North vs. South: The best Mexican food in New Mexico

Many will agree with me when I say that there is a clear difference between northern New Mexico Mexican food and southern New Mexico Mexican food. And then they'll agree when I say southern New Mexico food is the best.

Growing up in northern New Mexico, I hated Mexican food. I didn't like either of the green or red sauces, I didn't like chile and I always ordered a hamburger when my family and I went to a Mexican restaurant. Nothing was very special for me. (Actually nothing in the Gallup and Farmington area -- where I'm from -- is special to me.) I hated all this stuff because it was always so hot too. Eating Mexican food was painful; it hurt. And I didn't like it.

I seems, to me, that in the northern part of the state, people judge the quality of the dish by how hot the chile is. If it's making your throat bleed and your eyes and nose water, than it's good. That's how it was in my hometown (Crownpoint, N.M.). It was like a tough contest to brag to everyone how hot things are. I always got "it's not even hot" when in fact, it was smouldering hot.

When I moved to Las Cruces as a college student at New Mexico State University in 2008, I saw the light. First, I resisted and never went to Mexican restaurants. Then I tried one place, and then another, and another, and another. I tasted the difference and was satisfied.

The red and green sauces were a lot more flavorful and didn't have such a strong focus on heat. (I'm still a green chile girl. I'm not particular to the roasted red chile sauce yet). The salsas were more flavorful too. It wasn't just tomatoes and fire-hot chile, I could taste the garlic, cilantro and limes for the first time. (Cilantro was another thing I disliked for a long time until I came here). I tasted Muenster cheese for the first time. In northern New Mexico they use cheddar/yellow cheese, which, really, does not go well with everything and is a lot greasier. A whole world of Mexican food items were introduced to me when I moved to the Borderland. Up north, the menu is pretty plain compared to the variety served down here.

And no wonder why. Las Cruces is closer to the border. Restaurant owners come from Mexico and make it their living to cook all this food. This is famous Hatch Green Chile land, this is where we host an annual SalsaFest and The Whole Enchilada Festival. There is a Mexican restaurant on every street corner. Las Cruceans take it seriously here.

I'm addicted to the stuff now. I eat Mexican food every week, sometimes more. My favorite things are street tacos and any fish dish on the menu. I'm also crazy for chips and salsa, even when the chile is hot, it's all very satisfying. (I guess, over these few years, I've built up my chile-heat tolerance too.)

When I'm back home in northern New Mexico I don't bother going to Mexican restaurants except for Delicia's in Albuquerque (they have a restaurant in El Paso and two in Las Cruces). I tried, but once you eat here, nothing else tastes the same. I notice the difference and I prefer the south.

If I ever move away I'm going to miss the food. I'll miss enchiladas from Delicia's and Andele, homemade refried beans at Ranchway, huevos rancheros at El Patron, fish at La Guadalupana, green chile cheeseburgers from El Sombrero and soup from Chachi's. And the chips and salsa from anywhere in town is the best.

I have to give Chachi's another try because I've only had the albondigas there. I also have to try El Jacalito again for the tacos al pastor. Oh, I'm hungry.... for Mexican food!

On the mend

The top two wisdom teeth came out no problem. A third, bottom, one required more expertise and a whole month to heal. The last and most recent one was brutal. The dentist cut, drilled, pulled and stitched a week ago and I'm still bruised and a little swollen. On the first day I didn't eat anything. After that, I have been on a liquid, geriatric diet that bans spicy and crunchy things.

My care givers gave me canned soup, pudding and Jell-O cups, a trifecta of store-bought things I really don't like. I slurped, sipped and swallowed these packaged meals and snacks for a few days and I was grateful for it because it soothed the harsh hunger that ensued my painful ordeal.

I'm still healing. I'm glad this is the last wisdom tooth of mine that has to be dealt with. Just as a precaution — and because I'm still sore and my jaw is still really stiff, I'm still on this liquid diet, but it doesn't come from a can anymore.

Remember my earlier blog about me hating soup? Boy, am I glad I'm over that stage! In this past week I have tried to make the best of my situation and explore some new menu items and make some new soups.

