The Pantry Rio: an easy Plaza-adjacent breakfast.

The Pantry Rio is on Galisteo Street, a short walk from the Plaza, and it's the breakfast move on the morning you don't want to commit to standing in line at Pasqual's. An easy and fun spot, minimal wait, great patio when the weather is right.

The order is the Chili Relleno Omelette with green chili. That's the dish we'd send anyone here for. A roasted, stuffed poblano folded into an omelette, the green chili running over the top — it's New Mexican breakfast in one plate. If green is too much heat for the table, ask for it on the side or do Christmas-style (red and green together) and you'll get a more rounded version.

The rest of the menu is the comfortable American-diner-meets-New-Mexican menu you want from a brunch spot in this town. Eggs done multiple ways, breakfast burritos, pancakes, the standard supporting cast. Nothing is trying too hard. Everything works.

What makes The Pantry Rio practically useful is the wait situation. Pasqual's, the headline Plaza breakfast, can run a meaningful wait most mornings, and there are mornings when nobody in your group has the patience for that. The Pantry Rio gets you sitting down quickly and out the door in time to actually use your morning. We've sent visitors here when the Pasqual's wait was too long and never had one come back disappointed.

The patio is the call when it's a sunny morning. Indoor seating is fine but the patio is the better experience. Earlier is easier on weekends; mid-morning is the sweet spot if you're sleeping in.

Pair it with a Plaza walk afterward — the cathedral is a few minutes east, the Palace of the Governors and the Native artists' portal is right on the square, and a coffee at Iconik's downtown bookstore location is a short stroll. Or use it as the stop before a hike: Sun Mountain or Atalaya are both within an easy drive, and a green-chile breakfast is exactly the right fuel for either one.

Not the destination breakfast of the trip. Genuinely the breakfast you'll be glad you knew about.