CLUB GAS, RUIDOSO
Thursday is Enchilada Night at Club Gas, the Ruidoso Chevron station that houses a popular to-go counter and a lounge with a full bar. “There’s a line out the door,” says owner Shane Barnett. “People leave work early to get a seat.” The menu is scrawled on a whiteboard in this independently owned convenience store, where Barnett and his wife, Dalana Smith, serve up smothered burritos on Fridays and tacos on Tuesdays. Each morning, Club Gas cooks, who’ve worked there 25 years, stock a grab-and-go hot box with a variety of freshly made breakfast burritos and biscuit sandwiches, then refill it with lunch fare. Soups, including meatball on Monday and green chile stew on Tuesday, are self-serve at the counter. TRY THIS: “Come at lunch on Thursday for posole and a green chile cheeseburger,” Smith says, “and then come back for dinner.”
📍 1137 Mechem Dr. Unit A, Ruidoso; 575-258-3211
Alfonso’s Mexican Food serves a carne asada plate.
Photograph courtesy of Alfonso's Mexican Food.
Inside a Ratón Conoco station, Alfonso’s serves traditional Mexican food with salsas made fresh daily. There’s a mild green; a spicy, chunky red; and a seriously hot red. But until a few years ago, no New Mexico chile. “So many people asked for green chile that we had to add it to the menu,” says assistant manager Jonathan Cabriales. His mother, Araceli Arreola, owns the small restaurant that’s part of the Colorado-based El Super Taco chain. “Each franchise is owned by a different family,” Cabriales says. “We make sure our employees feel like family too.” The menu features a variety of breakfast bowls, burritos, chimichangas, tostadas, tortas, and tacos. Although Alfonso’s shares a menu with other El Super Taco locations, in-house options are tailored to local tastes. So, if you want more heat, just ask. TRY THIS: Breakfast burrito with bacon, sausage, and green chile.
📍 412 Clayton Rd. #2345, Ratón; 575-223-2204
Mexican hot dogs are on the Barrio Fries menu.
Photograph courtesy of Barrio Fries.
Barrio Fries marinates its carne asada for 24 hours in a secret blend of juices and spices, making it especially tender and flavorful. “It accounts for almost 75 percent of our sales,” says co-owner Jessica Amado. “Our menu looks huge, but really we’re just putting carne asada in tacos, in burritos, on nachos, and on french fries.” The long line moves fast at this walk-up spot inside a Phillips 66 station on Pojoaque Pueblo. The menu fuses New Mexico and Los Angeles street food with chef Eder Amado’s playful experiments in flavor and texture. His “beer cheese,” for example, combines liquid nacho cheese with beer and green chile, while the Buffalo chicken fries are topped with blue cheese and house-made chile ranch. TRY THIS: Flaming California burrito with carne asada, bacon, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, fries, green chile, jack cheese, beer cheese, sour cream, and guacamole rolled in a jumbo tortilla.
📍67 Ogo Wii Rd., Pojoaque; 505-699-6775
Want more places to eat across the state? Check out our complete New Mexico Food Guide for top spots in every region.
