Favorite New Mexican Restaurants (Las Cruces, Santa Fe: how much, to move, education)

[GregW]

When sufficiently frustrated - roll your own!

1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup green salsa with extra chopped chilies (as mild or a hot as you want)
Couple of slices of cheese (mexican 4 cheese mix in the bag works well)
Salt and black pepper
Toasted hamburger bun (sourdough toast is better IMHO)

Toast Bread
Fry ground meat (better yet - grill)
After second side of burger is nearly done put the chillies and the cheese on top.
Put on toasted bread
Salt & pepper to taste

Serve with more salsa on the side and a cold Dos Eques or two.

Enjoy

PS - now I an hungry and I just had breakfast. Guess what's for supper.

[Towanda]

Greg ~

Well, several things:

1. I do make green chile cheeseburgers at home, but they are just not the same as the ones I can get in NM. We can't get good green chile here.....just that slimy stuff in a can. When I am in NM at chile season, I do bring some back to roast and freeze...and I make it last as long as I can.

2. To me.....all NM food tastes better when sitting in a local place out there, seeing mountains from the windows.... listening to the conversation of the locals ... and eating FRESH chile. MMMMMMMMMMMMM.......

[GregW]

Towanda -

1 I am fortunate enough to get "fresh", or at least whole chillies, at my local grocery so I can make decent burgers.

2 You are so right. Location is a great part of the joy.

3. Depending on the finances, we are planning a trip to NM in August/September just to see how hot it really gets.

[Towanda]

I have a friend in Las Cruces. He just moved there last year and found it was hotter in the summer than he had expected.

We'll be moving north (Santa Fe) so heat won't be a factor. Just the damn tourists....hahaha...

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by GregW

When sufficiently frustrated - roll your own!

1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup green salsa with extra chopped chilies (as mild or a hot as you want)
Couple of slices of cheese (mexican 4 cheese mix in the bag works well)
Salt and black pepper
Toasted hamburger bun (sourdough toast is better IMHO)

Toast Bread
Fry ground meat (better yet - grill)
After second side of burger is nearly done put the chillies and the cheese on top.
Put on toasted bread
Salt & pepper to taste

Serve with more salsa on the side and a cold Dos Eques or two.

Enjoy

PS - now I an hungry and I just had breakfast. Guess what's for supper.

Now you've made ME hungry. I can get fresh green chiles all year around, which is why I stopped buying in bulk and roasting/freezing.

I really do like them fresh-roasted and eaten immediately after peeling!!!

[6 FOOT 3]

Cathy.....the next time your in Alamogordo you may want to try Margos Mexican Resturant on First Street as its been a mainstay there since i first moved there in 1985. Si Senors Resturant on White Sands Blvd is also very good and with very HOT chile....Yum...But there is a Blakes for those who must have....

I admit i'm a ''Subway'' dude with Green Chile and tons of Red Onions and Jalepenos on my Tuna sub (yeah i'm a health nut type) I even put tabasco sauce on it that i'll bring sometimes.....

[Cbundy]

Tomasita's in Santa Fe
Michael's Kitchen in Taos

[Cbundy]

...oh my goodness - the person who first thought of green chili on a hamburger should be granted sainthood - it was truly a miracle! Ü It is so good that even the cheap green chili cheeseburgers at the McDonalds in Santa Fe are excellent.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by harry o

Cathy.....the next time your in Alamogordo you may want to try Margos Mexican Resturant on First Street as its been a mainstay there since i first moved there in 1985. Si Senors Resturant on White Sands Blvd is also very good and with very HOT chile....Yum...But there is a Blakes for those who must have....

I admit i'm a ''Subway'' dude with Green Chile and tons of Red Onions and Jalepenos on my Tuna sub (yeah i'm a health nut type) I even put tabasco sauce on it that i'll bring sometimes.....

Thanks, Harry...I'll add that to my list. I really need to go on over there! I am getting listings daily in my email, and some look really good. I love Subway, too......I often get their salads...and also sometimes their little pizzas.

Gas just jumped to 3.19 here...ouch, ouch.

I just got the bills for my last trip to Farmington......ouch, ouch, ouch. It just really adds up. Of course, Alamo is half as far, so that will be a factor also.

[neoaznm]

Tito, noo! Let me begin by stating that there is no such thing as a unified "Mexican" or "New Mexican" cuisine. I've eaten flor de calabaza, huitlacoche, and many other food items in Mexico that aren't part of the culture here in NM. Conversely, I've had the privilege of experiencing the the culinary delights from D.F., Puebla, Guerrero, Chihuahua and Sonora in Mexico, and New Mexico, Texas, California and Arizona in the U.S. The variations in food preparation, although you may still find the common "taco" or "enchilada," are quite noticeable.

Your allusion that Mexican cuisine embodies the "original form" is also misleading. My ancestors came to NM over 400 years ago, and have settled the areas around Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Socorro, and ultimately Cuchillo and Mesilla. We in NM, much like each region in Mexico, are proud of our culinary heritage, and to link it with a nationality (e.g., Mexico) is improper. Our region's hispanic history spans the occupation of 3 nations, and our culture persists and has evolved in a different fashion than many of our southern friends.

Also, the notion of origin is a complex one, indeed, as much of our "hispanic" cuisine in latin america is essentially rooted in indigenous practices. It's like saying that the way the Inca prepared their corn was the original form, while the Mimbres or Hohokam simply adopted their style. Even though indigenous meals using regionally universal food staples are strikingly similar across the americas, to assert that variants from one to another based on presumed origin is flawed.

Food for thought...