This is SERIOUS!! Mexican Food? (Pueblo, Manitou Springs: restaurant, prices, shop)

[roastedbeans]

Personally, I dig baja style the most.

I have to 2nd Los Portales off Circle/Platte. They offer more baja Mexico style as the family operators are from Long Beach, CA. Excellent family recipes and a very delish salsa bar.

El Palenque at 2165 Academy Pl (1/4 mi. N of Constitution) has fall-apart chicken that slow roasts in a muy fantastico red sauce. Get it on anything.

For something McDonald's has not managed to screw up: Chipotle's barbacoa is always a hit. And if you haven't tried their carnitas, do.

Drive through breakfast burritos at Monica's...Powers/Palmer Park or Nevada/Tejon. For more greasy and if "french fries as potatoes" are OK with you, Albertacos.

Wahoo's Fish Taco--time for fish tacos! Or, try the blacked chicken on nachos or in a quesadilla.

Lastly, for your next trip out of town and you're driving to DIA, there is a gem "roach coach" white truck that has been in this parking lot for years. Why this is legal, evades me! Exit 225 on Colfax, go East about a mile on your right is a white truck in the parking lot of a mexican market/hair salon. Phenomenal tijauna-style eats (tacos w/2 small corn tortillas, onion, cilantro, green or red sauce, and of course, the lime). It's all good here.

There is a nice carniceria (Mexican meat market) off Pikes Peak and Academy, just West. They have good quality, high volume meat movement...and the best prices in town on mex-fare produce (romas, chilies, onions, etc.) for your next salsa cook-off. Decent little fast-serve restaurant attached as well.

COS has LOTS of room for improvement for food, but this list may give you something to look forward to.

Olay!

chris

[COflower]

Originally Posted by McGowdog

I'd hope not. There's a TV dinner at the grocery store that has awesome Mexican food compared to the stuff they serve there. It has like the spanish rice, the refried beans, and a couple of enchilladas. They should just serve those there.

Oddly enough, the north side Pass Key in Pueblo serves a really good green chile. Problem is, they aren't always open.

How about a chile verde recipe?

Here's my recipe that is tried and true:

Chile Verde - New Mexican Style

2 tbsp olive oil
2 pounds boneless pork, cut into 1-inch cubes (pork tenderloin is best)
½ cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup flour (whole wheat is excellent)
2 cups peeled and chopped fresh tomatoes or one 28 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped
2 cups roasted, peeled and chopped fresh green chiles (In the winter/early spring I use one bag of frozen mild green chiles from Wal*Mart or 2 Bueno Foods Mild chile tubs - thawed and drained)
1-2 fresh jalapeño(s), chopped
1 tsp salt
½ tsp fresh ground pepper
½ tsp sugar (optional - I don't use it)
(The following is season to taste)
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp cumin

1 cup chicken or beef broth

Heat olive oil in a 4 quart pan with a cover. Add pork and cook until lightly browned. Add onion and garlic and stir with the meat. Add flour and stir 1-2 minutes.* Add tomatoes, green chiles, jalepeño, salt, pepper, sugar, marjoram and cumin. Mix well. Add broth. Lower heat (about medium low). Cover and simmer for 1 to 1 ½ hours or until meat is tender.

Serves 6

* If you decide to cook in a crock pot, brown the meat, onion, garlic and the flour as described in a regular pan then transfer to a pre-warmed crock pot and cook according the remainder of the directions. Remember that a crock pot will need at least 8 hours of cook time for this recipe depending on your crock pot cooking guide. Browning the meat gives great flavor and sweating the onions really helps the flavors as well. If you use the crock pot, you can use a "lesser" cut of meat since it cooks for so long it will be very, very tender.

Partially from The Pink Adobe Restaurant (Santa Fe, NM) cookbook and a friend's recipe who grew up not far from Santa Fe.

Edit 10-13-06 As I wrote in a friends entry (it was her first time to try this recipe):

If you can't get fresh chiles or the frozen variety, you can use chopped canned chiles (mild) in the Mexican isle. Get about 28 or so ounces. Yes, the original recipe only calls for two cups but I love the flavor of them I add more.

Whole wheat is my secret ingredient.

This last month I made a batch for my step-mom and father as my father was just out of the hospital for total knee replacement and it's something they both like. Well I used Muir Glen Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes (drained) but they were of the peeled kind. They added a great element you normally wouldn't get with the original recipe.

Oh and if you are low on cash and can't afford the full amount of the pork, use only 1 pound of pork and add in a can of drained pinto beans. Add a little more salt as the pinto beans will soak it up a bit but then add a bit of chile powder too. It gives it a little more earthyness that the beans can take away.

Edit to make it completely vegetarian, use veggie broth and two cans of pinto beans or a can of pintos and a can of black beans. Since it will be lacking a little in flavor, add in some chile powder and a little extra of cumin.

ANOTHER EDIT! BTW, I use more green chiles than most as I love them...theya re so earthy and so wonderful. Not to mention they are so good for you.

YUM!

Note: That's as posted in my Live Journal so please ingore the edits. As people ask questions I make edits to the recipe or in the case that I found Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes...

Enjoy.

