| Bobcat Bite | |
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Bobcat Bite and parking lot |
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| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1953 |
| Current owner(s) | John and Bonnie Eckre |
| Food type | American, Southwestern |
| Street address | 420 Old Las Vegas Highway |
| City | Santa Fe |
| County | Santa Fe County |
| State | New Mexico |
| Postal code/ZIP | 87505 |
| Country | United States |
| Seating Capacity | 24 |
| Reservations | First-come, first-served |
| Website | http://www.bobcatbite.com/ |
Bobcat Bite is a restaurant located in Santa Fe, New Mexico off of the historic Old Las Vegas Highway. Bobcat Bite specializes in steak, chops, and hamburgers.
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The historic building that houses Bobcat Bite was originally a trading post. Later it became a gun shop until Rene Clayton converted it into a restaurant. Her daughter, Mitzi Panzer, operated the restaurant starting in 1953. Since then owners have included Don and Millie Cowell, Don and Shelba Surls, Bob and Judy Amos, and the current owners, John and Bonnie Eckre.
The name refers to accounts wherein bobcats were known to come down from the nearby foothills and visit "bobcat friendly" diners that would serve the animals fresh scraps.[1]
Menu items include hamburgers, cheeseburgers, Bobcat Bite's famous Green chile Cheeseburger, chicken sandwiches, assorted grilled sandwiches, 10 oz. New York strip steak, a 15 oz. hamburger steak, pork chops, a 16 oz. ham steak and a 13 oz. rib eye steak.[2]
The exterior of the restaurant is a pink adobe building[3] with traditional Southwestern Native American style paintings of kachina like figures painted on each side of the door.[4] The restaurant's famously tiny capacity only sits 24.[5] At the entrance hangs a dry erase board where those waiting to dine must write down their party's name and size.[3] As a table becomes available the name is erased and the party is invited to enter.[6]
The inside of Bobcat Bite's walls are prominently decorated with pictures of wild bobcats.[7] The restaurant offers unique hours, serving customers from 11:00 AM to 7:50PM mountain standard time Tuesday through Saturday.[8]
Bobcat Bite is well known among citizens, visitors and tourists of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and has been featured in several articles, including those in the Albuquerque Journal, the Chicago Tribune, and The New York Times.[9][10][11] Bobcat Bite also appeared in the 2004 documentary Hamburger America,[12] and was mentioned in the Food Network's program, "Top American Restaurants: Bon Appétit picks the best", hosted by Alton Brown, in 2007.[13]
Bobcat Bite's burgers, specifically the green chile cheeseburger, have won many local, national, and international awards.
