Favorite New Mexican Restaurants (Las Cruces, Santa Fe: pool, parking, best place)

[desert sun]

I ate at La Salita on Coors also and it wasnt very good,kinda bland.

There is a small little restaurant in Roswell called Burrito Express that has some very good burritos,if your ever in Roswell you should try them.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by tecpatl

The best truely Mexican food in Chicago (and among the very best in the entire USA
- or Mexico) is Frontera Grill and Topolobampo, though I doubt you'd like their prices.....They serve Mexican cuisine.... those things that make true Mexican food one of the worlds great culinary experiences. Frontera and Topo would be great restaurants even in Guadalajara and Mexico City.....

If I ever get back up to Chicago, those two restaurants are where I'm headed. The owner is Rick Bayless (who, BTW, has several great cookbooks out on truly authentic Mexican cuisine)...Bayless has traveled extensively and spent quite a bit of time in Mexico (apparently goes nearly every year), learning from regional cooks....so yep, his would be the real thing.

I've lived in central Mexico before, and have had interior Mexican food in nearly all parts other than the coastal areas. It beats the heck out of both New Mexican and Tex-Mex, though I love 'em all!

The restaurants in Alamo ARE generally bland, with Si Senor and Maximilliano's being the worst offenders.

However, what I have had at the new Alamo grill is quite good. Their cook is from Mexico, so......they will bring out a hotter sauce if you ASK for it.

[ibarrio]

I've also yet to try Nellies in Cruces, went there once, and they were closed (Sun-Mon closed)

Coming from Chicago, I have yet to see any Mexican Restaurant in NM come close to Nuevo Leon, or El Milagro in Chicago.

You need to try Nellies ( I know they have bad hours), Chopes, and Go Burger (A great bang for your buck burrito).

In addition you should try El Comedor and Compas.

You have to go to Las Cruces...

[tecpatl]

[quote=Cathy4017;3527470]If I ever get back up to Chicago, those two restaurants are where I'm headed. The owner is Rick Bayless (who, BTW, has several great cookbooks out on truly authentic Mexican cuisine)...Bayless has traveled extensively and spent quite a bit of time in Mexico (apparently goes nearly every year), learning from regional cooks....so yep, his would be the real thing.

I've lived in central Mexico before, and have had interior Mexican food in nearly all parts other than the coastal areas. It beats the heck out of both New Mexican and Tex-Mex, though I love 'em all!

I think Rick's cookbooks are, along with the iconic Diana Kennedy's many volumes, the best books on Mexican food written in Engish. We have mutual friends in Oaxaca and in Chicago, so I've gotten to know him a bit. He is in Mexico a couple times a year and sometimes leads culinary tours. Both Bayless and Kennedy's recipes are thoroughly researched and totally authentic. That being said, both authors make or include adaptations for availability of ingredients in US markets, etc., so recipes are not impossible to make.
I'm particularly fond of Oaxacan and Yucatecan food (both very different from each other), neither of which has found it's way to the border country.
If I want Mole Coloradito or Cochinita Pibil I make it. You can find Oaxacan mole pastes online, but not the recado seasonings of Yucatan.
I'm a little surprised that even the ubiquitous Mole Poblano is hardly ever seen here in New Mexico, even in places that advertise authentic Mexican food. I mean, you can buy a very decent prepared Mole paste instead of spending the time to make the complicated recipe...but it's just not on the radar here.

[tecpatl]

Originally Posted by ibarrio

You need to try Nellies ( I know they have bad hours), Chopes, and Go Burger (A great bang for your buck burrito).

In addition you should try El Comedor and Compas.

You have to go to Las Cruces...

I agree with Ibarrio...though I've yet to check out Go Burder burritos. Anyone for lunch???

[TKO]

I'm more familiar with Rick's brother Skip who's also somewhat of a celeb (and a whole lot more irritating) on ESPN. But I have watched his shows on PBS and they're entertaining as well as hunger inducing. Real Interior food is hard to come by around here. The best and closest I know is La Parilla Suiza in Tucson. That is some good grub. Some of the best meals I've ever had, anywhere, where in Cuernavaca and the DF.

