K
5/5
Had my share of breakfast burritos road-tripping back and forth across the Southwest and planning food stops in Albuquerque as well as Santa Fe whenever possible. These soft and miraculous scrambled eggs, the perfect griddled flour tortilla that is soft on the inside but is heated to flaky outside, the right potato hash interior, and a very reasonable green Hatch chili sauce that is just hot enough for the avg person outside New Mexico without compromising on its intended heat and flavor: so satisfying. And if you’ve never tried cooking with hatch chilies yourself, this is really a feat. The first and last time I did this (after stopping in Albuquerque for freshly roasted Hatch chilies and driving the haul over 1,200 miles home) I learned the hard way I had to manually remove nearly every last seed in these chilies (which also need to be skinned, unlike jalapeños and other thin-skinned chilies) for a tolerable heat level and healthy… digestion.
Honestly I have to say I even enjoy this place’s sausage more than typical New Mexican chorizo because I just don’t love most chorizo—it’s usually greasy and pooling in old fat and sits around, which leaves me feeling not great. The sausage here is delicious but not heavy. And despite the perfect portion size (you could eat it all and be stuffed, or eat most and be full with a snack for later), I didn’t feel like a gross potato after or crash. I think that speaks volumes on quality given a very carb-heavy first meal. I saw they actually source their meat and dairy from Paisano’s butcher shop, which is very impressive for these price points and frankly unprecedented for a casual restaurant when most people wouldn’t notice the difference and be charged double the price at other places serving economy meat.
The part I appreciate most is they must cook it all together on the griddle before wrapping or something nearing that, and they manage to do this all with pre-wrapped burritos so when you pick up you’re not waiting 15 min for your order. It’s near instantaneous, perfect when you’re hungry and just the right price for good rito, affordable even for the neighborhood and quality you’re getting. My pet peeve is a burrito spot like Ursula, lazy and loveless, each component batch-prepped to separate hell with eggs that tasted like they came out of the plastic bag and were steamed cafeteria style with no oil or flavor. Someone then takes a gloved scoop of each component and slaps it all together on a naked tortilla, rolls it up and calls it a $15 day, wow. If there’s a griddle in that place it must be 1000yds away in another zip code because I went there right at opening when it should’ve been freshest, and that was as fresh as it got. So disappointing and soul-crushing. Show me any self-respecting burrito for that price that isn’t melded and cooked to flavor perfection on the flat top… your local bodega and any POC place would never. But I digress. You will not have those concerns eating here.
It is a breakfast burrito, so don’t come expecting a Michelin meal and complain that it didn’t change your life. For a solid, reliable, fast breakfast in the neighborhood, where most options are mediocre and overpriced to boot, this delivers 10/10 on every front. And that kind of place is about as rare as a fancy meal that does change your life. Very jealous of folks who live close by and can have this any time.
Two seats outside right at the register/counter window, so expect to take these quick ritos to go. I guess the inside must open for dinner service, which I am now very interested in trying. I’ve never had such good sopaipillas outside Santa Fe and the ones here look just as fluffy and perfect as the places a friend took me there!
