Worth it for the toast and jam (Guadalupe Cafe)

Member Name: ermintrude

Product:	Guadalupe Cafe
Date:	19/06/01 (78 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tasty food, generous portions, light, airy atmosphere

Disadvantages: Heavy on the cheese, no mercy for chilli wimps

Yet another example of the good, simple food that seems to be so easy to find in the southwestern USA, Guadalupe Cafe is an uncomplicated place to eat just out of town on the Old Santa Fe Trail, about 5-10 minutes' walk from the centre. It's light and airy on a summer morning, but the fires inside implied it's seriously cosy in the winter.

It looks unassuming from the outside (you'll recognise it by the patio), and inside is simply decorated and furnished. We went for breakfast, and while it didn't quite live up to the vibrancy of Cafe Pasqual's, there was a quiet buzz to the place, including a business breakfast at the next table. The service was friendly, not amazingly fast, but not too slow either, and always there with the coffee refills.

The prices are pretty comparable to other places of the same kind - about $8-$9 for most main dishes, with some cheaper, lighter options and some much more expensive ones. There's a good selection of New Mexican fare to choose from (breakfast burrito, huevos rancheros - basically lots of tortillas, chilli, cheese, sausage, potato and onion in various combinations), and the portions are generous as well as tasty, although the generosity may not be to your taste. I ordered a blue corn breakfast enchilada, which was delicious but absolutely swimming in cheese, and I felt quite "greasy" after eating it, even without eating all the cheese. Thankfully, the cranberry-grapefruit juice cut through it somewhat, and was also quite helpful for the chilli!

The Guadalupe Cafe considers chilli to be an absolutely essential part of their food, and there's a disclaimer on the menu saying they won't serve dishes (that are supposed to have it) without it. Whether that smacks of arrogance, I'll leave up to you, but they let you taste it first if you're not sure. How generous. I found the green pretty hot (hey, it was breakfast time!), but certainly not as fiery as the
red.

If you're sensible, you'll take the fruit option - a toasted tortilla with fresh fruit (raspberries, blueberries, etc.), crunchy granola and yoghurt, which my friend was very pleased with. Alternatively, apparently the tip is to eat a little bread and honey if you choose the chilli and it's too much!

Speaking of bread, all breakfasts come with jaw-breakingly chunky, toasted home-made bread, and there's fresh homemade jam to go with it. Ours was raspberry. Even though I was stuffed, I just couldn't resist! I can still taste it now...

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