Las Cruces’ Roasted Rooster brings comfort food up a notch

Since opening its doors at the end of 2023, Roasted Rooster Coffee and Waffles has positioned itself as an off-the-highway attraction for motorists passing through Las Cruces – complete with a battery of Tesla charging stations in its parking lot.

It is also a welcome addition to the local breakfast and lunch scene for Las Crucens willing to venture to the western end of Amador Avenue near the Interstate 10 overpass. Under the same roof is the Baked Chicken Farm cannabis dispensary – named for its grow operation at a former chicken farm in Doña Ana County – although there is no trace of it in the restaurant.

The Rooster provides a good café option, as well, with its locally roasted coffee selection and country-kitchen decorative scheme, yet it is seldom crowded or noisy. It is possible to get a routine cup-a-joe or espresso-based drink here, but the menu emphasizes lattes, mochas and the like, with pistachio and pecan flavors among others.

The oven-based kitchen is mostly in open view behind an ordering counter stocked with grab-and-go snacks. In back are tables better suited for meals, which are consumed with disposable cutlery not best suited for Roasted Rooster’s stacked sandwiches.

Waffles are the star of the show here: Just enough crisp on the surface, fluffy and flavorful on the inside even without syrup or sauce – we’ll get to those in a moment. I was sorry to see their pesto waffle, a favorite of mine, disappear from the menu over the past year, but the Green Chile Cheese Waffle holds its place next to the familiar country waffle, bubble waffle and a gluten-free option.

Most of the waffle dishes serve as licentious breakfast entrees but are also incorporated into lunch sandwiches. The standard American BLT ($8) graduates into a new league when good, crisp bacon and fresh tomato are sandwiched by the green chile and cheese waffle, although ciabatta is available as an alternative.

The towering Baked Chicken and Waffle sandwich ($10.50) works in bacon with a peanut butter syrup, a combination that was a bit salty for my taste but with the hot sauce that is presented on the side it reaches a satisfying balance of sweet with spicy.

Also on offer are tacos, burritos and nachos with chicken or shredded pork, like the copious El Rooster Rojo or Verde ($9.50), a large burrito with pulled pork, cheese, potatoes and chile.

Perhaps mindful that not everyone traveling on the interstate is accustomed to the full fire of local chile, every dish I’ve tried is on the mild side for heat, which will disappoint some local diners; but the variety of flavors and textures here is commendable. This is comfort food taken up a notch.

For dessert, there are a variety of floats giving ice cream, bubble waffles and fruit many ways to play together. Aguas frescas and a wide menu of sweet coffee drinks and tea fill the drinks menu. From the waffle menu, I opt for the Hazel Berry ($8.50), an ensemble bringing country waffles together with a hazelnut spread and a stunning layer of strawberries with syrup.

Roasted Rooster aims for versatility: It is a quick roadside stop with drive-thru service for coffee and snacks, a sit-down coffee house or restaurant for those who take their breakfast any time of day, a haven for belly-busting open sandwiches with lively flavor profiles. Its menu has changed more than once and will likely keep evolving as a regular clientele prevails.

And who knows, maybe the pesto waffle will return.

Las Cruces’ Roasted Rooster brings comfort food up a notch