I wish I could give this place 100 stars. This place is absolutely amazing. Be careful if you blink you will miss it. It's inside of a gas station. This was the best food we had in NM. The two lady's work were amazing. I wish I didn't live on the other side of the country. read more

Excellent food, friendly staff. I had the green cheeseburger which came out well. The place doesn't look like much but the food is good.

This place continues to serve great American and southern New Mexican food with great service. Locals, truckers and tourists enjoy this place. I certainly do. Can't beat their huevos rancheros served all day. Love the enchilada too. Great Chile! Look forward to the next time. read more

This place is a pleasant surprise! Tucked away in the back of a gas station, there is not much to talk about as far as its own flare, but the food was great! I had the hamburger steak with mashed potatoes along with corn. It also came with a salad. It was as all delicious! All of my co-workers also enjoyed their food. The server stayed on top of our drinks and got our food out quickly. We plan on going in for breakfast the next we go. read more

The Crane Cafe - Hamburger steak with mashed potatoes and corn - Mexican Near Me - Lemitar, New Mexico

Had one of their premade, but still homemade, breakfast burritos from the warmer at front in the travel center. The BEST BREAKFAST BURRITO I have ever had! If you are passing by down the highway, do yourself a favor and stop in for one. You won't regret it! read more

Instead of cooking out this year we just went and ate out. Not too many open restaurants in town today for the 4th of July so we went to the Lemitar truck stop to eat in the diner known as the Crane Cafe. The food prices have increased significantly since the last time I was here. Service was ok and the food was good. Portions are large, prices are too. The CFS was huge! The burger was huge 1/2lb. The green chile was really bland but the red wasn't too bad. I also got a taco plate because I had been craving some and they were ok I think the shells were a little overcooked but the rice?!? Has to be the worst rice I've ever had. I'm serious when I say I think it came from Lipton??? Other than that, It's a good little diner where the food is good and consistent. Probably come back a couple of times this year. read more

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We made it to this cafe 30 minutes before closing and we're greeted with a lovely smile by our server. She didn't make us feel rushed and our party ordered a cheeseburger with green chili and mushrooms, 2 orders of the smothered burrito dish, hamburger, root beer float and peach cobbler served ala mode. Everything was on point and the portions were HUGE, especially the burrito dish and the root beer float. The cost of the whole meal was reasonable too. The burrito dish was exceptional...the meat was cooked to perfection, with all the right flavors and it was soft and moist. We couldn't even finish the dish because it was so large and took it to go. Highly recommend this place for some comfort, southwestern fare. The restaurant is located inside the Marathon gas station where lots of trucks are parked. Inside, it's just a simple, yet clean ambiance. Would swing by again and eat here when in town. read more

I don't like leaving negative reviews, but here we are... For the restaurant to be in a gas station it was pretty good. The locals really like the place, but us being from Texas, it definitely ain't TexMex. The chips and salsa were great! My husband got tenders and they were good. I got their enchilada? Not so much. The rice was soggy and tasted off. The beans were okay. The cheese enchilada was just a tortilla and shredded cheese... no queso or anything. It was good but do NOT get the red sauce. I'm glad I got it on the side... not good. (I only put a spoonful on and I was flabbergasted) Like I said. I hate leaving bad reviews, but for this place to have decent reviews I was just very confused. Heck, it might've even just been what I got. ‍ Prices weren't bad so go try the food for yourself. read more

The food was great and our waitress Taelene did a great Job! I highly recommend this place to anybody passing through lemitar. read more

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Get the chips. They are delightful! FYI, the restaurant is hidden in the back of the gas station.

I am going to start with the service. Esmeralda and Cathy were attentive, friendly and very professional. The food was extremely well priced for good portions, but most importantly the quality and taste were awesome. The selection was also great as they serve all meals at any time of the day. We decided to have breakfast during the mid-morning. I had the carne adovada breakfast and the adovada was perfectly prepared and truly New Mexican. My wife had a generously sized omelette with fresh ingredients. The cafe is a small and clean and is located in the back of a truck stop convenience store. It is a pleasant surprise and definitely worth the stop as you drive through central New Mexico. I know we will be stopping by again! read more

First time here the food and service was great!! I had the hamburger patty breakfast so tasty with extra brown gravy!!! read more

The Crane Cafe - Hamburger patty breakfast - Mexican Near Me - Lemitar, New Mexico

Had the special, a smothered burrito, with ground beef, and red chile sauce, served with rice, and beans. The red sauce is delicious. However, unexplainably there was none coating the ground beef inside the burrito. I've never understood, or appreciated the New Mexico tradition of ground versus shredded beef, and I believe this meal would be several levels higher with shredded beef. That aside, the burrito was delicious, with a generous amount of beef, and plenty of sauce, and cheese smothering the burrito. The rice was meh, the beans were okay. The pile of shredded lettuce, and diced tomatoes, would probably be a welcome addition for most, I was not interested. This truck stop is easy to get in and out of, with plenty of parking, so if you're here, try the food. read more

The Crane Cafe - Smothered burrito, red chile ground beef, with rice, and beans - Mexican Near Me - Lemitar, New Mexico

Good food & service especially for a diner in a gas station. Only place that is open on Sunday. Great fries!

