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    McCarty's Cafe

    3.9 (35 reviews)
    ModerateAmerican
    Open 7:00 am - 8:00 pm

    McCarty's Cafe Photos

    MCCARTY'S CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Inside the cafe. Menu above ordering counter & specials listed on the dry erase board. The ladies working are very nice.
    Teri C.

    We are staying at the Best Western Plus. We walked to McCarty's cafe a quick 2 block walk. We tried a couple different things. Everything was good. We had the fried chilies with queso. The chilies were delicious & the queso has a little spice. The smothered burrito was good & filling. Would get again! The enchilada soup soup was good & dipping tortilla chips in it was a nice touch to add some texture.

    Menu
    Tiffany C.

    I've always wanted to try McCarty's, but because they seem to specialize in fried foods, my friends and I would always be swayed by "healthier" choices in Portales. Finally did end up trying it with a few friends - we weren't able to try their popular fried chicken, but I was able to try a few other popular items that I've heard were good. McCarty's serves basket dinners, salads, burgers, tacos, sandwiches, etc. They also serve breakfast until 11 AM. Restaurant has a decent number of booth tables; since it's a fast food restaurant, customers come in and out fairly quickly. Steak Fingers in a Basket: $8.25 but it was the special of the day so I think the price was a bit cheaper. Basically strips of steak that's dipped in batter and deep fried along with French fries, gravy, coleslaw, and a bread roll. I heard a lot of other people really loving this dish, but I think I'm more of a fried chicken person than a fried steak person. This dish wasn't that tasty - the steak was a little dry, and I really needed to douse it in ketchup. The gravy was interesting and the roll was a bit stale. Fries and coleslaw were pretty good. The dish also came with green onion as garnish, which I thought was interesting. I probably wouldn't order this again. Chicken Strips in a Basket: $7.95 This was the better choice in my opinion. The chicken was moist and pretty juicy; eating it with the fried batter was a lot tastier than the steak fingers. We also got a chocolate chip cookie, which wasn't the freshest, but at $0.60, not too bad. Workers are friendly - they also have a drive-through window if you don't want to get out of your car or eat in the restaurant. tl;dr - Finally able to try McCarty's. It was just okay for my friends and me - nothing too special. I think trying their fried chicken would have been much tastier than what we had ordered that night.

    Fish & chips- came with 5 ish fish. I forgot to take a picture before digging in.

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    9 months ago

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    10 months ago

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Great place for steak or chicken fingers and don't miss out on the fried green chili strips, lots more on the menu

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Good food. Service seems fine, though I use the drive-thru exclusively. Try the chicken strip basket.

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    4 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Great food and service!! I'll definitely be a return customer when I'm in town again.

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    6 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    6 years ago

    Love this place it's a great stop for us on our way through town. Always friendly service. Food is hot and fresh.

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    4 years ago

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    5 years ago

    Really good tequila basket and chicken fingers. Fresh food that's made to order. The fresh made lemonade is so delicious.

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    4 years ago

    If you like Macs Steak in the Rough in Albuquerque, this place tastes exactly the same! Fresh and yummy!

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    5 years ago

    Had the Chicken Fried Steak and it was ehh. The plate was either way to salty or had no flavor. The tea was way to sweet.

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    16 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    14 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    5 years ago

    This place rocks. Great food and service. I'v been working in Portales all year and I eat here at least once a day.

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    10 years ago

    My favorite restaurant in Portales. Go on Wednesday's for the best fried chicken in the world!

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    15 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    14 years ago

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    13 years ago

    Food is good, service is great! Everything is made fresh to order! And the lemonade is fantastic!