I made egg drop soup for the first time. It was really easy and very tasty. This is a good soup to have if you're mouth is on the mend. Recipe here. I added a little soy sauce to the recipe and used real chicken broth that was left over from some boiled chicken we had the day before.

Our family butchered a sheep for the first time last week before my ordeal. We had mutton steaks, ribs and fried intestines and with some left over meat my mom made mutton stew. I added pieces of frybread to the juice to make it soggy and soft. My mom also made blue corn mush, which is a fine ground blue corn mix, like cream of wheat, that I like to eat with sugar. Others like to eat it with salt.

I went to Chachi's for the first time in Las Cruces and I ordered albondigas, a Mexican soup with meatballs. It was great. Simple vegetable broth with large chunks of carrots, squash and potato with corn. The meatballs were the diamonds in this dish. They had a spice in it that made it very tasty. The limes and cilantro added a perfect accent, a touch of Mexican flavor to remind you that albondigas is a Mexican dish. Ah, anything served with limes and cilantro gets a gold star in my book.

I made aush, an Afghan soup the other day. It's quite simple to make, actually. It's ground beef spiced with coriander, paprika and tomato paste. It's served over noodles in a chicken broth with beans and I added kale for the vitamins. To finish this dish, you add yogurt and lemon. Dried mint is suggested, but I didn't really like that in there. I followed this recipe.

Just because my mouth is healing, doesn't mean there shouldn't be any flavors and variety to my meals. I got tired of canned, watery chicken noodle soup very quick. I need something from China, the Navajo reservation, Mexico and Afghanistan to satisfy me; and I deserve my satisfaction because I went through that pain and that hideous bout of swelling.

 

Next, I think I'll try to perfect a soup I made a few weeks ago. It had chicken, lentils, kale and noodles. It's spiced with turmeric, onions, bay leaves and some other stuff. It was really good and quick to put together (I also made up a turmeric baked chicken recipe that was genius! I need to perfect that one too). I also want to order the new spicy Ramen at Kim-Chi House. I had it a few weeks ago and it was the best twist on Ramen noodles I have ever had. I want to try the fish soup from La Guadalupana, the new Mexican joint in town and find a good clam chowder somewhere. Any suggestions?

And a bonus: I lost five pounds in one week by eating soup and laying around the house watching movies. If I keep it up I'll shed 20 pounds this month, which I need to do. So I will not complain about being hungry all the time. Soup is very healthy and can be really low fat. I find myself making healthier choices since this all happened. I'm eating things that I know will be good for me and good to help me heal. At Chachi's I was going to order an enchilada plate because enchiladas are soft, but I ordered albondigas instead because it was the special and I had never had it before. I can't wait to slurp down dinner. It's leftover aush tonight!

Being a vegetarian was a success!

So US VegWeek 2013 was from April 22 to 28. I took the pledge and I vowed to be a vegetarian for a whole week. 

It was a tasty experience.

On the first day I made spaghetti with no ground beef, asparagus and fresh ciabatta bread. The days after that included veggie sandwiches, cheese enchiladas, cheese pizza, vegetarian qorma, vegetarian Navajo tacos, salads and lots of oatmeal. I did have eggs, cheese and milk.

I had a good plan, which is where most of the success of being a vegetarian is. I would make sure to go shopping and have everything I needed for dinner and lunch. Sometimes this was hard because I think I made more trips to the grocery store for some of this stuff than usual. I had to change my cooking pattern and include a lot of different kinds of vegetables in one plate when usually I have a meat and one or two vegetables on the side. It was a challenge, but it was delicious. I think that's why it wasn't such a huge inconvenience for me. I liked what I was eating every day.

My sister, on the other hand, was miserable for a while — she actually had dreams about steak. She would eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches everyday for lunch, or raid the kitchen for odd ends of melons, cheese, crackers, fist fulls of peanuts and cereal. She would be hungry all the time especially after work when I was cooking. "I think I'm a lot hungrier when I don't have meat," she said.

