3 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.

This cheerful sit-down bakery across from the Shuler Theater has fabulous chocolate-cake doughnuts and oatmeal-raisin cookies—as well as a regular crowd of old-timers who gather here to keep up with town gossip. Breakfast burritos, chile fries, burgers, and Frito pies are big sellers.

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.