Review: Charlie's Bakery (Las Vegas, NM)

Where the high plains meet the New Mexico rockies, there's the town of Las Vegas.  For the geographically-challenged, let me reiterate that this is not some suburb of the gambling resort, located just over the border in another state.  New Mexico does not border Nevada; Las Vegas, New Mexico has it's own claims to fame.

One of these claims, in my book, is Charlie's Spic and Span Bakery and Cafe.  On our recent trip from St. Paul, Minnesota to Mesa, Arizona and back Janie and I ate at numerous places (all mom and pops).  Some were horrible, and I'll be posting separately about them.

I honestly forget what Janie had, because my breakfast was so fantastic.  She tells me now it was oatmeal, and recalls it being good.

I'd already had huevos rancheros at the Grants Cafe in Grants, NM and it was great.  It was too early in the day to get a Navajo taco, so I thought I'd try the breakfast with green chile.  Eggs, papitas and green chile to be exact.  I suspected papitas were potatoes, but I checked in advance just because.

The deciding factor here, that conferred excellence on this dish, was of course not the egg or the potatoes, but rather the green chile.  Could I tell you what characteristics made it the real deal?  Probably not, though I know it has to have garlic, the chiles need to be roasted, and it helps to have the right type of chiles, however that's all culinobabble.  Another attempt at explanation would be, "It's Las Vegas, New Mexico; of course the green chile is going to be great."  The real proof was in the taste, and I don't care how they did it.  It was just right, and among one of the greatest taste sensations in any of the world's cooking traditions.

On the way out, we though we ought to have some road food:

Crispy Creme got it wrong on two counts: 1) Their doughnuts were consistently small and boring, and 2) you need to be able to taste a little bit of french fry in the oil used to fry the donuts.  These were absolutely the real thing, and mine didn't last past the second stop light on the way back to I-25.

Janie describes her cinnamon roll as "thick and gooey and out-of-hand good."  It was really large so I helped her with it.  Nonetheless, it lasted us almost to the Oklahoma panhandle line.  There was something about it - perhaps the nuts, maybe the occasional non-traditional nut, but I won't pretend to remember.  It was great.

I'm not sure we'll come this way anytime soon, but if we do - more importantly if you do - there's no passing by Las Vegas, NM without stopping into Charlie's.  It would be a shame.