She didn't plan her meals and she turned into a scavenger during the times I didn't pack leftovers.

We each had to add a day to the week because meat sneaked into one of our meals. So April 29 was the last day being a vegetarian. On April 29 we were at a barbecue place looking to order our favorite steak at Ranchway. Sure enough they ran out of steak, because it's so popular. My sister almost cried and we were both kind of dramatic. I wasn't as devastated as she was, but she got her chunk of beef ribs and I got my cheese enchiladas (which was vegetarian, haha). That was funny. We'll go there again on Saturday.

During this week I think I felt healthier. I certainly didn't get any stomachaches and I didn't feel full for long periods of time. I think I had more energy too. I realized how much meat is involved in everything and how much we take it for granted. We don't give a second thought to the fact that meat comes from living things that had to die. It's like meat has become something other than the flesh of an animal (because that's just gross), it turned into nuggets, sausages and cartoon characters.

I think I will make a personal pledge to cut down on the meat I eat and make sure to stick with Vegetarian Mondays and Wednesdays. Mmm, I have some left over garlic-lemon mayonnaise. I'll make more California grilled veggie sandwiches!

US VegWeek April 22 - 28

I'm taking the pledge to be a vegetarian for US VegWeek! You should join me! It's only one week out of the year and it's going to be tasty.

Like many who will take the pledge, I'm not a vegetarian. But I'm not a meat lover either, so it's going to be easy for me. I also usually try to have at least one to two vegetarian days a week. And on top of that, sometimes breakfast and lunch are naturally vegetarian.

I know there are many types of vegetarians and they each have their own labels. I'm not going to get into that. From April 22 to 28, I'm going to stay away from obvious chunks of meat. No burgers, no chicken, no pork (I don't usually eat pork anyways) and no steaks. No deli meats and no peperoni. I'll still have some milk, a little cheese and a few eggs but other than that, no meat.

I have found a few great recipes and I have a few good ideas:

• I can get a plain cheese pizza from Papa Johns and pair it with a salad. 
• I'll make a vegetarian qorma (Middle Eastern) with potatoes and peppers. Here's a recipe.
• I recently had an Indian taco at the annual American Indian Week finale. I can make a vegetarian Navajo taco without adding the beef to the beans.
• I can make falafels, or eat at International Delights or Santorini's. They're vegetarian and they're delicious!
• I can try to make vegetarian Bibimbap, a Korean dish with kimchi. Here's a recipe.  I could also go to Kim-Chi House and ask for something vegetarian. Smaller, down-to-earth restaurants would do that for you, especially if you're a regular customer.
• A grilled California veggie sandwich with homemade ciabatta bread. Here's a recipe. And here's a video/recipe for easy, delicious, amazing ciabatta bread. I tried it and it was brilliant. 

• I can have cheese enchiladas with rice and beans from my favorite Mexican joint. I can also make these at home. Ooooh, I can have left over beans from the Navajo tacos to eat with cheese enchiladas! Don't you love it when it works out like that?
• Vegetarian spaghetti or Alfredo with broccoli.

See? That's more than seven options for dinner (with leftovers for lunch). It doesn't seem like a challenge anymore because when you plan, you don't end up eating plain rice and carrots.

(And to keep getting my dose of protein I'll be adding lentils, quinoa, beans, nuts and mushrooms to these recipes or at least have them on the side. But like I said, I'll still have cheese, milk and eggs. Maybe I'll make vegetarian week a monthly thing, or an every-two-months thing...)

Here's something I featured in Pulses' Delightful Dish, our weekly entertainment magazine:

See how delicious that looks. And it's vegetarian.

Earth Day, April 22, marks the beginning of US VegWeek and I, an omnivore, am taking the pledge. And I say Italian food is the easiest to eat without meat because it's so flavorful and savory, you don't miss the meat. Lorenzo's has many vegetarian options. First, many of their pastas are meatless and it's always an option to add meat for a few extra bucks. 

