I'm familiar with breakfast burritos, but I'd gotten the impression in New Mexico, they're something special. I was determined to sample one of these morning monstrosities at least once.

My first chance appeared as I was driving up the Jemez Mountain Trail early my first morning, and noticed my stomach growling loudly. I'd been under the mistaken impression that the local Indians were running some sort of all-day frybread operations but I didn't see any roadside stands, and the few ramshackle restaurants seemed to have permanent "open" signs while not looking particularly open.

So when I arrived at Walatowa and saw a sign that read "Hungry?" I conceded that I WAS, and immediately headed to the catering bus parked at the Visitors Center. The catering service was called Full of Bull, and while the official opening hours turned out to be 10AM, the friendly owner happened to be available at 7:30AM to make me my burrito. It was primarily a take-away spot but I sat at a picnic table next to the bus.


It was heavy, it was fatty, and it was SO GOOD. I ordered it with sausage, which turned out to be regular breakfast sausage rather than chorizo, as some places use (I'm happy with either kind). I had my choice of the red or green chiles I'd heard so much about, and chose green. It wasn't spicy but had a nice flavor. Tucked inside were crunchy fried potatoes, adding a fantastic texture. Even better, Full of Bull does NOT skimp on cheese. Surprisingly, this excess of everything did not simply render the meal a mess but made it exceptionally delicious. Even while gushing cheese, it never threatened to fall apart in my hands. I was quite full after half but I managed about 3/4 because it was so good! Only $4.50 for so much pleasure.

The friendly owner was originally from Amarillo, but had been in New Mexico a long time. Full of Bull had been stationed in Rio Rancho until they ran into a problem with licensing. Luckily, the now 3-day-old arrangement with the Walatowa Visitors center seemed to be working well.

Although I did not intend to visit the legendary Doc Martin's in Taos twice, especially with only 4 days to explore the area, my first choice for breakfast had a line down the block. I'd already had the most appealing breakfast the previous day, so I decided to give their breakfast burrito a try.

At $7 expectations were a little higher. I got this one with bacon and both types of chile. Surprisingly I'd have to say this version was a bit ho-hum. At this point I'd had multiple meals with red and/or green chile and was mystified at the state love for it. There was a decent amount of cheese but after the burrito from Full of Bull, I was craving that super-oozy goodness. And the homefries in Doc Martin's version didn't have that crunchy texture that really made Full of Bull's special. Smothered in sauce, this version definitely required silverware to eat, and didn't seem to be wrapped as firmly.

If I'd had a week to steel myself for a 3rd breakfast burrito I would have put my fledgling theory to test: that these burritos can only be good as fast food. Not sure whether it's the price that affected the taste, or that a more creative kitchen can't properly turn out a good simple meal like the breakfast burrito, but the gut-busting burrito from the catering bus beat Doc Martin's by a mile.

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