Alex De Vore
LEFT: You should make friends with Dos Amigos. RIGHT: Cuco’s Kitchen has one of the biggest burritos in Santa Fe.
If you head along Cerrillos Road in either direction from its intersection with St. Michael’s Drive, you’ll hit what I sometimes refer to in my head as the “Burrito Corridor.” In a mere few blocks, you’ll have access to El Parasol, Los Potrillos, Baja Tacos, K’Bueno and, on over a recent weekend, two new spots that are poised for top positions on my regular burrito list.
Cuco’s Kitchen
2207 Cerrillos Road, (505) 365-2946
Founded in Albuquerque in 1992, the establishment recently took over the former location of Fast & Real Burritos (which itself can now be found farther down Airport Road—and which was actually the original Burrito Spot back in the days when a regularly hungover 20-something Alex would stumble in and beg for literally anything with bacon). At Cuco’s, a mind-bogglingly kind cashier told me and my breakfast companion that we can expect another location to open in Los Alamos soon, and that they’ve been having a pretty good run in Santa Fe so far. Supply chain issues have prevented the business from obtaining its own sign yet, and you’ll still see the Fast & Real signage. Still, if you look closely enough as you zip by, you’ll catch Cuco’s yellow color scheme on its building. Follow it.
The interior remains a spartan affair with a few tables strewn about a side room and counter service at the front. As I’ve said repeatedly, sometimes the most unassuming eatery can house the burrito of your dreams, and when it comes to Cuco’s, said burrito dreams do come true. Of course, it’s possible you’ll be nonplussed by the $7.49-$8.99 price point (depending on whether you want meat) in a town full of $5 or $6 breakfast burritos, but at Cuco’s, the handheld breakfast burritos are gigantic—as in, we couldn’t finish them in one go.
My companion opted for a classic bacon/green chile number, while I kept things vegetarian and ordered my standard: X-mas all the way, baby. Cuco’s burrito is big on flavor and doesn’t skimp on the scrambled egg, and that’s saying something these days. Whoever was in the kitchen also had a fundamental understanding of how to cook eggs—these were firm but not rubbery and seasoned just right. And potatoes? They nailed it. Hey, other restaurants? The way you barely cook your potatoes is a stone-cold atrocity. At Cuco’s, the kitchen not only chopped the spuds into manageable sizes, they cooked them all the way through. Same goes for the cheese, which was a melty and satisfying feature that found its way through the burrito from tip to tail. Bless a cook who doesn’t toss a whole mess of shredded cheddar right in the center to either not melt properly or, if it does, turn into an amorphous choking hazard.
If one were to get nit-picky, the day we visited heralded chile so mild it moved into unnoticeable, but the salsa bar in the corner helped us circumvent those woes. Besides, as we all know, chile fluctuates day to day, which is a weirdly enjoyable fact. Regardless, the horchata ($2.69) was fresh and refreshing without being too sweet, and the tres leches cake we split afterward ($4.49) capped off a tasty meal with a nice bit of sweet to counterbalance all the savory.
Dos Amigos
2428 Cerrillos Road (505) 772-0971
The following day, I tricked my uncle, who recently moved back to Santa Fe, luring him into the car with burrito promises. He worked in restaurants for decades and comes from the wine and fine dining worlds, but I’ve straight up seen him eat a hot dog off the floor, so I figured he’d be down with a burrito on SFR’s dime. Together we headed to Dos Amigos (not to be confused with Rodeo Road’s Los Amigos, where I recently went absolutely bonkers on a carne adovada burrito; Pork Roll, Aug. 3), a surprisingly excellent and new-ish eatery that took over the old Souper Salad location with an extensive menu, a full bar and, we learned, karaoke on Saturday nights.
Our server was charming and attentive and made us feel welcome without hovering; she’s the one who invited us back for karaoke. Feeling famished from the tough work of business eating all weekend had me ordering a smothered X-mas breakfast burrito with potatoes on the side; my uncle opted for a simple handheld with green chile and bacon. In both cases, we were impressed. The chile at Dos Amigos was right in the flavor/spice sweet spot with chunky green and a thick, earthy red. In handheld form, he said, the textures of the chopped chile and fluffy eggs worked well, and it was gone before I could take a photo.
My smothered variety still haunts me, and I suspect it had something to do with the fresh tortilla and the side of potatoes. The closest thing to which I can liken them would be the Pantry potatoes, though these were sliced thinner and had a larger surface area for soaking up chile. Of course, there wasn’t much of that left in the end. Dos Amigos’ bright interior and friendly staff sealed the deal, too, but it’s really the chile and potatoes that made it possible. As we left I spoke to myself: “Long live the Burrito Corridor!”
READ MORE: So You’re Looking For a Breakfast Burrito [Vol. 1] [Vol. 2] [Vol. 3] [Vol. 4] [Vol. 5] [Vol. 6]