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    9 years ago

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    15 years ago

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    Pat's Twin Cronnie - Burger

    Pat's Twin Cronnie

    3.9(42 reviews)
    0.7 mi
    $

    The food was good but the service at the front window was rude. I ordered multiple burgers, cheese…read moresticks, and taco burgers. When I was checking my order I noticed I was missing my taco burgers so I pulled to the side and walked up to the front take out window and nicely told the young girl that I accidentally didn't get my taco burgers and showed her my receipt. She rolls her eyes, doesn't say anything and grabs my taco burgers and hands them to me. Still not saying anything. I took them and proceeded to thank her and she still says nothing. The attitude on her face, ugh it was so annoying. 1 Star Experience, but the guy in the back was cool so I'll leave a 3... Also the ranch was sour.

    Most of this review will be negative worthy of a 1 or 2 star, but the actual food itself once you…read moreget it is exceptional and definitely in the area of a 4 or 5 star review. Let me explain. When you first pull up the drive in window on the backside is not clearly marked and appears closed. Instead you have to park, get out off your car and walk to the street facing walk up window. There is awnings or anything to provide shade and once you have made your order there are no benches or seating to wait for your food. It is the middle of summer here and standing outside waiting for the food to be called with no cover was an ordeal. The ladies taking our order were some of the rudest people I have interacted with here in New Mexico making every interaction seem like a major inconvenience including ordering. Once the food came the milk shakes were so thick they were basically just soft serve in a cup which would be fine except they don't have milk shake straws! The straws they do have are so thin that is is difficult to even soda through them and they don't even provide straws with their milk shakes, they give you spoons and they seemed out surprised and put out when I requested a straw. Like I said, the food once you get it is good but depending on the temperature outside and the complexity of your order this may not be a place worth the wait.

    Photos
    Pat's Twin Cronnie - 08.03.2026

    08.03.2026

    Pat's Twin Cronnie - Chile cheeseburger 08.03.2026

    Chile cheeseburger 08.03.2026

    Pat's Twin Cronnie - Daily Specials menu 08.03.2026

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    Daily Specials menu 08.03.2026

    Something Different Grill - Chicken Wrap

    Something Different Grill

    2.9(55 reviews)
    0.2 mi
    $

    This place is really something different! Sitting in the middle of the small town of Portales, NM,…read moreyou would not expect them to have the diverse menu that they have. I tried several dishes including the Super Bowl, which has rice, vegetables, Teriyaki beef, schrimp and chicken. They are famous for the baked potatoes. The varieties are plenty and these potatoes are huge!! They also offer a large breakfast menu, too. The service is decent. Most of the waitresses are in their early 20's, probably from nearby college, WT. All of them were nice and polite, which give the hometown feel to your meal. I have eaten here several times and have not been disappointed yet!

    I'm not from here but this place isn't that bad but I order the teriyaki chicken and shrimp bowl…read morethe sauce is very over powering. The sauce does not taste like teriyaki it tasted more like honey I'm not saying its good or bad but might wanna take a different approach when it comes to your sauce. As for service, it could be improved Working environment looks friendly but when I'm walking in and I stand there for 5 min. With no one to assist me (keep in mind there were people in the back that saw me) I'm just gonna look lost but eventually someone helped. Overall I would say the rating is fair. The atmosphere is great just need to improve on small things. Hope to come again but with a different opinion.

    Photos
    Something Different Grill - Zesty Ranch Chicken Salad. With no zesty.

    Zesty Ranch Chicken Salad. With no zesty.

    Something Different Grill - Teriyaki Chicken Bowl

    Teriyaki Chicken Bowl

    Something Different Grill - Broccoli Chicken Alfredo

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    Broccoli Chicken Alfredo

    SideKix on 66 - Chocolate explosion cake

    SideKix on 66

    4.3(496 reviews)
    71.7 mi
    $$

    The owner's husband didn't know that the dish he made (the Heart Attack) was actually a dish made…read morefamous in Springfield, IL. Texas Toast with a burger patty, grilled onions, fries, cheese and (here is where it changes) a choice of white gravy, brown gravy, Red Sauce or Green Sauce. Also known as Horseshoes! I chose the red sauce and it was delicious. Perfectly medium Rare. My only complaint was the onions. When I hear "grilled onions" I think soft and caramelized. The onions I recieved didn't even seem to touch the pan. But it was still a delicious dish. The waitress was great! Wonderful sense of humor. Did everything she could to make us feel comfortable and happy. Well done! The diner was just that...a typical Route 66 Roadside Diner ... but elevated. I would definitely go again to try their breakfast and/or dinner. I would recommend this diner to anyone!

