Rustic Café — Restaurant in Alamogordo

First the waitresses and personal service was great and personable.

I normally look for local cafes to eat at when I travel. You get to experience the local people and the local food. But at this Rustic Cafe located in a truck stop is absolutely the last time I will ever eat here. Truck cafes are usually some of the best places to eat. A meal to provide comfort food taste, a home away from home. Professional drivers and locals alike stay away from this place. If you wanted to eat processed food with bland flavors then stick with your normal Fast food restaurants (McDonald's, Burger King, etc.) You will get more nutrition, flavor, and filling food from Subways or Quiznos sub sandwiches.

Food: Rustic skillet; horrible pre-processed made from frozen biscuits. Suppose to be flaky open face. What I got was two whole completely soggy biscuits. Gravy was suppose to be sausage gravy. Did not see any sausage in the gravy, looked like normal white gravy. Two sausage patties, no flavor. Probably counted as the sausage suppose to be in the gravy. Onions, bell peppers, shredded cheese, Flavor as normal.

The front of the menu describes the creation reasoning of Rustic Cafe (emphasis mine): The Kent Companies created Rustic Cafe in early 2008. Creating a rustic atmosphere and great home-style food was the FOCUS of the new concept. "IT WAS IMPORTANT TO DEVELOP THE AMAZING LOCAL FLAVORS" and focus on grilled to perfection burgers and fresh baked pizzas...the Kent company still operates with the same attitude and spirit that made Buck (Kent) such a great success; hard work dedication to our team members and guests, and a never ending drive to be the best. Really, somebody in the Kent Companies has better read, and reread there business statement and why they were a success, because this is not it. This is not the drive stated to be the best at the Rustic Cafe.

Atmosphere/Decore: Harsh bright lighting. Clean fresh appearance but not the Rustic Cafe I would have envisioned.

The photo indicating using fresh ingredients and hand bread our dishes.

Very few items are actually hand made in kitchen. Cook staff can not even make their own Hatch chili sauces or salsa. So how do you incorporate...

First, I got an order to go because I was in a hurry. I ordered Huevos Rancheros, over medium on the eggs. Every yolk on my eggs were broken, the refried beans were crusty scraping off the side of the pan and for all that it took 42 minutes to get the order prepared and out the door. My order did not include utensils or the side condiments for each item. The worst thing was sitting there watching the old waitress with the bad bleach job, eat, touch her face, bus tables and then grab people's food and take it to their table. As a Truck Driver, I could have fueled at Alsups for 10 cents a gallon less and at 100 gallons that is 10 dollars. And that 10 dollars would have gotten me 2 egg McMuffins and a large coffee with change. I have ate inside and the portions are larger and hotter...I imagine there is a sense that there is no accountability with 2 go orders, with people you don't see everyday. But reality is, I have stopped here minimum of 3 times a year for over 20 years and what I experienced and what I saw will force me to consider other options next time through. I know it won't break you, but it is no way to build a business either. The waitress needs to be retrained or fired. I told her to go wash her hands at one point, so you know...

We are long time residents in Alamogordo, The Rustic Cafe has been a staple to our times of eating out, it was always our first choice. Now as of this year 2024, we have have once again begun to return after it was closed for updating and renovations. The inside now is nowhere near the comfy, cozie, home feeling, that all went out the window, it used to be decorated homey now it is generic looking and kind of clinical. The food is good, there just seems to be a communication issue as food items are forgotten, and I would not mention this as that can happen however the last 4 times we have gone that is what our experience was. The service can be hit or miss, but one constant is that you will hear about all the issues the employees have with each other, and of the employer. When I go to a restaurant I would like to relax without the employee drama. It comes to the table, and if it doesn't come to the table, you can hear them at the counter, and in the kitchen, the wait staff have no filters and are loud when talking about the problems they have with each other or just personal issues. We will no longer be going, we will check back to see if this gets resolved in about 3...