As I drove in to work in Santa Fe this rainy October morning, I was craving a breakfast burrito. I pulled out my BlackBerry and a quick Google search rendered some site called BooRah with a page about breakfast burritos in Santa Fe. If you’ve ever tried using your BlackBerry web browser for any site not designed for 1st generation cell phone browsers, you’ll understand that I really couldn’t figure out what it was saying.
So I texted my friend who lives in “the city different” who recommended Tia Sophia, Santa Fe Baking Company and some other place. Having gotten food poisoning from a (very tasty) burrito from Santa Fe Baking Co, I opted for Tia Sophia.
Located off the plaza, I was lucky to find parking right in front. I owe the rare rainstorm and 8 AM arrival. The ambiance is cozy New Mexican; not over done, but clean and authentic. I was surprised that their breakfast burrito does not come with eggs by default. I joked that a breakfast burrito without an egg was just a burrito. The woman–who I gather is the owner–replied that they invented the breakfast burrito in 1975 (a “fact” reported by the NY Times), and lots of people ask for it without an egg. Still, it’s just a burrito without the egg. I’m also a bit fan of carne adovada breakfast burritos, but have learned to not discount a place that sticks to more gringo meats.
Anyway, my order was a bacon breakfast burrito with an egg, smothered Christmas. With a coffee, it ended up being ~$11. The burrito was by no means large, but I wasn’t worried about starving. The green was tasty and relatively mild. The red was a little too flour-y but not bad. The potatoes were the shredded hash-brown style, and well cooked. The bacon was thick, cooked just right (well cooked but a bit chewy).
Overall, I’d go back to this place and sit down. Though expensive by Albuquerque standards, it was reasonable for a place spitting distance from the Santa Fe Plaza. The atmosphere and staff were great and the burrito was good.
