New Mexico: Carniceria San Juan de los Lagos

The drive from Alamogordo, NM to Carlsbad, NM took around three hours.  It wasn't a difficult drive, but it certainly wasn't the most exciting.  It was dark out by the time we checked into our motel and went out in search for food.  

We were excited about Carniceria San Juan de los Lagos.  I mean, dining in a meat market sounded like a dream:

Even though it was only a bit after 7:00pm on a Friday night, the place was virtually empty.

The interior of Carniceria San Juan de los Lagos was split into a meat section, a seafood section, a grocery section of sorts, and a restaurant:   

We took a seat at one of the tables and a friendly server came to take our order.  She didn't speak much English, which we took to be a good sign of the food to come.  The menu was also entirely in Spanish, which we took to be another good sign.

The meal started with complimentary chips and salsa:

Since I was on vacation, I treated myself to a pina agua fresca ($3.50 for a large):

The four of us decided to split a few things.  We started off with four tacos with tripitas ($10):

At our server's recommendation, we got the enchiladas verdes with carne asada ($17):

The enchiladas came with a side of rice, beans, and salad.

Also at our server's suggestion, we got the carnitas plate ($14):

The plate included rice, beans, salad, and tortillas:

T always wants quesadillas ($12 for carne asada):

We really wanted to love Carniceria San Juan de los Lagos.  We really did.  But everything we ordered was just a bit lackluster, a bit bland.  We walked away full, but not satisfied.

Maybe it was an off day.  Maybe our expectations of Mexican food in New Mexico was too high.  Whatever the reason, we weren't impressed.

Carniceria San Juan de los Lagos

1200 N Pate St 

Carlsbad, NM 88220

(575) 887-0034