Bobcat Bite - Santa Fe, NM

OK.

This is not some gourmet restaurant that gets their beef from Kobe Japan and sells them all dressed up with freshly-made garlic aioli or individually plucked watercress leaves.

This is a little diner off the Old Pecos Highway outside of Santa Fe, that sells steaks and burgers, with just enough side items to keep the aforementioned entrees happy.

You want french fries with your burger? Nope. They got potato chips in a snack-sized bag, cos there isn't a fryer in the kitchen, just a grill. Salads are simple "lettuce, tomato, slice of onion, and dressing" affairs.

There's not even that much room in the place. Six tables and a lunch counter. That's it.

But people will wait outside for upwards of an hour for their food.

Why?

Because it is WORTH IT.

Imagine a third pound of locally ranch raised beef, cooked to order, packed into a toasted bun, fresh lettuce, onion, and tomato underneath, and up top, a slice of cheddar and a genuine Hatch New Mexico green chile pepper, split in half, de-seeded, and chargrilled to get the skin off.

The burger is juicy enough that you will NEED the roll of paper towels on the table. Forget napkins; heavy-duty spill control is called for. The spice of the chile, the mellow cheese, the honest texture of the veggies... the only way you'd get something more down-home authentic is if you bought a steer at auction, pastured it, fed it, killed it, buchered it, and cooked it yourself.

The steaks... all that, plus it's a freakin' steak. And there was a chorus of angels overhead when the first bite of meat goes from fork to mouth. Hallelujah and amen, people.

IF you're going to Santa Fe (or you're looking for an excuse to go there) this is it folks.

http://bobcatbite.com/