Life, food, events, and community in Albuquerque, NM

The Burger Wars: A New Sheriff In Town?

NOB HILL--The title is huge: Best Green Chile Cheeseburger...period. The contest for the best burger has never been strictly local; it has always been statewide. And it is never just a hamburger contest; it is definitely a Green Chile Cheeseburger affair. Albuquerque has had some memorable entrants in this fry-off. The “double zero” GCCB on the numbered list of burgers at Monroe’s on Lomas springs instantly to mind. But curiously enough Albuquerque seems to be nowhere near the top of the cities and towns that vie for the title of Best Green Chile Cheeseburger in New Mexico. That title has been largely fought out just south of Socorro in the little crossroads town of San Antonio. The Owl Bar sits on the north side of U.S. Route 380. The Buckhorn sits across the street. For years The Owl has been a part of anybody’s trip to that part of the state. Their GCCB has been a culinary legend for a thousand miles in any direction. But then a funny thing happened. In 2003 Epicurius.Com rated the restaurant across the street, The Buckhorn, as one of the top ten burgers in America! Two years later, GQ rated The Buckhorn as No. 7 in the U.S.A.

Well, New Mexicans have been arguing about that ever since. And if you don’t have an opinion on the matter, you give yourself away as a late-comer to the Land of Enchantment...or even more suspect, a vegetarian.

But wait...there’s more. Now a diner in Quemado is quietly putting forth the rash idea that they just might have the best GCCB in NM. Quemado, if you have never been there, lies 62 miles west of Socorro on U.S. Route 60.

This is in Catron County. Catron County once passed a law making it illegal to NOT own a gun. You don’t want to be caught lying about your meat in Catron County.

The sign outside the Largo Cafe humbly states, “We think we have New Mexico’s best Green Chile Cheeseburger. Try it.” My girlfriend MaryAnn thinks they’re right.

Asked about the burger, she says, “The green chile was fresh and really good, the bun was toasted and a little crunchy so it didn’t get soggy. It looked like a free-formed artesano hamburger. It was perfect: juicy and a healthy shade of pink.”
“So, do you think it actually is the Best GCCB in New Mexico?”
“Well, it was the best I have ever had...but I haven’t sampled them all.”

So at this point what we have is similar to the graveyard Mexican Standoff in The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly: Three cheap eateries in tiny towns facing off for BEST GCCB in NM. What a day trip this would be, to take in all three on a Sunday drive through the country!

Can Albuquerque compete with these hamlets? Maybe you have a suggestion. Has anyone, besides MaryAnn, eaten a burger at all three of these places?

The rules for consideration of best GCCB in NM are simple enough...in fact, there is only one: It must be cheap...or at least inexpensive. (Last summer I had to pay $19 for a hamburger at the Chateau Lake Louise and I’m still crying foul).

Oh I have been to the old Owl Bar,
The Buckhorn, O’Neil’s, and Blake’s.
I’ve eaten the burgers from near and far,
And never bothered with steaks.

Let others quibble over the grain-fed stuff,
Let others argue the fairer points of rare or well.
I never worry that my burger’s too tough,
Or my wallet can’t stand the bill.

Just give me a burger with cheese on top
And green chile piled on high.
(And if you think you know a good place to stop,
Just leave a comment saying Where and Why).

Tags: chile, day, food, green, trips

36 Comments

Comment by Kitson Harvey on April 1, 2008 at 8:35am: Oh dear. I had the Quemado burger about a month ago and found it so-so. In fact, there's a better burger to be had right there in Quemado -- in that joint across the street from the Dia Foundation.

Comment by Kenny on April 1, 2008 at 8:41am: Last time I had a GCCB at the Owl Cafe it wasn't very good...very greasy. That was about 4 months ago.

Comment by Jesstagirl on April 1, 2008 at 8:54am: There's a problem with that sign, and it may keep me from trying it (yes, it peeves me that much). It's chile with an "E" not an "I."

Comment by Doug R on April 1, 2008 at 9:03am: Highway 60 is my preferred entrance into the Land of Enchantment when driving in from California. I've been to the Largo and tried their GCCB three years ago this July. It was decent but.....numero uno in the entire state? I don't think so.

Of course, I'm guy who stops at the first Lotaburger I see once I hit NM while on the road (that and the first Fry Bread stand). Hmmmm....a green chile burger wrapped in fresh fry bread?

Comment by Tricross on April 1, 2008 at 9:14am: It is impossible for any of those places to make the best GCCB because, well... I make the best one, or at least that's what my wife tells me.

Comment by Phil_0 on April 1, 2008 at 9:23am: I'm an Owl fan, with Blake's and the Frontier in second and third. But I've never been to either of the Buckhorns, and there's a little place in Carrizoso (the Outpost?) that's supposed to be pretty terrific too.

Comment by Khan on April 1, 2008 at 9:28am: I've been a no-fooling-around vegetarian for over a decade, but having grown up on beef & grease with cheese & chile, i have to lean towards Blake's, myself, even if it's only a decade old memory. For all that's worth.

As for the I/E question, in my own mind, chili is slop that texans make, while chile is the spicy fruit of a small shrub grown in the Rio Grande Valley. But one does see it both ways, and I have no etymological foundation for my leanings.

Comment by M.J. Williams on April 1, 2008 at 9:32am: There is no better green chile chesseburger than the no.6 the "old way" at Bert's Burger Bowl in Santa Fe. End of story.

Comment by Phil_0 on April 1, 2008 at 9:44am: Oh, I forgot - the Bobcat Bite is quite good as well. And I meant the old, San Antonio Owl, not its ABQ emulator.

Comment by William McShane on April 1, 2008 at 9:51am: The Outpost in Carrizozo belongs in this group.

The Burger Wars: A New Sheriff In Town?

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