Today's reader recommendation comes from Ewan M. (aka UnasBravas on AHT/Serious Eats), a professional soccer writer who loves burgers. He's previously contributed a review of 12 Burgers in Dallas. Thanks, Ewan! If anyone else wants to share some burger intel, here's how to do it. --The Mgmt.

[Photographs: Ewan M]

Just another sad town on the dusty remnants of Route 66, there isn't too much to Edgewood. In fact, were it not for its exit sign coinciding with my snowbound, slow-crawling I-40 hunger pangs, I'd never have visited at all. But passing this town means missing out on a fine burger of great value at an all-too-rare neighborhood grill.

East Mountain Grill is a locally owned-and-operated small town café, serving unpretentious food to locals who have taken the business to their hearts. Without much else by way of character, this seems to be the focal point of the Edgewood community. And without question it must be the local burger capital, too.

The menu's specialty is the Thunder Burger, a variant on the Juicy Lucy involving not just cheese but also green chile and a deep fryer. Making an admittedly tiny concession to my already-hardened arteries, I decided to tone it down a notch by ordering their cheeseburger topped with green chile, bacon and shaved steak—but no fryer. (New Mexican cuisine of course calls for smothering most items with green or red chile, but the shaved meat was a new one—perhaps a distant relative of the pastrami burger so beloved in Utah.)

I did not expect great things, but in fact the burger proved to be excellent fare for a wintry day. The patty was done the medium side of medium well and was above average. The two slices of American cheese enveloped the tasty steak shavings nicely. The bacon was crisp but not singed, and despite my misgivings was not an unwelcome intrusion into the orgy of beef and cheese below. Bun-wise, the not too sweet commercial bun more than held its own when stacked against the toppings. But the absolute star of the show was the green chile: Thick and elementally spicy, it wasn't ladled on as it so often is, but deftly spread to offer just the right blend of heat and tanginess to cut through what would otherwise have been too rich a burger.

The lettuce and tomato were completely extraneous, and such was the calorific intake that a more modest eater might have said the same for the fries. These were decent and certainly served hot enough, but just regular freezer-to-fryer, bulk-buy starchy sticks. Apparently local tastes necessitate both salt and pepper on fries, which the visitor may wish to bear in mind.

With a soda the whole meal came to a shade over $10, which considering both the generosity and the quality of the burger has to be considered a fine deal. It may not be quite worth driving through a snowstorm for, as we did, but if you're on I-40 and want to sample a local, hearty burger with a New Mexican kick, chances are you won't find better before Albuquerque. --UnasBravas

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