Barelas Coffee House

Barelas Coffee House Restaurant Review:

Since 1978, Duke City’s chile cognoscenti have been thronging Barelas Coffee House for la cosa real, New Mexico-style. Regulars breakfast on green chile-smothered, cheddar-sprinkled huevos rancheros and scoop up tender pinto beans come lunch with red chile and fresh-off-the-griddle tortillas; but the enchiladas are also good, as is the posole---and even the hash browns. Less alluring is the line during the noon rush, but make an “I Spy”-style game of it by counting the downtown VIPs---politicos, judges, biz honchos---waiting with you. (Heck, even President Obama stopped by on a 2010 campaign tour.) At a no-nonsense local haunt like this, newbies shouldn’t expect to load up on heat-cutting Tex-Mex compromises like sour cream and guacamole---just grin and grow to love it. More surprising is the fact that Barelas doesn’t offer sopaipillas, but fruit empanadas serve more or less the same function. What to drink? The name says it all.