 PM

“The best stories are like the best burgers: big, juicy, and messy.” ~A.D. Posey, American Author For men of my generation, a Big Mac was a rite of passage, a graduation from Happy Meal cheeseburgers to a real adult burger…an event akin to transitioning from training wheels to a ten speed bike.  We had grown up singing the jingle “two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun” and finally got to experience one for ourselves.   I had assumed all parents would, when their sons had proven worthy, introduce them to the Big Mac.  You can imagine my surprise upon reading a 2016 Wall Street Journal report that only one in five adults between the ages of 18 and 34 has ever even tasted McDonald’s signature burger. That’s right!   Eighty percent of all millennials have never experienced a Big Mac!  Even more surprising, many of my generation–those of us who grew up on Big Macs– haven’t had one in decades (and I had thought it was only me). Millennials not only make better, more healthy food choices than youth of my generation, they’ve had the advantage of more and better alternatives.  Obviously they’re much…

BurgersNew MexicoNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011Rating: Very Good

Bibo Bar & Grille – Bibo, New Mexico

Gil Garduno8:52 AM

There’s an old Lebanese proverb that says, “some men build a wine cellar after only finding one grape.” That proverb aptly describes the many rags to riches success stories among Lebanese immigrants to the Land of Enchantment, primarily to our state’s northern villages. Some of New Mexico’s most prominent names in business–Maloof, Bellamah, Hanosh, Ghattas, Sahd and others–embody the spirit of that proverb. The progenitors of many of New Mexico’s Lebanese immigrants left Lebanon during the repressive Ottoman Empire, the main exodus occurring in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Escaping persecution and poverty, some arrived with nothing but aspirations, dreams and hopes. The frontier territory of New Mexico was replete with opportunity (and the prospect of freedom) for them. Like their Phoenician forefathers had done, many of them began as door-to-door peddlers, many eventually launching trading posts or general stores in the small villages in which they settled. The “Arabes” as they are sometimes still called by Hispanics were hard workers, shrewd businessmen, community-minded and family-oriented. They fit right in with the tight-knit Hispanic communities which shared similar values–so much so that Los Arabes of New Mexico, a wonderful book written by Monika Ghattas is subtitled Compadres From…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBetter Call SaulBreakfastBurgersDog FriendlyNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011Rating: Very Good

The Owl Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno5:45 PM

Shortly before 6AM. on July 16, 1945, some of the world’s most brilliant minds ushered in the nuclear age with the detonation of the first atomic bomb, an occasion which later prompted Los Alamos Laboratory head J. Robert Oppenheimer to declare “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” The transformative event occurred in a dry, desolate locale approximately 35 miles from bucolic San Antonio, New Mexico, the gateway to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. The scientists who developed the top-secret bomb had been staying nearby in cabins rented from J.E. Miera, proprietor of Miera’s Owl Bar and Cafe. Posing as “prospectors,” the scientists frequented Miera’s for enthusiastic card games, cold beer and grilled cheeseburgers. In time, Miera’s son Frank Chavez, began adorning the burgers with fiery-hot diced green chile, unwittingly inventing what is now a sacrosanct New Mexico icon, the green chile cheeseburger. Despite what other claimants may say, San Antonio’s Owl Cafe is the progenitor to what James Beard Award-winning writer (and former restaurant reviewer for The Alibi) Jason Sheehan described in 2011 as “America’s best cheeseburger.” The green chile cheeseburger is all that and so much more. In the 1980s, Albuquerque entrepreneur Ski Martin…

BarbecueBurgersClosed in 2023Dog FriendlyGone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011Rating: Excellent

Sugar’s BBQ & Burgers – Embudo, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno3:52 AM

The winding highway meandering along the murky Rio Grande through Embudo is among the most scenic in the state, particularly in mid-autumn when leaves turn a vibrant shade of gold. You’ll want to drive slowly to take in the foliage, but especially to make sure you imbibe the hazy smoke plumes emanating from Sugar’s BBQ & Burgers which waft into your motorized conveyance like a sweet Texas smoke signal beckoning you to try a combo platter. The first time we met owners Nancy and Neil Nobles, we were blown away by their genuine humility. Until we told them, the genial proprietors of this corrugated tin shack and kitchen only a couple of hundred feet from the serpentine Rio Grande had no idea that they had been showcased on Roadfood.com. Their giddiness was unique and refreshing. While Neil prepared our meal, Nancy looked up Michael Stern’s eloquent review on the Roadfood Web site. That review is now framed and posted on the walls of the restaurant’s kitchen. Another glowing accolade–recognition as one of America’s ten best drive-ins by no less than Gourmet magazine–is also posted. That recognition came in May, 2005, culminating five years of growing acclaim.  Most recently (October, 2018),…

AlbuquerqueBurgersNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011Rating: Good

Bob’s Burgers – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:23 AM

“Bob.” Advertisers (as well as television and movie producers) realize there probably isn’t a better example of an “every man” name, typically portraying Bob as the average wage-earning man about town. Few would argue that Bob, a diminutive of Robert, isn’t a very vanilla and common name. In fact, according to Social Security Administration data it was the fourth most common name in the United States with 9.5 instances per 1,000 people as of 2013. Despite that popularity, advertisers seem to prefer naming the metrosexual males they portray something like Brad or Troy (sorry BOTVOLR). Bob’s Burgers in Albuquerque, Los Lunas, Las Cruces and Rio Rancho precedes the animated television program by that name by 48 years. Brothers Tom and Bob Salas launched the very first Bob’s Burgers in 1963 with their original restaurant at Copper and Sixth Street. Tom and Bob are still actively involved in the restaurant as is Tom’s son Clifford who owns several Bob’s locations. Everything is made to order at this popular New Mexico exclusive eatery. Unlike the green chile which tops so many burgers at other restaurants, Bob’s red and green chile bites back. Expect some of it to run down your arms. Expect…

AlbuquerqueDog FriendlyNew MexicanNew MexicoNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011Rating: Good

Sadie’s Dining Room – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno4:02 AM

Albuquerque and Sadie’s Dining Room have come a long way since 1950. Back then the Duke City’s population was 96,815, up 173% from 1940. Sadie Koury, the oldest child of Lebanese immigrants, was four years away from launching her first Albuquerque restaurant. Located on Second and Osuna, the first Sadie’s was housed in a Lilliputian edifice not much bigger than the restrooms at the Fourth Street restaurant which today bears her name. The Duke City was much more pastoral in the early 50s and Sadie’s restaurant was but a diminutive nine-stool diner on what was then one of the city’s most busy thoroughfares (though not quite as busy as Fourth Street which in 1954, was already seventeen years removed from having been part of historic Route 66). Sadie opened her eponymous eatery for breakfast every morning at 5AM and served lunch late into the afternoon. Standing room only crowds often included truckers who deviated from their Route 66 throughway and who would park their diesel rigs around the tiny edifice. Sadie greeted her customers with a friendly “hi honey” and got to know many of her regulars as well as how they liked their favorite meals prepared. In 1973 after…

AlbuquerqueBurgersNew MexicoNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011Rating: Very Good

Laguna Burger (66 Pit Stop) – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno8:31 AM

In 2016 and 2017 my review of the Laguna Burger was the most frequently visited post on Gil’s Thrilling…  In 2015 and 2014, only one restaurant (Down N’ Dirty Seafood Boil) received more blog visits than Laguna Burger.  If even a small number of the visitors to the review actually also visited the restaurant, that’s thousands of visitors to Laguna Burger.  It’s probably safe to assume hundreds of thousands of visitors who haven’t read Gil’s Thrilling review have made their way to one of the four Laguna Burger locations, three of which are definitely off-the-beaten path.  In November, 2017, Laguna Burger established a presence at a 3,000 square-foot space on Avanyu Plaza on 12th Street near the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque.  You can read my review of the 12th Street location here. The history of New Mexico is fraught with tales of hardship and peril. Enchanting as it may be, New Mexico is a land which can be harsh and unforgiving as early settlers found out when, amidst the ravages of climatic extremes, they traversed austere terrain in search of wealth and a better life. There were no interstate highways nor high-speed motorized conveyances to ferry them across…

AlbuquerqueBurgersChineseNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011Rating: Good

