I visited El Farolito after reading the reviews here, and going on the concurrent raves of my Realtor; it is hands down her favorite New Mexican place, especially for the green chile cheeseburger.
Kind of a letdown, though; the chiles are bland and clearly canned, and the cheeseburger is tasty but WAY too big, making the chile to cheese to burger ratio way off. The bun is pasty and doughy, heavy almost. Fries are good though. Had a tamale (I'm partial to them), but it came swimming in a weird broth and was pretty greasy.
Still, the roadside allure quotient was definitely high. Maybe it was just an off day. Could have been the time of day too, but I think they could definitely hit the "refresh" button; everything seemed tired.
"El Farolito is a tiny diner on the Main Street of El Rito, a town that is little more than a main street."
Michael Stern
"The northern New Mexico classic: Fritos pie. The chips are bedded down below the chile."
Michael Stern
"A superb example of the Green Chile Cheeseburger"
Michael Stern
"The traditional breadstuff with New Mexican meals: sopaipillas. They are fresh-fried and served warm with honey."
Michael Stern
"In New Mexico, chile is always spelled with an E at the end. It's a way of honoring the official state vegetable. This is a bowl of green chile stew."
Michael Stern
"El Farolito means "The Little Lantern," which is how this restaurant is marked."
Michael Stern
