Roadfood_ Revised Edition - Jane Stern [210]
Louis’s is a colorful place with waitresses outfitted in native attire and walls decorated with travel posters of the Pyrenees as well as pottery from Ciboure. Its clientele is a mix of travelers passing through for whom a meal here is a special treat as well as plenty of Renoans who make Louis’s a regular part of their week.
Nevada Dinner House
246 Silver St.
775–738–9925
Elko, NV
LD | $$
The emblem of the Nevada Dinner House is a shepherd drinking wine from a bota bag. It is not necessary to drink wine to enjoy a meal in this family-style eatery on Silver Street in Elko’s old downtown, but it is the sort of meal that makes you want to celebrate.
A casual tavern/dining room decorated with paintings of life in the Pyrenees, the Dinner House is also a spacious bar, where it is a joy to linger before or after dinner over Picon punch, the high-octane Basque very-adult beverage made of brandy, bitter orange Picon liqueur, and a twist of lemon. At capacious tables in the dining area a speedy waitstaff serves meals that are fundamentally western, but with Basque seasonings. Simply put, that means nearly everything but the liquor and after-dinner ice cream is shot through with garlic. The ritual of big-feed starts with powerhouse salads—no exotic greens or any such wussy ingredients; just good ol’ iceberg lettuce—glistening with lemony vinaigrette. From that, you move on to old-world “first course” casseroles, then pork chops, lamb, sirloin steaks, prime rib, shrimp, halibut, or falling-off-the-bone garlic chicken accompanied by mouthwatering mashed potatoes.
After supper, Elko is a great place to stroll; its attractions include a casino reminiscent of Las Vegas in the pre-Disneyfication era, where farmers, cowboys, and visitors came to whoop it up at the gaming tables.
New Mexico
Bert’s Burger Bowl
235 N. Guadalupe St.
505–982–0215
Santa Fe, NM
LD | $
Bert’s says it invented the green chile cheeseburger, and while we cannot confirm or deny the claim, we can tell you that the one made here is a doozy. Flat patties of beef are sizzled on a grate over charcoal, from which flames lick up and flavor not only the meat, but also the bright orange cheese laid upon it. Dollops of fiery minced green chile are mounded atop the cheese from a bucket near the fire, and unless you say otherwise, your burger will come dressed with mustard, pickle, lettuce, onion, and tomato. Experienced customers, who dine under umbrellas on a sun-drenched patio overlooking Guadalupe Street, gradually peel back the wax paper in which the sandwich is wrapped as they eat, thus avoiding too much spillage.
Other popular burger configurations include BBQ and mayo/relish, and if the normal one-quarter pounder seems insufficient, a half-pound hamburger is available. Anyone who eats four half-pound burgers in thirty minutes gets them free. The menu also lists taco carnitas, flautas de pollo, chili dogs, and Fritos pie.
Bert’s is a quick-order joint, but the food doesn’t come right away. You tell them what you want, and they take your money and give you a number. Then you hang around listening to hamburgers sizzle. Each one is cooked to order. A sign on the cash register advises: “All our food at Bert’s is specially made for you and the approximate wait is 12 minutes once order is placed.”
Bobcat Bite
420 Old Las Vegas Hwy.
505–983–5319
Santa Fe, NM
LD | $
The chile pepper (spelled with an e) is the official state vegetable of New Mexico (along with the pinto bean) and yet few restaurants in the state serve chile con carne as a meal. Instead, you’ll savor puréed chiles atop enchiladas, whole ones stuffed and battered and fried into chiles relleños, and chopped ones as part of a brilliant dish called the green chile cheeseburger.
While some hash slingers put chiles atop the cheese, at Bobcat Bite, a neon-lit diner on the