The winding highway meandering along the murky Rio Grande through Embudo is among the most scenic in the Land of Enchantment, particularly in mid-autumn when leaves turn a vibrant shade of gold. For nearly two decades, motorists drove slowly not only to take in the foliage, but to imbibe the hazy applewood smoke plumes emanating from Sugar’s BBQ & Burgers . Enchanting aromas wafted into motorized conveyances like a sweet Texas smoke signal beckoning passers-by to try a combo platter or a brisket burrito. In 2023, the drive alongside the Rio Grande became somewhat less captivating with the discernible absence of those fragrant aromas.
From outward appearances, Sugar’s was a humble, ramshackle corrugated-tin shack. Beyond that exterior facade, it was one of New Mexico’s most heralded eateries. In 2005–a scant five years after its launch–Sugar’s was named one of the nation’s best best road-side eateries in the United States by Gourmet Magazine. Local and national ccolades continued to pile up over the years. In 2010, Sugar’s was designated “memorable” and “one of the best” by Roadfood.com. In October, 2018, Sugar’s was named one of the ten best barbecue restaurants in New Mexico by James Beard award-winning author Cheryl Alters Jamison writing for New Mexico Magazine. In both 2009 and 2011, Sugar’s earned a place on the New Mexico Tourism Department’s Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail.
In 2018, owners Neil and Nancy Noble declared their intent to retire, placing their iconic roadside attraction for sale. With no takers immediately available (courtesy of a volatile real estate market), the Nobles eventually shuttered their popular eatery in 2023. On Easter Sunday, 2025, a new tenant began serving out of the shack after having operated on the property out of a food truck for several months. Signage now reads Aly’s @ Sugar’s representing both new and former tenants. The shack has undergone a make-over with the tin siding taking on a rusty appearance and the kitchen being completely renovated. Picnic tables are still available under leafy canopies. New to the property are a number of chickens and roosters, all strutting their stuff and invoking the ire of visiting dogs.
If the name “Aly’s” sounds familiar, you may have visited Aly’s Taos Eats, a food truck owned and operated by New Zealand transplant Aly Hyder. Aly also owns Aly’s A La Cart, also in Taos. You may also have visited Aly’s vicariously through Food Network gliteratti Guy Fieri who visited Aly’s food truck in a 2022 episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. When Fieri asked her how to differentiate between a blueberry pie and a meat pie, she indicated “we wouldn’t ordinarily do a blueberry pie,” adding that in New Zealand most pies are savory. At the time Ally’s Taos Eats specialized in New Zealand pies, buttery, flaky lusciousness stuffed with savory meats and vegetables. Fieri made quick work of a minemeat and cheese pot pie and a chipotle pot pie. His assessment “That’s beautiful! You get the subtleties of the beef and the little pop of the pea, and a touch of the garlic… It’s great. The fact that you can make the amount of layers inside of this is unbelievable. You’ve taken a lot of time to develop that crust, and it’s delicious.”
At Aly’s @ Sugar’s, Aly is diversifying the menu much further. She inherited the original recipes developed by the Nobles, but has ambitious plans and a vision to take the operation much further. Over time, she plans on sourcing all lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes and sprouts from a garden on the property. She has designs on importing a Little Gem real fruit ice cream machine from her homeland. Ice cream can be made on the machine from custard, coconut milk, cashew milk and other milk mixes in addition to the fresh, not frozen, fruit. Eventually Aly would like to use the property to manufacture meat pies which she will bake and sell as wholesale products to supermarkets and shops. Aly’s, it seems, will be all it can be.
We were beyond surprised to see the menu posted to the left of the window where guests place their orders. It has an amazing diversity. I grew nostalgic at not interacting with Neil, a genial octogenarian who treated all guests like family. Aly herself was behind the counter. Her Kiwi accent and its non-rhotic tones were so entrancing, I forgot to take a photo of her. New to the eatery is a breakfast menu and it’s not all breakfast burritos all the time. For breakfast, you can have such treats as a bacon and egg pie, blueberry French toast and a green chile sausage roll. Middle Eastern favorites such as gyros and chicken shawarma are available for lunch and beyond. Nine burgers adorn the menu, each sure to become a favorite. The menu also includes two salads, five meat pies and such “small plates” as dolmas and hummus. For dessert, treat yourself to baklava, brownies and more. There’s so much on the menu that you’ll wonder how a Liliputian kitchen can offer so much.
For both instantiations of the New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail, the original Sugar burger was included (it would have been heretical had it not been). While Sugar burger is still on the menu, it’s not exactly the same Sugar’s burger we all knew and loved. This version starts on a grilled sesame bun topped with Sugar burger sauce, a six-ounce Angus beef patty, lettuce, tomato slices, sauteed onions, melted cheese, sauteed mushrooms with garlic, bacon and green chile. That’s A LOT going on in one burger. Fortunately the grilled sesame bun is formidable enough to maintain the burger’s integrity. The Sugar burger is a towering behemoth replete with gigantic flavor to match. Even with all the ingredients with which it shares the sesame bun, the green chile shines. You can atually taste both piquancy and smokiness. The burger sauce has a bit of piquancy, too, and the sauteed mushrooms and onions are terrific. Burgers are served with hand-cut fries sprinkled with Za’atar spice blend (wild thyme, oregano, toasted sesame seeds, sumac, Himalayan rock salt). The fries are pretty awesome, too.
Five meat pies are on the menu. They go fast so you’re encouraged to order ahead, a service Aly’s provides to passers-by on the way to or from work. The menu indicates the pies are served “the classic meat way – piping hot in a paper bag.” Though we would have been happy with any of the five–Beef Bourguignon, Mince & Cheese, Chicken Chipotle, Butter Chicken and Veggie–it was the Beef Bourguignon that called loudest. Traditionally beef Bourguignon is a French beef stew made with beef, red wine (traditionally Burgundy), carrots, onions, garlic, and herbs, all slow-braised to render them all very tender. It’s one of my favorite French comfort foods. Yellow butter is folded in between layers of dough, essentially a lacquering technique which gives the crust its flakiness. It’s a wonderful crust, a bit thick but absolutely delicious. So is the beef Bourguignon. Capturing the essence of a stew within a pie crust isn’t easy, but Aly’s has done it.
If you’ve missed the wondrous aromas wafting into your vehicle from the Lilliputian tin shack facing the Rio Grande, you need to make the trek to Embudo to experience the flavors from which those aromas emanate. Sugar’s is back and for that, we should all rejoice!
Aly’s @ Sugar’s
1799 State Road 68 PO Box 4
Embudo, New Mexico
(575) 770-0257
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LATEST VISIT: 1 September 2025
# OF VISITS: 1
RATING: N/R
COST: $$
BEST BET; Beef Bourguignon, Sugar Burger
REVIEW #1486