Second, they have a line of delicious sandwiches that includes three vegetarian options, including baked eggplant, tomato-basil and "vegetarian."

For their lunch special ($9), you can pick two items out of select half sandwiches, side salads, side pastas and soups. I chose the baked eggplant and spaghetti con sugo (no-meat sauce).

It came pretty quick, just after I finished the complimentary appetizer of house Sicilian bread, which was great. They use Sicilian bread for their sandwiches, too, and it was the bed for a large slice of eggplant covered with a little tomato sauce and lots of melted mozzarella cheese. It was a little messy, but it had great flavors — a roasted vegetable background with savory bread and a slightly sweet sauce. The small bowl of pasta was fresh with a bright, savory tomato sauce and perfectly cooked spaghetti. 

All-in-all, it was a filling and satisfying lunch. My next Delightful Dish will be vegetarian too. Any suggestions?

Lorenzo's, 1752 E. University Ave., is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday and Monday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday  and Saturday. Info: 575-525-3170. Learn more about US VegWeek and take the pledge at usvegweek.com.

The Middle East!

I know it’s kind of impossible to find Middle Eastern food in Las Cruces. Our Mexican restaurants are a dime a dozen, but there seems to be very little room for anything else — or at least everything else comes and goes rather quickly. And if anything is labeled as being Middle Eastern, it usually includes a falafel and a gyro, which is not even scratching the surface of what Middle Eastern food is.

More than two years ago I moved in with my boyfriend — who is Afghan — and my idea of food and flavor was blown to bits. That’s when I became a “foodie” and a lover of good food from all over the world.

I had no idea what that side of the world was about, until I had a feast at his house. Korma, samosas, chutney, bolani, aush, na’an, kabobs, qabili palao, yogurt, mint, lemon juice (see a description of these foods at the end). My goodness, it was the best I ever had.

Before that, he always “bragged” about how good home cooking was and how much time was spent on making one dish, particularly palao. “We are the scientists of rice,” he says. After that first meal and tasting what he had to make for dinner, I was hooked.

Over some time, the spice rack at home grew to include jars of coriander, curry, turmeric, dill, cumin and paprika. I buy large jars of minced garlic, we have pounds of basmati rice, mung beans, lentils, lots of chicken breasts, plain yogurt is always in stock and there’s no shortage of onions. On any night I can make chicken korma (which is my absolute favorite) or my special, signature, Frankenstein-version of aush, a hearty bean soup with noodles and ground beef (sometimes he doesn’t tell me what I’m doing wrong). See recipe below!!!!

Samosas with a quick yogurt-dill dipping sauce.

Chicken korma and bolani.

Chicken and pea korma over basmati rice with yogurt.

I’m just scratching the surface of Afghan cuisine and I will not say I know everything about it. Clearly, there is a difference between the cooking styles of Afghanistan and bordering countries. I once got a complicated lecture on how things could easily turn into a Pakistani dish — and I still don’t understand it.

I’m so happy I met my boyfriend. He comes from a county I never thought about and I certainly didn’t know what kind of food they ate. I would have never tasted these wonderful flavors if it weren’t for him and his family. But now I’m hooked. It’s my soul food.

As always my motto is to go out there and try something from another country. If you just give it a chance, you could fall in love with it. Shall I tell you about my experiences with Ethiopian food next time?

Korma — A mix of spices, meat and beans like a chunky gravy on top of rice. It comes in a variety of styles and I like chicken, mung beans and peas.

Samosas and chutney — A mix of mashed potato, leaks and spices inside a few layers of dough. It’s fried and served to dip in chutney, a find blend of walnut, lemon, cilantro, vinegar and yogurt.

Bolani — Similar to a samosa, but bigger and thinner. It’s lightly fried. We use large egg roll wraps for this one.

Aush — A soup made with ground beef and noodles, made separately and served together. It’s topped with yogurt and lemon juice.

Na’an — A kind of Afghan bread.

Kabobs — Spiced meat — lamb or beef.

Qabili palao (national dish of Afghanistan) — The ultimate rice dish. It’s baked with meat (lamb or chicken), spices, carrots, raisins and cashews.

