Breakfast @ La Cocina | Espanola - New Mexico

Very early morning, I left my Santa Fe hosts https://www.chowhound.com/post/enchan... for a side excursion to Colorado via Abiquiú and Taos. I stopped en route in Espanola at La Cocina Restaurant for breakfast.

This family-owned restaurant is a step-up in ambiance from the other old school diners I'd frequented so far. It even has an espresso bar. And there's a room set up for making tortillas in house.

However, I was here for the blue corn specialties. First, blue corn-piñon pancakes that were kind of low on that special corn flour judging from the hue and taste. Fluffy, and once buttered and drizzled with honey (better than the pancake syrup provided), palatable enough but not that special. They did have a lot of pine nuts embedded in the surface. Bacon was pretty greasy, as well as being tough, and could have been blotted better.

The blue corn atole was served in a tea hoddle along with a small pitcher of milk in case I wanted to dilute it. Not needed. It tasted more corn-y than the pancakes and was not sweetened, so a small squirt from the honey provided on the table popped out more flavor.

I asked my waitress if i might sample the red chile here. The little cup had some bits of ground beef in it. The chile was kind of simple and had a bitter aftertaste.

None of these were things that I'd order again. Yet, i had the feeling that I might have ordered wrong as the place is very popular. The men at the next table were tucking into groaning heavy breakfast platters and the plate of thick pork chops smothered in an orange-toned gravy with eggs smelled great when it passed by. I also rather enjoyed listening to the three gents animated convo in Spanglish.

What's best to order here?

La Cocina Restaurant
415 S Santa Clara Bridge Rd
Espanola, New Mexico 87532