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February 3, 2010

A Favorite on Route 66

If you drive on I-40 across the southwest, your pretty much driving the old Route 66. It criss-crosses the interstate over and over, even merges and shares the pavement with it for stretches.

In New Mexico, you can exit the interstate in Moriarty and drive through town on US66, just as you can in many small towns along the way. We have not seen much of Moriarty, just that little snippet that's right off the interstate and around the truck stop that's there.


A couple years ago we stopped there at the TA for fuel and a meal. As is usual for us, we weren't overly enthused about our options at the truck stop, so after fueling, Malcolm headed towards town. We'd only gone a few blocks when we spotted the El Comedor. Malcolm has a weakness for Mexican food, and I'm pretty fond of it myself. Malcolm is also an expert at getting the truck in and out of unusual parking situations, so we get to go places many other truckers probably avoid. In the case of the El Comedor, though, there was a grocery store next door and next to that, an area of gravel along the side road that was just big enough for a truck to turn around in and park. And thus, a tradition was started, and we now have our self-designated truck parking spot, and stop at the El Comedor whenever we're passing Moriarty, NM and have time to stop.


Its a cozy place, kind of a cowboy/southwest motif. We tend to be in there early between the breakfast and lunch crowds, and so we get to visit and joke with the staff, and enjoy the quiet.
Don't be fooled by the picture into thinking its not a popular place. We've been here when they were busy bees, and they are apparently rather popular with the stars. They have a whole wall of photos of local and national celebrities that have made it a point to stop in.

If you can catch it on a Sunday they have a great breakfast/brunch buffett for a reasonable price. On every other occasion that you might get to stop there, their menu features New Mexico favorites, and for the non-border food consumer, they also have some "normal" restaurant selections, such as hamburgers.


Malcolm and I used to eat at Mexican restaurants when we lived in Tennessee and Georgia and enjoyed the meals greatly. But when we started trucking through the southwest and California, we quickly realized we had not been eating real Mexican food. And in truth, we may still not be. I'm sure what is served this side of the border is probably changed up a little to appeal to the American taste buds. But what we get in the southwest is far different from what is served in other areas. Its the same menu items, but SO much better, and often totally different in appearance from what we had been served previously!


Malcolm has his favorites and so do I. At the El Comedor, he has discovered they have the best Chile Rellenos. These are peppers stuffed with cheese, battered, and deep fried. I'm not a huge fan, but these looked better than any I've seen before and I may have to order them next time we're through there for a try.


For me, it changes. I love the tacos at certain places in California, but I like to try different things in other places. On this occasion I opted for the burrito with Carne Adavado with the green chili sauce.
Both meals came with a Sopapilla, which is a piece of fried bread. This is served at many establishments, but it seems to always be different. Some places its flat, where as here it was very puffy. Some places drizzle them with chocolate syrup or honey, and top it with whipped cream. Here it comes to you un-garnished, but there is a bottle of honey syrup on every table. Yummy!





Its worth the stop. For contact info, directions, and more visit their web site here.

9 comments:

aleisethefunny said...

Yum!

Beck's Country Living said...

Looks sooo good, hope you are having a good trip be safe

small farm girl said...

Okay, now I'm hungry. Thanks!

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Oh no! You can't call it Mexican. YOu must call it New Mexican here. And good for you, you chose the green chile sauce. No New Mexican food is complete without red or green chile. The freshest, roasted and brought up from Hatch New Mexico. Life here in New Mexico would not be bearable without it.
And if you really want to go gangbusters, you choose 'Christmas' on your plate. That's a mix of both red AND green chile. Yummo! It's like a drug. Even the hamburgers at McDonalds serve green chile on them.

I have a very difficult time when we visit any other state, because they don't even know what red or green chile are. They will try to dump jalapenos on your food instead. yuk!

I'm glad you enjoyed your visit in Moriarty. And at the El Comedor. We are only 20 minutes west from there. Chile Hills in Edgewood also has awesome New Mexican food. They are closer to us, but you'd have to park in the Smith's parking lot like other truckers do.
But then on the other side of I-40 is the Dairy Queen. Great way to end a good meal and cool off the tongue. hehe!


Hopefully I'll get to see you on your next drive through. We've got a foot of snow on the ground after a blizzard blew in today.


~Lisa

Anonymous said...

Lordy, I'm drooling all over my computer!! My favorite kind of food. That's the only thing I miss about Texas, but we've found a place or two here that we like, and I do cook a few good dishes myself. :)

Meagan said...

Mmmmm! Looks yummy! And I bet it IS more authentic than the mexican food we enjoy here! :-) Maybe one day I'll get to try some!

Love you!

BTW, Lily was THRILLED to realize that the two of you share a birthday month and demanded to know if she would be able to see you on your birthday! :-)

small farm girl said...

I'm sorry for this, but I just tagged you on my blog. I will understand if you don't want to do this. I was just bored. lol

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Oh! Guess what I found while the kids and I were doing some homeschool research on our former New Mexico Governor, Bruce King?

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/Former-Gov--Bruce-King-dies

Guess what his favorite restaurant was? hehe!


~Lisa

Sage said...

Yes, it is NEW MEXICAN food here in NM. And this looks completely different than what is served at the places I go to in Albuquerque, Corrales, and Rio Rancho, NM. And you will find the food different in each and every household when you visit a home. Our New Mexican food is as different as all the different kinds of pizza, or hambergers you can get all over. And yes, the big question here is
Red? or Green? meaning what kind of chilli sause not what color for Christmas.