Doc Martin's (Taos)
After a nerve-wracking morning lost in Carson National Forest, I was terribly relieved to finally reach Taos. At this late-morning hour I no longer had any desire to visit Taos Pueblo and felt I deserved a splurge for breakfast.
Doc Martin's in the historic Taos Inn is not particularly pricey overall, but I paid more than I would normally would for breakfast because I was determined to try more than one dish. The most appealing item on the menu was the blue-corn blueberry pancakes, followed closely by the chiles rellenos. I decided to go ahead and get an appetizer portion of the chiles rellenos, which at $8.50 was more than my giant pancake plate ($7).
The blue corn pancakes were pillowy thick and plate-sized, studded with tart blueberries. They came with blueberry-flavored butter and real maple syrup. Absolutely delightful! I was pretty full after one pancake (especially since I was nibbling on my chile relleno) but it was so good—and well, I'm a trooper—so I pushed through to eat some of the second.
Is this Pancake Man? I really think I see a face.
The chile relleno was the best I've ever had. Doc Martin's coats a cheese-stuffed Anaheim pepper with blue corn batter, then after frying, smothers it in green chile sauce. Sometimes with chiles rellenos I find the batter or breading steams off the peppers a bit and gets soggy; this flaky coating stayed perfectly crisp throughout my meal. Served with salsa and a drizzle of goat-cheese cream, it was exactly what I needed after a rough morning.
Doc Martin's is pretty popular, and for Sunday brunch it was almost full. The staff is efficient if not overly friendly, and my coffee cup never emptied. While I was less pleased with the breakfast burrito I got the following day, for the pancakes and chiles rellenos alone I would absolutely return.