Lucky Boy – Albuquerque, New Mexican

Gil Garduno1:03 AM

During its seventh season, the X Files television series in which FBI agents investigated paranormal phenomena featured an episode in which a ravenous Lucky Boy employee in California struggled against his craving for human brain matter (almost anything goes in the Golden state). The most paranormal thing about the Duke City Lucky Boy is its “east meets west” dining concept. Nowhere else in town can you order Chinese and American food so inexpensively and from the very same menu. If you think about it, ordering inexpensive Chinese and American food from within one menu shouldn’t be such an anomalous event–especially when you consider that many of Lucky Boy’s patrons are UNM students, many of whom know how to stretch a buck. It’s not just UNM students who patronize this hole-in-the-wall. You might just as soon find faculty and staff also indulging in inexpensive (but good) food. Lucky Boy is a quintessential American mom and pop diner tended lovingly by Chinese proprietors named Suzy and Ron who know what many of their customers are going to order as soon as they walk in. You’ll do a second-take the first time you see a steaming wok preparing noodles next to the sizzling…

AmericanNew MexicoNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011Rating: N/R (Not Rated)Taos County

Stray Dog Cantina – Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:55 PM

There’s a rather ominous sign on the base of the Taos Ski Valley. In bold red uppercase print, the sign reads “DON’T PANIC!,” a preface for somewhat more reassuring text: “YOU’RE LOOKING AT ONLY 1/30 OF TAOS SKI VALLEY. WE HAVE MANY EASY RUNS TOO!” To novice skiers, the steepness of the ski runs visible from the base may as well be the “I’d turn back if I were you” sign Dorothy and her friends encountered when they entered the Haunted Forest on the way to the castle of the Wicked Witch of the West. No doubt the less skilled schussers turn tail like the Cowardly Lion and head for flatter topography. There’s another boldface type warning at another Taos Ski Valley landmark. This one is for the meek of taste bud and gastrointestinal system. The menu at the Stray Dog Cantina warns “Caution: Our chile is not for amateurs. It’s extra tasty, but it can be spicy – it is serious chile.” It’s obvious this warning is intended primarily for out-of-state visitors unaccustomed to their food biting back. For citizens of the Land of Enchantment, such a warning is akin to a red flag being waved at a charging…

BurgersClosed in 2021Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011

Magdalena Cafe – Magdalena, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno10:50 AM

In 1863 during the height of the Civil War, soldiers on leave from Fort Craig staked claims to silver strikes in the Magdalena Mountains. Within a few years, the boom towns of Kelly and Magdalena had sprung up, eventually achieving a population surpassing even Socorro, the county seat. The first veins of metal ore given up by the rocky promontories were lead and zinc, but ultimately silver became the principal source of wealth. With the arrival of the railroad in 1884, Magdalena became a rowdy frontier mining town and one of the Southwest’s largest cattle shipping centers with its stockyards processing thousands of cattle and sheep. Magdalena became known as the “Trails End” because the spur line which originated in Socorro had its terminus in the town named for the likeness of Mary Magdalene on a nearby slope. The railroad transported cattle, sheep, wool, timber and wool. It also transported carloads of ore to a smelter outside of Socorro. No vestiges of the railroad remain, but it’s easy to imagine how spectacular the 20 meandering miles from Socorro to Magdalena must have been by train. That’s because Highway 60 approximates the route of the railroad line nicknamed “the elevator” because…

AmericanFarmingtonNew MexicoNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011Rating: N/R (Not Rated)Sushi

Clancy’s Pub – Farmington, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:42 PM

Characterized by writer Tom Wolfe as the “Me Decade” and derided by cynics as the “Disco Era,” the 1970s witnessed an explosion of copycat fast food chain restaurants and the birth of innovative fusion cuisine in many contemporary restaurants. Fusion cuisine is the inventive combination of diverse, sometimes disparate culinary traditions, techniques and ingredients to form an entirely new genre. In large metropolitan areas, particularly throughout California, the fusion of different cuisines became commonplace. Restaurants featuring the melding of French and Chinese cuisine were especially popular. Still other restaurants had their own ideas as to what constituted fusion cuisine. Instead of intermixing ingredients, they featured menus showcasing the cuisine of several genres. One such restaurant is Clancy’s Pub in Farmington, New Mexico. Though its name practically screams “Irish pub,” Clancy’s Pub is so much more. Founded in 1978, Clancy’s offers one of the most diverse and comprehensive menus you’ll find anywhere in New Mexico. It’s East meets West, surf meets turf, vegetarian meets meat lover, sweet meets savory, and so much more. Now, if you’re wondering if Clancy’s Pub is just another one of those restaurants which endeavors to “be all things to all people” and falls woefully short of…