We will be arriving at the caverns in the mid-afternoon, and will be heading on from there to Alamogordo for the night.
Can anyone recommend somewhere that we should eat between the Caverns and Alamogordo? We will likely be arriving too late into Alamogordo to partake of dinner there.
Carlsbad:
Red Chimney (closed on Sunday)
No Whiner Diner
both of above on US285 (main north/south street)
Rojas (now called La Juanita Mexican Cuisine and Grill, but locals still call it Rojas)
2704 San Jose Blvd
0.3 mi west of NPS admin bldg on Pecan & US 285, then 0.6 mi north on San Jose
Be forewarned that the chile (not 'chili') may be a bit much for delicate Texan palates; it's not tourist food.
There are the usual chain eateries if you want consistency of bland food.
There are equivalent places in Artesia.
Depending upon when you cross the mountain, Cloudcroft has an eatery or two that are local gigs (no corporate chains there). Worth a stop if it's daylight just to walk the short main drag of a genuine mountain town.
Just west of Cloudcroft is the preserved railroad trestle from 1800s timber industry; very impressive. Just a little farther west is the only highway tunnel in NM (there's another north of Albuquerque that was a train tunnel, but it's on a backcountry state road north of Jemez Pueblo.
Alamogordo is an Air Force town. You'll probably find something unless it's 2 am.