Good Eats Review: Dick’s Cafe in Las Cruces

The man who invented the hamburger was smart. The man who invented the cheeseburger was a genius. ~ Matthew McConaughey

If you like burgers, you have got to try the New Mexican green chile cheeseburger. My initiation happened yesterday at Dick’s Cafe in Las Cruces.

It was my first time at Dick’s, a brightly colored place, cute inside with plenty of comfy cushioned booths. I love the look of a good diner!

I’d been hearing long enough about the green chile cheeseburger as the state’s signature food and Dick’s specialty is the green chile cheeseburger.

So I ordered as soon as I sat down, didn’t ask for a menu.

After all, ain’t I a New Mexican now?

I told the server that this was to be “my first time” so she brought out small bowls of green chiles and red chile sauce for me to try. Plus a dish of jalapeño salsa.

The tortilla chips were crisp and stayed that way even when I left them submerged in the salsa for a time. And when I took the first bite, the taste was smooth. Flavorful, slightly salty. The heat of it kinda snuck up on me. Whoa – what a surprise!

But, not so hot that I stopped eating it. After ten more dips of tortilla chips, salsa and I were old friends. Really good stuff.

Lawrence, across the table from me waiting on his steak and fries, expressed concern that my eating so many chips would ruin my appetite. But, he needn’t have worried –

When the burger arrived, laden with extras, I topped it with what I thought was a decent amount of chopped green chiles, and dove in. I had no trouble putting it away. It was only a 6 oz. burger. (Had I ordered one of the larger sizes, it may have been a different story.)

What can I say, except that it was great? The juicy grilled burger could have stood on its own, that was clear from the first bite. And once all the ingredients merged in my mouth for the first time, I kept looking forward to the next bite. And the next. (The fries, by the way, fresh and crisp, were primo, too.)

Only after the cheeseburger was all gone, did I consider that I’d eaten it with onions, mustard, pickles, and cheese – all things I routinely request to be left OFF of my burger.

Ahh, but that was my  life BGCC (Before Green Chile Cheeseburgers!)

What food have you been meaning to try, but haven’t gotten around to yet?