I lived 45 years without knowing there was such a thing as a green chile cheeseburger. Then I went to New Mexico and my world changed.
A quick word on spelling. In most of America, this spicy pepper is a “chili” with one L. In British English, it’s a “chilli” with two Ls. Due to Spanish influence in the southwestern United States, the spelling in that part of the world is “chile” — one L, one I, one E. (Learn more on merriam-webster.com.) Confusing, I know.
For the purposes of this post I’m going to use the southwestern American (i.e. Spanish) spelling of “chile” because that’s how it appears everywhere in New Mexico.
The New Mexico Green Chile
Now, some more information on the pepper itself. New Mexico chiles are not like jalapeños or habaneros or any other hot chiles I’ve eaten before. New Mexico chiles are bigger and just plain better, with a half-spicy, half-tangy flavor that I could easily eat in every meal for the rest of my life.
When New Mexico chiles are harvested earlier, they’re green, and when they’re harvested later, they’re red. The red and green chiles have slightly different flavors, and New Mexican diners are often offered a choice of red or green sauce on local dishes. The green seems to be more popular.
I was in northern New Mexico for five days (one day in Taos and four days in Santa Fe), and the trip quickly became a quest to eat green chiles on/in as many different foods as possible. I ordered green chile in burritos, stews, roast beef sandwiches, waffle fries, croissants, and (of course) cheeseburgers. I ate green chile cooked into sausages, roasted into pistachio nuts, and as a topping on chile con carne and “Frito pie” — a supremely unhealthy casserole made with ground beef, cheese, and Frito corn chips.
I kept meaning to try red chile but could never bring myself to pass up the green. It was that good.
Other Nice Things in New Mexico
I’ve now written 600 words glorifying green chiles and haven’t told you anything else about New Mexico yet. Before you stop reading, here are a few other things I loved about this funky southwestern state.
1) Adobe Churches
Adobe is the most common building material in New Mexico. I think adobe buildings are so beautiful, especially the churches.
2) Hiking in Tent Rocks
We took several great hikes in New Mexico — the natural beauty there is staggering. But hiking in Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument was particularly unforgettable.
3) Shopping in Santa Fe
As mentioned in my previous post, I normally hate shopping but I love shopping while traveling. Santa Fe is a perfect illustration of why this is true.
Thus concludes my rambling endorsement of New Mexico, which I’ve decided was my favorite travel destination of 2019. It’s a long way from South Africa but get there if you can.
Alas, I would have needed two bags (which now costs double as much when traveling on US airlines ????). Anyway the chiles really aren’t that hot, just very tasty. Way milder and more flavorful than jalapeños
Thanks for the interesting tour to New Mexico! I will have to put that on my travel list.
I first read your second heading as “hiking in tents” and that it “rocks”, but then realized no, it’s a place called Tent Rocks. Fitting name!
Did you stay in hotels while during your trip?
Hahaha! Yes, they really do look like Tent Rocks. We did stay in a hotel for one night in Taos, although I’ve forgotten the name now, and in Santa Fe we stayed in an Airbnb.
My sister and I drove to and stayed in Santa Fe once. For kids from the sky scraping cities on the East Coast it was very strange to drive into a metropolitan area made of low adobe buildings. We kept wondering where the actual city was!
Later, of course, I loved the fact that the buildings blended so much better with the countryside. Like camouflage.
When you talk about and photograph food the place comes alive. I too love green chilies and will never forget the chiles rejuenos we had while traveling in Arizona. Since then have had this dish many times except the chili’s aren’t exactly the same. I forwarded your post to my niece who lives in Albuquerque. Next time we travel to Santa Fe we will focus more on food!
Love it when people discover NM and especially our green chile – we add it to everything – thanksgiving stuffing and gravy, and my invention, green chile matzo ball soup! Thanks for your post!
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Oh I would have bought a bigger bag for the boots. How hot are the green chilis?
Alas, I would have needed two bags (which now costs double as much when traveling on US airlines ????). Anyway the chiles really aren’t that hot, just very tasty. Way milder and more flavorful than jalapeños
One always tends to think of chiles as very hot, sounds good.
Thanks for the interesting tour to New Mexico! I will have to put that on my travel list.
I first read your second heading as “hiking in tents” and that it “rocks”, but then realized no, it’s a place called Tent Rocks. Fitting name!
Did you stay in hotels while during your trip?
Hahaha! Yes, they really do look like Tent Rocks. We did stay in a hotel for one night in Taos, although I’ve forgotten the name now, and in Santa Fe we stayed in an Airbnb.
My sister and I drove to and stayed in Santa Fe once. For kids from the sky scraping cities on the East Coast it was very strange to drive into a metropolitan area made of low adobe buildings. We kept wondering where the actual city was!
Later, of course, I loved the fact that the buildings blended so much better with the countryside. Like camouflage.
Yes! I loved the architecture so much.
When you talk about and photograph food the place comes alive. I too love green chilies and will never forget the chiles rejuenos we had while traveling in Arizona. Since then have had this dish many times except the chili’s aren’t exactly the same. I forwarded your post to my niece who lives in Albuquerque. Next time we travel to Santa Fe we will focus more on food!
For some reason I never had a single chile relleno on this trip. That was a major oversight.
I just listened to the most recent episode of the design podcast “99 Percent Invisible” that was all about the NM-CO Chile rivalry. Awesome post!
Here’s a link to the episode:
https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/how-to-pick-a-pepper/
Yes, I heard that too! It was fun to listen to after just visiting both of those states.
Love it when people discover NM and especially our green chile – we add it to everything – thanksgiving stuffing and gravy, and my invention, green chile matzo ball soup! Thanks for your post!
That all sounds sooooo delicious. Thanks for reading.
New Mexico is sooo underrated!! We spent three weeks there on our USA road trip earlier this year and loved it.
I could definitely spend at least that long. Loved it!