Bobcat Bite

420 Old Las Vegas Highway, Santa Fe, NM - (505) 983-5319

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Posted By Michael Stern on 10/4/2010 9:28:00 PM

Bobcat Bite is one of the friendliest little restaurants we know. And we do mean little! The 2010 Roadfood Tour of New Mexico -- a relatively small group at 26 people -- filled the place to capacity when we arrived for breakfast of green chile cheeseburgers at 10:15 on a Friday morning. By the time we were vacating the place, about 11, a substantial lunch crowd was beginning to form, putting their names on the sign-up board in anticipation of getting one of the tables or counter seats.

Once you get inside, the staff couldn’t be nicer. Since it opened a half-century ago, through a series of owners and now in the capable hands of Bonnie and John Eckre, Bobcat Bite has maintained a country coziness that makes newcomers and old friends always feel at home. For us, the experience of eating here has a strong nostalgic air, like we’ve somehow stepped into a ship-shape roadside diner in the mid-1950s. In its modest way, it is a beautiful place with clean varnished wood tables and counter and pictures of bobcats and other wildlife on the walls.

The menu is basic. Certainly the best-known specialty is the green chile cheeseburger, a magnificent 10-ounce patty made from daily-ground chuck, cooked to your specs and smothered with vibrant green chilies and melted cheese. The rib-eye steak, cut from prime beef, is spectacularly juicy and flavorful. Although unspectacular, the grilled cheese sandwich, or better yet, the grilled cheese and ham sandwich, is flawless. Among the side dishes is an excellent dish of porky baked beans (summer only) and a fabulous grilled jalapeno pepper with firm, muscular walls and roundhouse chile flavor.

According to the little history on the back of the menu the restaurant’s unusual name comes from a time many years ago when bobcats came down from the hills and were given snacks at the back door.

Note the limited hours of operation: Wednesday through Saturday from 11am to exactly 7:50pm. (And Tuesday in the summer.) What the 7:50 closing time means is that if you get your name on the sign-up board in the vestibule by 7:50, you will eat, even if that means you might wait an hour or so to do so.

Scorecard

Overall: Legendary - Worth driving from anyplace

Green Chile Cheeseburger	Skillet Baked Beans
Rib-Eye Steak

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"Medium rare, as ordered. It may not be the food pyramid, but this big ovoid masterpiece delivers bread, meat, vegetable and cheese in perfect balance. Even without the chilies and cheese, this is one glorious hamburger. The chilies are just hot enough to stimulate taste buds (but not overwhelm them); the melted cheese adds dairy luxury; the bun is artisan but not frou-frou."
Michael Stern

"Served in a plastic basket on a lovely bun along with a handful of potato chips, Bobcat Bite’s green chile cheeseburger is different from most. For one thing, it is a big, succulent, hand-formed patty of good ground chuck. The configuration is different, too: the chile is put directly on the hamburger, then covered with cheese."
Michael Stern

"A vintage American diner on Old Las Vegas Highway."
Michael Stern

"Available as a side only during the Summer, the skillet baked beans are sweet and full of bacon."
Cliff Strutz

"Nothing beats this burger and fries."
bubba rainwater

"The front of the menu features bobcats."
Cliff Strutz

"Here’s a prime ribeye steak. In our experience, there is none more delicious between Amarillo and L.A."
Michael Stern

"The cole slaw is finely chopped, with a nice vinegary, peppery flavor."
Cliff Strutz