Yogurt, mint, lemon juice — The mustard and ketchup-salt and pepper of the Middle East.

Home cooking: foods from my reservation

Illustration by my friend, Ricardo Cate', Santo Domingo Pueblo artist. ricardocate.com

As a person who loves to eat and is not afraid to try new things, I sometimes look back at the food that comes from my home, the Navajo Nation reservation. It’s very simple and rugged stuff that you need to build a tolerance for — some of it at least. Some of it is just plain tasty. 

Lets go back for a bit:

Most Native Americans were nomadic. They moved around with the seasons and herds. Sometimes they grew vegetables such as corn, squash, beans, potatoes, ect. That’s true with the Navajo, we pretty much ate off the land.

Each tribe hunted the animals that were native to their area. Deer in the forested areas, buffalo, rabbits, fish, whales, dogs – yes dogs, turkeys, chickens, ect. They used the local vegetables and fruits that grew in the area too.

Then came the immigrants and forced assimilation. Every tribe was forced to live in one place. I imagine a lot of starvation happened. They didn’t know how to farm or process foods. They also didn’t know how to use the strange, new foods that were rationed to them by the government. Imagine if you never saw flour or coffee beans before. Would you know what to do with it? I also imagine there was a lot of sickness too.

Natives were also heavily influenced by these immigrants and their neighbors. They learned how to cook things, use new cooking tools and put their own twist on dishes. Take the Navajo for instance. We were heavily influenced by our Mexican/Spanish neighbors. We have Navajo tacos, pesolé, chile stews and a lot of our Navajo words are actually Spanish words too. Geeso is how we say “cheese,” queso is how it’s said in Spanish; sounds the same. Mandagi’a is Navajo for “butter”; and mantaquella in Spanish. Oh, and tortillas, every Navajo woman must know how to make fry bread and tortillas. We also consider tamales to be a delicacy, just like the Mexicans do, and they only come out on special occasions.

Fry bread

I know what the first thing you think about when you think about Native Americans and food. Fry bread. Actually, I don’t know how it was born or how each tribe came to have it. But each tribe has a different technique, texture and size to their fry bread. Each person who knows how to make fry bread takes great pride in their recipe. Navajos go all out with the plate-sized, thin fry bread with crispy bubbles. Up north, they make it thick and small. Some like it sweet with sugar stuff on it like a waffle. Others, like me, never put sugar on it and prefer it plain with salt or with some stew.

 A hearty mutton stew with green chile and a frybread.

A roast mutton sandwich from a food truck in Crownpoint, N.M., my hometown.

The sheep

They were introduced to us by the Spanish around the 17^th century. They became a very important animal; the life and way of the people. Families kept hundreds of them and used their wool for rugs and ate their meat.

To butcher a sheep takes practice and ceremony. Prayers and ‘thank you’s’ are said for the sheep. It’s bled out from the neck and skinned. I’ve only seen this once and didn’t stay for the whole thing. But the body is broken down and prepared for the grill – or the freezer. 

A butchering with the guys and gals of Nations, a student group, in Las Cruces —  yes, they butchered in the city.

The innards are not thrown out, they’re cooked too. The large intestines, liver, kidneys, stomach and other bits can be chopped and fried together. Everything in that mix is very grassy, gamey and greasy – good with a hot tortilla. The liver, like all livers, sort of come apart in the mouth like soft sand. The stomach turns rubbery and the intestines are the grassy rubbery ones. My sister loves this mix and says the kidneys are very good, especially with a piece of green chile and a tortilla.

The blood is used to make a blood sausage. It’s poured in the stomach with some potatoes, blue corn meal and chile and boiled. I’ve never had this, but I’m guessing it tastes like liver, which I don’t like. And some of the fat, or fat lining is set out to dry and eaten with bread or by itself.

The small intestines are used for achii’. They’re cleaned and wrapped around a sliver of fat and grilled. I’ve had a few of these. They’re greasy and the intestines become a little rubbery or crispy. It’s very “muttony” and delicious.

