Fine Food, Friendly Folks and Good times

The BlueFront Bar & Cafe ~ Glenwood, New Mexico

Way out in the middle of nowhere, at the foot of the Mogollon Mountains—straddling the San Francisco River—is Glenwood, New Mexico. It is a little town, and one that most people simply pass through on the way to someplace else. But should you find yourself anywhere close, stop in at the Blue Front Bar and Café. It is in an old building that literally sits on top of a gully wash, the foundation of the building forming an arched bridge over the wash.

The Blue Front Bar and Café specializes in homemade Mexican food and barbecue, perhaps an unlikely sounding combination anywhere but in New Mexico. As always, when you order food in New Mexico, you will be asked, “Red or green?”—meaning which color or style of sauce do you want. The red is usually hotter, but not always!

At the Blue Front Bar and Café, the sauces are all homemade. The red is cooked and then riced by hand, while the green sauce is made from Hatch chilies, grown just down the road in Hatch, New Mexico. They are both outrageously good. I recommend getting your dish cooked in red sauce, and then a bowl of green on the side for dipping and spicing. The green sauce is served steaming hot.

The burrito plate ($6.90) is served with homemade pinto beans and rice, and bathed in the sauce of your choice. It is so big, that it goes from one end of the large, oval plate to the other. The filling is pork loin, cubed and cooked for hours. It falls apart at first touch, and is delicious blended with the sauce and cheese.

Many diners order the taco plate. It includes three tacos in homemade tortillas, with your choice of chicken or ground beef, and a bowl of fresh pintos. But make sure you ask for a side of sauce!

If you just can’t make the grade, the hamburgers look really good ($6.12) and are served with a mountain of fries. I am not sure why you would pass up homemade Mexican food in New Mexico, unless maybe you lived there and ate it every darn day.

If you are lucky enough to be in Glenwood on a weekend, do not miss out on the BBQ. You can check out their big BBQ on the side of the building, ready to go. Pecan is the wood of choice, just like in Georgia.

The Blue Front Bar and Café does BBQ brisket and pork on Saturday and Sunday, and sometimes there are leftovers early in the week, but don’t count on it. Friday is traditional fish fry night, with all the trimmings.

Whatever you order, go for a Negro Modelo a dark Mexican beer that comes with a lime stuffed in the bottle and goes perfect with spicy food. Just a glance at the thick frost coating the bottle will be enough to convince you on a hot day.

Once sated by the Blue Front Bar and Café’s delicious fare, head south and take Highway 78 east into Arizona. The drive is full of spectacular vistas, endless curves, and mountain passes. In Arizona, go north a short ways on Highway 191 to Clifton, where you can drive right through the middle of the largest copper mine in North America. You’ll know when you get there!

JGE © 2007