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Click on Tournament for Bracket & Game Stories
Nestled nearly 9000 feet up in the mountains of Southern New Mexico, Cloudcroft doesn’t seem to have enough level expanse to provide for something like a football field. Oh, but it does, and the Bears have actually done well enough in that sport to take home a first-place state trophy – as has been the case in activities that require less space.
Find out the details in the Roll Call of State Championships
Boys Basketball
1989…Cloudcroft reigns for second year in row in Class 1A after finishing 27-2 season with a 58-49 victory over Tatum
1988…Led by coach Allen Musgrove, Bears get first boys basketball state championship by knocking off Springer 85-70 in 1A final
Girls Basketball
1977…Bears and coach Joe Mondragon edge Weed 43-41 and bring back to Cloudcroft the Class 1A first-place trophy
Football
1973…Almost a perfect season for Cloudcroft, but an 8-8 tie in the Class 1A championship game with Vaughn means the Bears have to share the title
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“Ole!” greets drive-through customers from the speaker box.
If that’s the case, it can only be one business: Taco Box.
From frijole burritos to Spanish fries to pig-in-a-panchos, and quite nearly everything in-between, the restaurant has been serving up its eclectic menu for 40 years.
According to owner Tom Martin, the number one seller is the simple-and-tasty frijole burrito while tacos, chalupas and cheese sticks follow closely in popularity.
A popular side item are Spanish fries, a Taco Box-invented title for another potato-based munchie (any guesses?). Martin says his restaurant has only occasionally ventured into making regular french fries and the attempts have ultimately always been futile with the Taco Box customer base.
“I always joke that I don’t make french fries so I can help keep McDonald’s in business,” Martin says.
Other items also remain popular to an extent even though not officially on the menu board anymore – a testament to the loyalty of the typical Taco Box consumer.
The Mexi-Burger was on the menu back in the early 1980s and still gets ordered today. By those in the know, at any rate.
“There’s probably at least a dozen different items over the years like that,” Martin says. “We took it off, just because of space, but we still make ‘em. We probably sell as many as we did when they were on the menu.”
Martin lists breakfast tacos, frijole tacos, guacamole tacos as other such “underground” items. And that’s not to mention the vast array of drink combinations, utilizing the different soft drinks and flavorings, that have actually never been listed on the big board at Taco Box.
Martin, raised in Cleveland and a graduate from Cornell University in New York, ventured west after college and tried his hand with the Taco Box brand. He took over Taco Box on June 1, 1970.
Remembering his first foray into Mexican food, Martin has an oft-repeated story with some variation or another.
“I never had a taco until I was 21. I remember having a mild green chile taco and I thought I was going to die,” Martin recalls.
After having a tastebud-adjustment and following countless tacos served to his customers at Taco Box, it’s safe to say one thing about the guy who originally thought he’d be in the Land of Enchantment for “a couple of years.”
Well Tom, you’re a New Mexican now.
