The Owl Cafe ★ 4.4
The Owl Cafe on Eubank Boulevard in Albuquerque serves the official New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail entry as a combo under $13 with fries.
Try: Green chile cheeseburger combo
History
The green chile cheeseburger emerged in the 1950s when Hatch green chile became commercially available statewide. The Owl Bar and Cafe in San Antonio NM is credited with the early canonical version. The state Tourism Department launched the official New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail in 2009 to recognize the dish as a state signature.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 2 brioche or potato buns
- 300g 80/20 ground beef, formed into 2 thick patties
- 4 slices American cheese
- 1/2 cup roasted Hatch green chile, chopped (fresh or frozen)
- Salt, pepper
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil or butter for the pan
Method
- Roast fresh Hatch green chile under a broiler until skin chars on all sides, then steam in a covered bowl 10 minutes and peel off the skin. Chop and reserve.
- Heat a cast iron pan or griddle over high heat until smoking. Add oil.
- Season patties with salt and pepper. Smash flat in the pan with a spatula. Cook 2 minutes until crusty.
- Flip, top with 2 slices of cheese each, then a generous spoon of green chile. Cook 1 more minute.
- Toast the buns face down in the pan with butter until golden. Build the burger and serve immediately.
Tip from the editors. Hatch green chile freezes well roasted; buy a pound at the Albuquerque farmers' markets in September to last the year.
Where to eat green chile cheeseburger
Green chile cheeseburger in Albuquerque
The Frontier Restaurant ★ 4.8
The Frontier on Central Avenue across from UNM in Albuquerque runs daily 05:00 to midnight since 1971, with green chile breakfast burritos and sweet rolls.
Try: Green chile breakfast burrito and the Frontier sweet roll
Sadie's of New Mexico ★ 4.6
Sadie's of New Mexico on Fourth Street in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque is the heritage New Mexican family room since 1954, famous for the stuffed sopaipilla.
Signature: Stuffed sopaipilla, Carne adovada
Kelly's Brew Pub ★ 4.0
Kelly's Brew Pub on Central Avenue in Albuquerque's Nob Hill is the Route 66 art-deco service station turned brewpub with green chile cheeseburgers and wings.
Signature: Green chile cheeseburger, Wings
Green chile cheeseburger in Oklahoma City
Tucker's Onion Burgers ★ 4.3
Tucker's Onion Burgers in Oklahoma City serves the Depression-era smash burger with thin beef patties, caramelized onions, and American cheese on a bun.
Order: Oklahoma onion smash burger; crispy tater tots
Tip: Expect a short wait at peak lunch hours. The 23rd Street location is the most local-feeling of the multiple OKC spots.
The Mule ★ 3.9
The Mule in Oklahoma City Plaza District serves creative grilled cheese sandwiches and craft beers at the heart of the NW 16th Street strip.
Green chile cheeseburger in Santa Fe
Santa Fe Bite ★ 4.4
Santa Fe Bite, employee-owned heir to the iconic Bobcat Bite chile-burger lineage; the 10-oz patty under $18 pulls St. Michael's Drive crowds Tue through Sun.
Try: Green chile cheeseburger
Harry's Roadhouse ★ 4.5
Harry's Roadhouse weekends are a Santa Fe ritual; the patio fills with families and dogs while the kitchen plates pancakes and a green chile breakfast burger.
Order: Green chile cheeseburger or the corned-beef hash
Bang Bite Filling Station ★ 4.6
Bang Bite's Galisteo Street truck plates the Bite Burger and a green chile cheeseburger under $18; on Food Network's 2019 Best 26 Food Trucks list.
Try: Bite Burger (winner, 2015 Green Chile Cheese Burger Smackdown)
El Parasol Pojoaque ★ 4.2
El Parasol started as a roadside taco stand in 1958; the Pojoaque outpost sits on New Mexico's Green Chile Cheese Burger Trail and feeds Highway 285.
Try: Green chile cheeseburger and tacos
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