You're on the road and you just want a quick bite...a gas station might not be your first choice. Think again! This cafe at the back end of the Roadrunner Travel Center has a good menu, is clean and tidy, and the employees were all cheerful and helpful. Got a veggie breakfast burrito to go and a biscuit (don't judge!) and they were delicious. read more

Just had the best ever green chili cheeseburgers for lunch, my husband And I give them a high 5!!!! ( It's inside the Phillips 66). Nice, very clean, friendly service! read more

Nestled in a corner of a gas station off the highway in Lemitar,NM , this place is friendly & good ! Nothing fancy but good breakfast ,the carne adovada was seasoned a bit to Texas especially for this Chile town (Cumin) but I forgive them & would come back .. read more

Marathon Gas Station....the GPS sends you in the opposite direction. Great homemade NM food...this is the real deal. I grew up in northern NM and moved south to Silver City where chili preparation is very different and not as flavorful. Stopped and had the combination plate with red. So happy to get my fix. Hot chips with delicious salsa. Not hot...just lots of flavor. There is not a sign outside. read more

The food came slow but the waitresses were very nice very polite and very good one Seafood got there and you ate it you knew it was worth the wait. Everything was made to perfection. read more

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This is a great little cafe inside the travel center. The food is fantastic. I-25 @exit 156 read more

The Crane Cafe - Hamburger and fries - Mexican Near Me - Lemitar, New Mexico

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You want good food. This is the best all along i25 . And if you really like burgers ; well you will love these always big always juicy . Just like you would make at home. And the service is always good as well. read more

Truck stop diner with BIG meals. You might not expect to find this little diner tucked into the gas station/truck stop off the interstate south of ABQ. The staff was friendly and the portions generous. I stopped by for a trio of breakfast burritos which were the sixe of my forearm. The burritos were stuff with scrambled eggs, hash browns and your choice of fillings. Eat one of those in the morning and you'll be good for the rest of the day! I would def eat here again. BTW... I don't do spicy so can't comment on the chili but others said it is delicious! read more

So glad to have found this little gem. We had burgers and they were VERY good. We also had their home chips, and they were THE BEST! Super yummy! Every plate of food that came out from the kitchen looked delicious. Our server Heather was very nice, friendly, and courteous. All of the staff was very nice. We spent the night and ate breakfast here, and it was delicious! We will now be stopping here twice a year when we travel through New Mexico. read more

We had great breakfast burritos to go. The waitress was very nice and the service was fat. Food was tasty and filling. Two thumbs up.

Bam, Guy said, "best breakfast burrito in the State". He is damn close, that's for sure. read more

It was homemade and it was good, but it wasn't great. Pasole was fresh and flavorful, but I like mine hotter. Home cooked chips were ok but greasy. The salsa was not my style; too bland and didn't seem homemade. Green Chile cheeseburger is BIG, but the Green Chile is bland. Meat was really good. Overall it was just ok. I was underwhelmed. read more

Nice full cafe inside the Phillips Roadrunner Travel Center. Had their breakfast special for today 2 eggs, choice of meat, hash browns and choice of tortilla, toast or biscuit all for $5.49. Can you believe it? I got the biscuit which they split, buttered and toasted on the grill....sooo good. We ordered a side of green chili to put on our eggs and it fired me right up. Wait staff is very friendly and efficient. Definitely will stop again. read more

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Been coming to this area for first responder training for years. This place was recommended to me by a local and I've been coming here ever since. Never had a bad meal. Clean, friendly, simple and delicious. read more

Driving from Ruidoso to Albuquerque we stumbled upon Crane. What a find!! The eight of us San Diegans/Seattlites filled 1/2 the restaurant and the other patrons welcomed us warmly. The staff were graceful and joined in our humour and frivolity (we were very excited to find this place). Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs as they serve large servings. Not only were they large, but completely homemade, fresh, authentic and tasty! Between the 8 of us we had a couple orders of tostados, bowl of beans, chile rellanos, enchilads and for my daughter a chimichanga with fries and cheese (!) and for my son, a cheeseburger and fries, of course, which we all inhaled. Special mention goes to the owner/cook; she is a beautiful women who exudes confidence, groundedness, grace, ease, contentment and has great energy. Not sure when I will be in that part of the world again, but if you are ever nearby, it is worth a meal! read more

Awesome customer service. The dinner plates looked well worth the price however the philly cheese steak was smaller compared to other restaurants like ihop. It was very convenient being inside of a Phillips 66.got the job done read more

Located at Exit 156 off I-25, this is also a travel center. This place used to be good, but not lately. They can't seem to keep staff. I have been feeling sick the past few days, hubby volunteered to bring me something back. I asked for scrambled eggs, wheat toast and grape jelly. What I got was stone-cold mostly untoasted bread with a tub of stone-cold butter, two packges of apple jelly, and a slab-looking omelet of tasteless egg mixture. read more