Bobcat Bite: The Best Burgers in Santa Fe

Bobcat Bite is where you get the best burgers in Santa Fe. And you get them Southwest style, that is, with lots of green chili sauce. New Mexico is where green chili is on many a menu, no matter what the particular cuisine it is that's being served. The Southwest is where there's good beef. Burger Bite is the little pink dive on the outer outskirts of Santa Fe that puts those two things together in some simple ways you won't forget.

There was a segment on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, which was called to the attention of my husband, Roger, by his daughter, Barbara. Barbara lives in Boston. "Hey, Dad, the next time you're in Santa Fe, check out Bobcat Bite for chili burgers. I saw it on TV." The reason this is relevant is because Barb has made several good recommendations to us for good barbecue across the country, which she finds out about by watching the Food Channel. This is relevant for me and Roger because we travel often by car cross country, and we love barbecue, and we don't watch any TV. And Barbara knows we make the trip to Santa Fe occasionally for business, often for art, but always for the culture, the food, and the margaritas.

This time we were going to Santa Fe to meet up with a friend. Beth would be coming in from Tucson and staying in a neighborhood outside and south of Santa Fe. I would be coming in from Colorado and staying in a Holiday Inn on Cerrillos, also on the south side. We planned to meet for the day, and the only requirement for the rendezvous was that an early dinner of burgers would be had at Bobcat Bite, supposedly located somewhere around the south side of Santa Fe. This was the condition that beef eater, Roger, would have if he was to accompany me on what could quite possibly end up as a shopping trip for girlfriends. This was the condition I put forth to my friend, who has been observed to eat meat, nevermind beef, with the same frequency as sightings of Haley's comet in the heavens. I wanted Roger to come, and I wanted to meet my friend, and I wanted to try the famed burgers at Bobcat Bite. You could say I wanted my beef and to eat it too.

We found Bobcat Bite on a lonely road pretty far out of Santa Fe, actually more east than it was south, on Old Las Vegas Highway. Beth wound up on this road after missing the turn to get where she was going at the end of her long drive from Tucson. It's an understatement to say she was confused upon thinking herself on the way to the city that never sleeps in Nevada. This particular Las Vegas is in New Mexico and this Old Las Vegas Highway is where Bobcat Bite is. The place was pink, not quite in the modern era, and had lots of close-up bobcat photos on the wall. And for all the complaints from folks about parking, long waits, and not getting a table, we three were seated immediately after slipping our SUV into the last spot in the lot. It was 4:30 on a Thursday afternoon; maybe that's why we did. It seems to me if you complain about parking, long waits, and not getting a table, you might try to avoid getting your dinner when everybody in and out of town is trying to get theirs there too.

Our first discussion was not what to have, but the bobcat pictures and how we thought Colorado bobcats are different than those creating the bother for this little New Mexican burger joint. Roger provided a differential analysis of the felines. "Our bobcats are bigger, have more spots, and have tufts on their ears." Perhaps unscientific, but assuredly accurate, Roger based his analysis on observations of bobcats walking up our driveway, crossing our property, and sitting in front of a glass door to our house, where I stood also not two feet away from a big bobcat on the other side of the glass. Bobcats pictured at The Bite looked a bit different, perhaps smaller, but certainly as unintimidated by people as their Colorado cousins, as much as one could tell from the bobcat stories and snapshots on the wall.

What we all had to eat was the famed chili cheeseburger, all without looking at the menu all that much, and speaking for myself, not looking at all. The green chili cheeseburger was the waitress's answer to my question, "What's the house specialty here?" as if we all didn't know. Speaking for myself, I knew the Bite had burgers but did not know the specific specialty. While we all wanted a green chili cheeseburger, what was different about our orders was the doneness we wanted. Bobcat Bite cooks its beef on the raw side of any cook level desired. So, well done comes in as medium, medium comes in as rare, and rare is still moving. Thankfully, the waitress informed us of this, although not in those terms. With the new doneness algorithm in mind, we each ordered and got our burgers just how we like them. And they were delicious, with green chili sauce and cheese melted on top, on a big bun with lettuce and tomato. Sides of baked beans were sweet, as I like things, and the cole slaw was not full of mayonnaise, as I like to have mine. Not having read the menu, I didn't think salad would be there. But I saw a spring mix go by, which I ordered after the burgers came, which came in enough time to consume with the rest of the meal.

Our chili cheesebugers were gastronomic delights among both avid and occasional meat eaters. And I now have renewed interest and a continuing lookout for the wild cat we fondly call Bob in our Colorado neighborhood. I'd like to verify the conclusions we drew about bobcats while consuming our Bobcat burgers with verve. Then make another trip south to verify that Bobcat Bite indeed has the best burgers in Santa Fe, if not the entire Southwest.