    Since my dog was waiting in the air-conditioned Jeep, I decided on SideKix on 66 for a takeout…read moredinner. This little diner in Tucumcari, NM has extensive menus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The service was very friendly and hospitable... encouraging me to take a seat while I waited back on August 2, 2026. It was one of the waitress's birthday which made me super happy but simultaneously sad because it was also my youngest daughter's birthday - she was in Cali at the time visiting her dad before school started. I DIGRESS... There was a variety of seating arrangements. The chairs had really cool upholstery beckoning to the 50s era in the area. One dish in particular caught my eyes: Southwest chicken fried steak ($19.49). I had it with green sauce. I almost chose Christmas style - red and green sauce. The green beans and mashed potatoes with cream gravy were just fine. So was the roll. The steak was mostly tender, savory, and hearty. I was able to take the sauce and breading off to share with my canine. They also sold souvenirs. They still seem to be recovering from a fire from the previous year especially with their prices - a bit high in my opinion. I'm a fan nonetheless. RATING BREAKDOWN Food: 4 | Service: 5 | Ambiance: 4 | Price: 3

    Photos
    SideKix on 66 - Inside

    Inside

    SideKix on 66
    SideKix on 66 - 08.02.2026

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    08.02.2026

    McDonald's - better to buy a small one smh

    McDonald's

    1.6(28 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    $

    One of the best places to go when you're craving something unhealthy. So glad that there is a…read moreMcDonald's in Portales - this really helped my friends and I get through some times of hunger and were too lazy to cook. I was a little - actually, super excited when I saw that they had the new "build your own custom creation" menu. Who would have thought! Out of all the McDonald's in Los Angeles, a McDonalds in New Mexico would have it before LA. These new "create your taste" machines allow the customer to skip having to have real live interaction with the worker and just submit your transaction directly into their system. We were a little confused as to where to grab our alert devices that would buzz us when the food was ready, but apparently the workers had them at the front counter. While you can order from the entire menu on the machines, I opted to create my own creation. These McDonalds in the mid-west have burgers served on Texas toast, so obviously I went with that as my bun of choice. Adding additional protein costs extra money, but you're able to add whatever ingredients you want to your burger (if I remember correctly). With all the options, you can be standing at the machine for several hours. Not only does this McDonalds have the ordering machine, but they have a little island in the middle with charging mats and devices that you can borrow. There's also a "take a book" or something in the corner next to the utensils where kids can grab a book to read. So awesome! The burger I custom created - 1/4 pound on Texas toast with cheese, fried onions, lettuce, tomato, and whatever else I threw on there - turned out to be pretty tasty. It was definitely the Texas toast that made it taste that good! Can't really rate a fast food join on their food, but I've been here pretty often and I've always left feeling happy - and a little regretful of the French fries that I've put into my mouth. tl;dr - So amazed by their custom creation menus. The locals probably see this everyday and were super confused by me standing in front of it and taking pictures to capture my order. Restaurant is always pretty clean. Staff is efficient - I've seen baseball teams come in and they're always incredibly calm while taking their orders - and really friendly.

    I enjoyed the food it was good had 5 sandwiches with fries and drinks fries were cold but…read moresandwiches good ... Also got apple pie ordered 2 got 1. They were so busy. I eat here at least 2x a week....

    Photos
    McDonald's
    McDonald's
    McDonald's

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    McCarty's Cafe - tradamerican - Updated September 2026

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