Blakes Lotaburger
Almost invariably, if you ask the locals to recommend the best fast-food burger joint in Albuquerque, it will be Blakes Lotaburger.
Blakes Lotaburger is New Mexico’s answer to McDonald’s, a home-grown fast food burger chain with 35 stores in Albuquerque (77 total in New Mexico) easily identified by a cheerful red and white color scheme. Blakes Lotaburger offers tasty burgers, always made-to-order with a New Mexican approach to condiments (green or red chile). Because the burgers are made to order, they are always hot and fresh. You do not have McDonald’s style efficiency here, nor does the food look like it was formulated in a corporate lab. The breakfast burritos (my personal favorite) are made with real fresh eggs (the ones you crack open, not that powdered or pre-formed stuff) and are combined with green chili and other freshly made ingredients when ordered. By fast foods standards, these are slow-cooked meals, and worth waiting for.
The Blakes Lotaburger locations are typically spotless and well maintained. Something else I’ve always admired about Lotaburger is that the kitchens usually have a few matronly workers overseeing food preparation. Food is cooked here, not simply assembled, and the mature workers in the kitchen give me a bit more confidence in how the final product will turn out. Lotaburger locations have a retro feel and simplicity that adds to their charm.
The Blakes Lotaburger Green Chile Cheeseburger
The green chile cheeseburger at Blakes is quite good, but there is a trick to getting the best flavor from it. You need to order the double meat Lotaburger (2 patties), as the single pattie Lotaburger simply does not provide enough meat to balance out the condiments and green chile. If you are eating with a partner, order a double meat Lotaburger with green chile, a large order of fries and split the order if you don’t want to go into calorie overload. Tasty! The bottom line is, Blakes Lotaburger is a top choice for a fast food burger or breakfast burrito on the go in Albuquerque.
Blake’s Lotaburger was named one of the top ten hamburger restaurants (#4) in the United States by National Geographic.