Blake’s Lotaburger (Gallup, NM)

Gallup is a city that is over 7,000 ft above sea level (like Flagstaff) and is therefore noticeably cooler than the surrounding valleys. At this elevation, there are Ponderosa pines everywhere. We stopped here for the night before moving on.

For dinner, a restaurant recommended by Yelpers was closed, as were almost all restaurants in the center of town. Apparently, business is not brisk enough on Sundays. So, we settled for Blake’s Lotaburger, which many New Mexico foodies consider to serve one of the best green chile cheeseburgers in the state. It’s a chain, found only in NM. I would compare it to Inn-N-Out for quality, which means it’s a cut above Mickey D’s but not quite the product you’d expect from a good burger joint. The patty is 100% Angus beef, on the thinner side. The chopped green chiles were spicy and delicious. The great thing is that all the food is made-to-order.