[krystinelj]

Originally Posted by mcartmel

I'm relocating in May to the springs and hope everybody is right about New Mexican food. I'm from Albuquerque, New Mexico and am wondering if there are any native new mexicans who have any input about the food up there.

The Mexican food is a little different here. I've only found a few places that serve carne adobada. Huevos rancheros are kinda hit and miss...sometimes they serve them on flour tortillas. The closest thing I've found to New Mexico cuisine is served at Taqueria Mexico #2, which is very similar to the food served at Garcia's Kitchen or Los Cuates in Albuquerque. There's another restaurant by the same name up north, but I don't know if they're owned by the same people. Honestly though, I don't think you're going to have any problems finding something you'll like. You'll just need to try different places. BTW, welcome to Colorado!

[froggin4colorado]

Mexican food varies by location so you are going to have to experiment yourself on what you like. From where I grew up (Kearny, AZ 80%hispanics/mexicans) green chili meant a roast with green chilies, garlic, etc wrapped up in a tortilla- we called it a green chili burro, or otherwise known as a burrito. No sauce on top. We also had red chili, beans and cheese, and chorizo burros. So see, so different!
Senor Manuals on 4660 N. Neveda has large portions and their fajitas are no exception. I prefer Senors for my mexican taste.
El Palenque 2165 N. Academy, just north of Skate City on the east side, a different type yet. I think it is okay, but will choose it over others on Friday and Saturday nights because there is no wait to get to a table plus it has a playroom for the kids. I haven't every really cared for Amanda's personally. I have tried Queen Bean and didn't care for it either. Jose Muldrons is also okay, but nothing to rave about. I have never liked Dos Hombres either.
Keep in mind, that you can get fajitas in not just mexican resturaunts, so keep your eyes open. If you find a great mexican place, let us know!

[opelske]

Just happened upon this Col Springs posts. It sure does sound like a fun place with fun people, and boy or boy am I getting hungry! Darn, only wish I could say something in Mexican! Fiesta! Sure on my list of places I want to visit!

[jazzlover]

I'm partial to New Mexican style food ("Arizona," "California," or "Tex-Mex" just doesn't do it for me), and the farther north you get into Colorado, the harder it is to find. I'm sure there are some places in the Springs that New Mexican style food can be found, but I haven't found any there recently. You can find it in Pueblo, though, and it is readily found down in the San Luis Valley (one of my favorite places).

Most every New Mexico green chile recipe that I've seen has onions in it. The recipe that I use I got from a fifth generation New Mexican--it has onions in it. It's simple to make and is really tasty! Heaven for me is stacked (not rolled) green chile enchiladas with a fried egg on top. Southern Colorado and northern New Mexico are about the only places you can regularly find that on the menu.

Another variation that I have had in multi-ethnic Pueblo is not usually found on any menu--you have to ask for it. I was introduced to it by a Pueblo native. It is called a "half-breed." It is a spicy Italian sausage sandwich smothered in green chile. The place that I last had one has since closed, but I'm sure that somewhere in Pueblo there is still a place that would serve one. Yummy.

[McGowdog]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

Most every New Mexico green chile recipe that I've seen has onions in it. The recipe that I use I got from a fifth generation New Mexican--it has onions in it.
Another variation that I have had in multi-ethnic Pueblo is not usually found on any menu--you have to ask for it. I was introduced to it by a Pueblo native. It is called a "half-breed." It is a spicy Italian sausage sandwich smothered in green chile. The place that I last had one has since closed, but I'm sure that somewhere in Pueblo there is still a place that would serve one. Yummy.

Oh, well that explains it! I got my recipe from 6th-generation Pueblo cooks.

Patti's has the Half Breed. It's an awesomem meal, but it should come with tums for an appetizer.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by McGowdog

When I think of good TexMex, I think of that ZZ Top album cover.

Oh man, I just got a visual on that one. I still have that vinyl album.

I totally agree about avoiding Casa Bonita and Bluebonnet in Denver.

We used to go to Benny's at 7th and Logan most often, though there are Benny's detractors as well as passionate aficionados such as ourselves.

We also went to Brewery Bar II and Senor Pepe's.

(All in Denver.)

[McGowdog]

At least Casa Bonita KNEW it was serving dog food. Bluebonnet actually thought it served good food. Westword pimped them HARD, too. They did have a chile con caso dip that you could stretch from the bar to the far wall, and it still wouldn't snap! You needed to chug two shots of Cuervo Gold just to blaze a new path through your arteries after eating that stuff. In fact, they seemed to smother everything with cheese.

[manitou_chick]

By far the best Mexican food I have had is at the following:

La Unica Authentico, W. Colorado Ave. **Unbeatable service and tasty-ass food! Best Chile Rellanos made with POBLANO peppers NOT Anaheim... super yummy..prices are a bit high..but well worth it...

The Loop, Manitou Springs. **Awesome Margaritas, Some menu options should be avoided, such as Combos, I mean thers nothing wrong with them but they are not worth writing about..the best things on the menu are the Fajitas and the Surf and Turf..stick with these and a side of there mind-boggling delicious Queso and chips and you will leave satisfied. Wash it all down with one of their 10 margarita choices...and take note, some of the hottest waitresses in town work there...