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With a décor that includes paintings of area scenes by local artists, a carved bear, decorative Indian corn, healthy live plants and stodgy plastic garlands of Christmas holly, the RoadRunner stands in homey contrast to the mega dining extravaganzas at the nearby casinos. Or to the proliferation of cookie-cutter fast-food places that line America’s roadsides.
The RoadRunner is a real mom-and-pop truck stop. The re-engineering of U.S. 84/285 a few years ago separated the restaurant from the highway that heads to Española and Los Alamos by installing a concrete barrier and a frontage road. (From Santa Fe, turn left at the traffic light that leads to the Santa Fe County Fire Station and proceed on the frontage road past the fireworks stand.) But never mind that. It’s still a truck stop.
The day my friend and I had lunch here, we shared the place with an aged biker in leathers who rode off on a Harley and two men who arrived in a pickup truck. Little spots like RoadRunner may not have the best food, but they offer a unique look at the spot that anchors them and the communities they serve.
RoadRunner’s menu is a trip down memory lane in a four-door Lincoln Continental convertible. You’ll find a mix of sandwiches, including a jumbo hot dog and grilled ham and cheese with pickles. New Mexican specialties and the combination classic American dinners such as fried chicken and hamburger steak with side dishes are here, too. You can get breakfast all day including steak and eggs, huevos rancheros and cold cereal with hot toast. RoadRunner’s children’s menu includes breakfast and lunch choices for less than $4.
My friend and I arrived for a late lunch, joining a handful of other patrons who seemed to be regulars. After due deliberation and a cold soda, we decided to try the New Mexican combination plate and the hot roast beef dinner. In true truck-stop style the dinner came with choice of salad or soup, mashed potatoes and gravy or French fries, the vegetable of the day and a dinner roll with butter. All this, and a happy waitress, for just $8.95!
We had our choice of two kinds of soup. The waitress recommended beef barley, but came back to tell us it was sold out. So we tried the chicken rice soup, and found it watery, heavy on rice and lean on chicken.
My friend and I were of mixed minds on the dinner itself. I was impressed that it came with broccoli crowns instead of the frozen mix of corn, carrots and green beans, and that the broccoli itself was still a bit crisp. The mashed potatoes tasted freshly made, not reconstituted from potato flakes or shipped in from elsewhere. My friend liked the sliced beef with the dark gravy on top. I thought it was bland, and we got a lot of it.
The waitress informed us that all the New Mexican food with the exception of the tamales was made in-house. The menu offers burritos, enchiladas, chile rellenos, Frito pie and stuffed sopaipillas as well as menudo, posole and red or green chile by the bowl.
I tried both chile sauces on the combination plate ($9.95) and especially enjoyed the green with its fresh taste and nice spiciness. The smoother and milder red worked well on the tamale, which was full of meat inside a tasty layer of masa.
The rolled cheese enchilada and pinto beans were average, but the Spanish rice impressed me with its bits of soft tomato. I liked the nongreasy taco with plenty of ground beef in a crisp corn tortilla shell topped with cheese and a nice crisp lettuce and tomato garnish. When I took a bite, I noticed that the cheese had melted a bit from the heat of the meat.
RoadRunner is the only place I can think of at the moment that serves whole-wheat sopaipillas. This sounds like a healthy take on fried yeast dough, but the one my friend and I tried was heavy and not crisp. Even honey couldn’t fix it.
Our waitress said they had three kinds of pies supplied by a local baker. She recommended blueberry, adding that she brings a slice home to her mother now and then. Her mom has good taste. The pie with a thin, flaky crust and a nice not-too-sweet filling full of fruit was one of the highlights of lunch.
Our lunch for two with pie, coffee and a soft drink was $26.79 with tax before the tip.
RoadRunner Cafe
☆☆½
LOCATION: 167 A Camino Del Rincon, Pojoaque (Pojoaque frontage road off U.S. 84/285) 505-455-3012
HOURS: 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays; 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Sundays
NO ALCOHOL
