4 Best Restaurants in Northeastern New Mexico, New Mexico

Also known as Cold Beer, New Mexico (which is painted in huge white letters on the exterior), this little red roadhouse on the way to Cimarron from Raton continues a tradition from the Prohibition era. Among the joint's trademarks are an ongoing card game, excellent green-chile burgers, Shiner Bock (a beloved beer from Shiner, Texas) on tap, Spaghetti Monday, Saturday-night dances, and a winter Jeopardy! tournament. The colorful staff and crowd make you feel right at home, especially if you're wearing cowboy boots. Keep in mind that the tavern closes nightly at 8 pm.

Given a fresh makeover and much-improved menu in 2009, the atmospheric restaurant and bar inside the creaky old St. James Hotel now makes for the town's only notable dining option (and it's open for three meals a day). The kitchen mostly focuses on traditional American favorites, such as T-bone steaks, deep-fried catfish, and chicken-fried steaks, but several New Mexican dishes are offered, too, including hearty stuffed sopaipillas.

Don't be put off by the plain storefront; inside this long-running restaurant exudes history and nostalgia with its antiques, collectibles, and old-fashioned candies for sale (it was founded by a Greek candy maker named Pappas in the 1920s). Don't expect any surprises from the standard American menu—just reliably prepared dishes like Alaskan king crab legs, porterhouse steak, shrimp fettuccine, and a few surf-and-turf combos.

A historic 1909 icehouse near the rail bridge on the south end of Downtown is the setting for this restaurant serving steaks and seafood. The high-ceiling brick structure is accented with lots of old wood, historic photos of the icehouse in its working days, local cowboys and beautifully groomed prize bulls. If a memorable steak is what you're after, the prime Angus cuts are prepared to perfection by chef and co-owner Bill Ratliff.