Hot Rocks Java Cafe — Restaurant in Four Corners States

Over the course of 4 years of patronage Hot Rocks has continued to get worse and worse. Originally they were actually a pretty good choice. But over time they have managed to consistently screw up orders, take at least half an hour to take a sandwich out of the refrigerator, have apparently sold their microwave as burritos are consistently served cold, and have a coffee machine that ensures that 10% of any given cup of dark roast will be burnt grounds.

And all of that is ignoring colleagues who have found cockroaches in their burritos (it was a whole one though, so don't worry), the ongoing joke that you should never order a panini (I hear some people are still waiting to this very day), and horribly rude wait staff (nothing beats hearing the cashier rant to the people behind the counter that you ONLY tipped her a dollar for an 8 dollar wrap...). And consistently having a dirty order slip resting on top of your burrito when they finally decide it has sit on the counter long enough that it might be warm enough to eat (it really isn't).

And speaking of burritos, make sure you order yours without onions because the Hot Rocks way is to shove half an onion in there otherwise. Although, they have caught on to this trick and now just sell burritos that would look small if you pulled it out of a box in the freezer (and it is only marginally colder)

I understand that this is Los Alamos and that we have much lower standards for service and even food quality. But Hot Rocks is one of those rare places (of which there are two...) that is genuinely bad by Los Alamos standards. Do yourself a favor and go to the cafeteria (which is actually surprisingly good) or take advantage of the fact that everyone else is at work and drive into town for a quick...

PLEASE USE COOKING SPICES AND MARINADE AND SEASON FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!! YOUR FOOD TASTES EXTREMELY BLAND!

The two options for food inside LANL are Hot Rocks which seems to be independent, and Ottowi which is ran by Aramark. Aramark's quality seems dependent on location. That sets the bar pretty low, but Hot Rocks doesn't seem to aim any higher than Aramark. Consider using salt and pepper! The food comes with a taste as if the cooks have no concept of what salt, pepper, or really any seasoning whatsoever is! I found that the very few things that can be cooked decently --not great, but okay, are that involving steak. I started to realize that the cooks are my impression of what a guy without any culinary training would cook like. Beyond the basics the stereotypical man without a culinary background can do, don't expect any flavor or skill...

I was down here last summer and I would have easily given them 5 stars last summer, but this summer they have done nothing but mess up orders. In the past, I have ordered items and gotten the wrong ingredients on them (should come with this and that but never do) but today was by far the worst. I order an omelette with sausage, onion, and cheese. I get to my office and there is only sausage and chorizo on it. I take it back down stairs in hopes that maybe they can fix it and instead I get back a greasy egg pancake with sausage, onion, and unmelted cheese on top. I would be okay if they had fixed the issue but they did not take the time to fix it correctly at all.

Probably better to go to the lab cafeteria...