Go Burger is good and their green is nice and hot. Their burrito is about 14 inches long and must weigh a pound and a half.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by tecpatl

I think Rick's cookbooks are, along with the iconic Diana Kennedy's many volumes, the best books on Mexican food written in Engish. We have mutual friends in Oaxaca and in Chicago, so I've gotten to know him a bit. He is in Mexico a couple times a year and sometimes leads culinary tours. Both Bayless and Kennedy's recipes are thoroughly researched and totally authentic. That being said, both authors make or include adaptations for availability of ingredients in US markets, etc., so recipes are not impossible to make.
I'm particularly fond of Oaxacan and Yucatecan food (both very different from each other), neither of which has found it's way to the border country.
If I want Mole Coloradito or Cochinita Pibil I make it. You can find Oaxacan mole pastes online, but not the recado seasonings of Yucatan.
I'm a little surprised that even the ubiquitous Mole Poblano is hardly ever seen here in New Mexico, even in places that advertise authentic Mexican food. I mean, you can buy a very decent prepared Mole paste instead of spending the time to make the complicated recipe...but it's just not on the radar here.

How very much fun!

Make that the coastal areas AND the far southern reaches of Mexico...I've not had any of the cuisine of those areas, though I hope to make it down that far one day!

I have always wondered how good the pre-prepared moles are...I've never bought any, and have made a few different kinds, from authentic recipes over the years.

I also have several of Kennedy's cookbooks; she is a real gem, and came along LONG before anyone ever heard of Bayless.

Thank God I can get most ingredients locally, or their suggested substitutes. You might be able to find the more exotic spices/ingredients through mail order.

What drives me crazy here is that the food is so BLAND. I can't believe I was able to find a habanero plant.....I have that out along with my tomatoes, so I am going to have some nice salsa later!!!

[tecpatl]

For a Salsa like NONE seen in south New Mexico:

The universal Maya table salsa of Yucatan- Xni-Pek (shnee peck)
The name, in Yucatec Maya, means Dogs Nose...because it WILL give you a wet (runny) nose. This is one of my favorite salsas, and the basic recipe was given to me by the mother of a hammock weaver in Tixkokob, Yuc. I've substituted for the 6 T of Sour (Seville) orange juice. Have not seen one in New Mexico. Some restaurants use vinegar anyway.

6 to 8 Chile Habanero toasted over a flame, lightly peeled, halved and seeded
3 or 4 ripe plum tomatos, diced
1/4 to 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
" quartered and thin sliced red onion
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp fresh orange juice
2 Tbsp white vinegar a 3rd T optional
pinch of salt, a few twists of fresh black pepper
pinch of Mexican Oregano
Mix everything, let it sit an hour or so. Apply to Mexican food and enjoy!
This salsa will elevate even the most ordinary Mexi-chow.
I don't believe I've ever seen a pinto bean in traditional restaurants in Yucatan or Quintana Roo...black beans are the rule, period.
I think some pre-prepared mole pastes are good. The very available Dona Maria mole poblano is decent with chicken, and their Pipian is pretty good too. There are lots of others...taste and test.
Oaxacan moles tend to be quite different, excepting the Mole Oaxaqueno, which is similar to mole poblano. Most of the others available are red (I like Coloradito best), though I have found a green one a few times. The famous Mole Amarillo must be made fresh, and you don't even see it in Oaxaca that much.

[tecpatl]

Oops....the Habaneros should be seeded, quartered and very thinly sliced. Can be chopped if you choose. Be careful

[mfish]

So it seems this thread about "NEW MEXICO RESTAURANTS" has gotten a bit off track.

It's nice to know that there are some good Mexican joints around the country ...
I'm just glad Frank & Lola's from Socorro, NM opened a couple of locations in Arizona, because "Sonoran" Mexican food is not to my liking - yet, that's what's most popular in this area.

I always keep this in mind when I read some of these posts:

Trying to describe and define "good" Mexican food is like trying to describe and define "American" food. REGIONAL TASTES are the key points.

"Bar-B-Que" in West Texas for instance is much different than "Bar-B-Que" in St. Louis, or even Austin, Tx ...The BBQ sauces range from very sweet to very spicy.

Regional variances, spice availability, and colloquial tastes will determine the overall "taste and presentation" of the food - and it's that way in Mexico (as well as different parts of the USA) too. I personally have never been a big fan of "interior" Mexican food - and the food on the Yucatan Peninsula is about as far from what New Mexicans call "Mexican" food as you can get, but it's tasty in it's own right.

A chicken fried steak in Iowa is not the same as one served in a roadhouse in Colorado, either.

If exposure to some hoity-toity chef's idea of "good" Mexican food has ruined your taste buds for AUTHENTIC NEW MEXICAN FOOD, that's really a shame.

By the way - "Tex-Mex" is much different than "New Mexican," too - and those two types of food should never be construed as "similar."

So hopefully, now that everyone has shared their worldly exposure to various types of Mexican cuisine, the thread might get back to the original topic of NEW MEXICAN FOOD.

Or not ...