“If you come between 9:30 and 10:00 a.m., we can most easily accommodate you…”
That’s the response we received after contacting Sage Mobile Eatery in Pagosa Springs about stopping by to check out their food. We don’t normally warn restaurants we’re coming, but this food truck, located right off 160, across from a gas station and a couple of pot shops, is known for running out of food a couple of hours after they start serving lunch, and we wanted to be sure that our drive from Durango was going to yield food, glorious food.
So, to make sure that we hit the food deadline, a friend and I made the trek out to Pagosa first thing in the morning on a Friday. You’ll be happy to know that we made it, friends, and it yielded some of the best darn brisket we’ve ever had. And that’s saying something, considering one of us is from Texas.
Like the atmosphere, which is basically a food truck, a covered picnic area, and a parking lot, the menu at Sage is pretty simple. They only serve breakfast and lunch, and feature mostly comfort foods. The breakfast menu offers just three regular dishes – the biscuit, which is a biscuit sandwich with egg, cheese, and your choice of meat; biscuits and gravy; and – of course – a breakfast burrito, which can be customized to your liking. The lunch menu is a little more extensive, with several burger options, brisket, and chicken. Neither menu is too limited, though. What Sage does make, they make really well, so those carefully curated options are clearly working for them.
I went with the sliced brisket sandwich on a potato bun – a plate not normally served at breakfast time, just FYI – while my dining partner went with the more breakfast appropriate plate of biscuits and gravy. It felt a bit odd to order a brisket sandwich at 9:30 a.m., but I had zero regrets about my choice once it appeared. One bite of that sandwich and it was clear why this place sells out by 1:30 p.m. every day. They serve up some seriously killer brisket here – and that’s absolutely no exaggeration. It’s the kind of brisket that is cushioned by a thick layer of fat and has been slow smoked for so long that it falls apart well before it hits your mouth. Early morning or otherwise, I was in food heaven thanks thanks to that pickle-laden sandwich. So much so, in fact, that I barely noticed the perfectly seasoned fries accompanying it because I was too busy indulging in meaty, smoky heaven. My dining partner noticed them, though, and greedily used them to sop up the gravy leftover on her plate.
And, speaking of that gravy, it was hardly just the brisket that had us melting into our picnic benches. The biscuits and gravy were also epic. The biscuits were thick, just like she’d hoped they’d be. They pulled apart easily with the plunge of her fork. The bread was cooked beautifully, with crispy, brown edges that complimented the heavy but soft texture of the bread. “Carbs at their finest, really,” she said. Best of all, however, was the creamy green chile gravy, she said, which gave the dish a spicy kick we never realized biscuits and gravy even needed. The gravy, with its smooth texture and powerful flavor, made this dish. If there’d been enough room in her stomach, she probably have gone back for seconds of this plate.
But alas, there was no room in her stomach, nor was there room in mine. I managed to shovel a couple of bites of her biscuits and gravy into my mouth before my stomach called it quits, and she was right. That green chile kick did ratchet the dish up a notch and made biscuits and gravy, which is already a fantastic dish in its most basic form, something pretty darn spectacular.
It’s not the most convenient drive, the one to Pagosa Springs from Durango – especially not early in the morning in the midst of bike races, slow driving tourists, and commuter traffic – but if you’re driving to Sage Mobile Eatery, we guarantee it’s worth the hassle. Just make sure you head over there early enough to snag a dish or three, because we aren’t joking. They really do sell out every single day. We’re already talking about when we can make it back over there, and how much it’ll cost us to bribe them to set aside some of that brisket for us … just in case.
Sage Mobile Eatery is located at 275 E Pagosa St, Pagosa Springs. For more information, visit facebook.com/pg/sagemobileeatery or call them at 970-264-3227.Angelica Leicht
