Monday, October 3, 2011

Green Chile Cheeseburgers at Monroe's and Blake's Lotaburger

Monroe's in Albuquerque

Road tripping through New Mexico means that Green Chile Cheeseburgers are very much on the agenda. This trip, we had two.

First up was Monroe's, in Albuquerque. I chose Monroe's because it was well-reviewed and within walking distance of our hotel (Casa de Suenos, which I highly recommend). When we arrived, the place was pretty dead. Undeterred, we entered into the harsh, florescently-lit room and sat down.

Green Chile Cheeseburger at Monroe's

You can see the green chile cheeseburger above, served with sweet potato fries (I ordered regular fries). Overall, it disappointed. Not enough green chile for the flavor to really come through, and the burger itself was the thin, frozen puck style you would buy at Costco. It was decently prepared, though, and I had no trouble eating it. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said about their carne adovada, which we also tried - way too salty, and lacking in flavor.

Overall, it was a pretty bad dining experience. Monroe's seems like a place that has seen better days, and it would be hard to recommend based on our visit.

The next day, we had a much better meal at Blake's Lotaburger in Deming:

Blake's Lotaburger in Deming

We wrote about the green chile cheeseburger at Blake's a few years ago, and this visit was nearly identical. Here is the Lotaburger with double meat, add cheese and green chile:

Green Chile Cheeseburger at Blake's Lotaburger

The amount of green chile was perfect, with tons of chile flavor and a good amount of heat.

Green Chile Cheeseburger at Blake's Lotaburger

There is nothing complicated about this burger - just a better-than-average fast food burger, well prepared, and with the key addition of chopped up Hatch green chile. If someplace in San Diego puts a burger like this on their menu, I will happily give them my money on a regular basis.

Monroe's
1520 Lomas Blvd. NW
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(505) 242-1111
Blake's Lotaburger
600 North Gold Street
Deming, New Mexico
(575) 544-7302

7 comments:

  1. Hey Mike - I had burgers with Hatch Green Chilies several times when I worked in AZ....it's good stuff!

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  2. Definitely good stuff. I wish it would catch on here in SD.

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  3. Wow, that's a good amount of green chili on the lotaburger. Looks delicious!

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  4. Hi CAB - yep, it looks like the chile might be overwhelming, but I found it to be just right.

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  5. You got to love the green chile. We do!

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  6. Hi Chilebrown - yeah, there is something special about green chile - particularly the Hatch chiles. I can't get enough of it.

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  7. Try the Red Rooster in Oceanside. Green chile burger. Pretty darn good. Not fresh roasted Hatch Chiles, but............

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