The head is saved for the open fire -- above or under. I’ve never seen this but my sister has: The jaw was separated, that gave me the chills because I’ve never seen it before. I tried the tongue, it was really tender but it was really chewy at the same time. The nose was taken off. Then the meat on the cheeks were taken off and shared with everybody who helped butcher. The cheek meat was really the best part. It was soft, really juicy, tender and tasty. We ate all of this with our hands. The next part that was cut out was the eyes. The guy who did the butchering ate the first eye. In the back of my mind I thought it was going to be gross, but I said “yes” (to their offer). I didn’t eat the whole eye, it was cut in half. It was slimy and very fatty and gooey. I don’t really remember what it tasted like, it was like a big glob of “jelly-meat.”

 This sheep head was cooked underground.

You know when you’re eating mutton, because mutton is really strong and distinct. It also leaves a strong sheep and meaty smell when you have it in the house. And the grease! The grease that gets everywhere is the reason why I don’t like it too much. If you don’t eat it fast enough, the grease will harden in the stew, in your nails and on the plate. 

There are a lot of other traditional Navajo foods such as; blue corn mush, ground blue corn cooked in hot water and salted or served with sugar; Navajo tea, which, to me, tastes like you took a fall in the weeds and you got some of it in your mouth and; Navajo cake, a mix of ground corn and other sweet things baked underground and comes out dense and kind of tough – for a cake.

See? There are no special techniques, marinades, spices, lemon zest or sauces. It’s all very rugged; meat, bread, salt and a whole green chile/jalapeno on the side. Sometimes it comes with a side of roast corn, cooked squash, but that’s pretty much it.

In a more modern take, Navajos use all the same foods everyone else does. During events, and everyday life, there are burritos, cotton candy, fruit salads, noodle salads, burgers, Navajo burgers (burger in a fry bread). 

There are trucks and trailers across the reservation that serve these delicious foods. I should also mention that we have very, very few restaurants — very few locally owned businesses for that matter. It's all very political and frustrating, but, literally, there are next to no businesses in my town, just a hand full of stores that belong to non-Natives who live states away from our land.

We have also gotten better “rations” from the government. In recent years, there has been a shift from canned fruits, vegetables and meat to fresh and frozen ones through the Navajo Nation Food Distribution, which is kind of like a food stamps program.

Our family is not traditional. I didn’t grow up eating mutton and caring for sheep – most of us didn’t. We considered it a treat when we could afford it, or when our friendly neighbors gave us a leg or rack of ribs for Christmas. We ate spaghetti (mom’s spaghetti is soul food), chicken fried steak, enchiladas, salads, fish and Chinese food.

I learned to cook from my mom. Although she didn’t teach me how to make fry bread and tortillas, I know my way around the kitchen very well because of her. I can make many different things from chicken Brunswick stew and garlic-lemon salmon to Indian samosas and Afghan korma (lately I’ve been obsessed with the Middle East and India).

I’m glad I have tasted most of the traditional foods from my home. I know their value and importance to our people. I appreciate the thankfulness and waste less culture we have. These dishes and methods are exotic – even to me – and unique. I’m lucky to have it right at home. And I’m craving for some fried intestines right now…

The little places with lots to give

I love the little restaurants that are run by families and those who simply love to serve good, homemade food. These kinds of small business restaurants are everywhere and are the backbone of the community. This, I say, is where you can find the best food in the world. You can taste the love and dedication. Sometimes you can taste the family history and cultural identity at these places. But they’re in trouble. I write about tons of these little restaurants as a reporter with the Las Cruces Sun-News and I’ve seen so many good restaurants go out of business. It makes me sad — and scared about going into the restaurant industry myself.

My very favorite restaurant went out of business a few months ago and I wanted to cry. I drove up to the small house on Mesquite Street and got ready to make my way out of the car and into the restaurant where the owners knew my name and always said “hi.” I collapsed back in the car seat when I noticed there was no “La Playita” sign out, no “Open” sign and no more curtains and outdoor umbrellas. This was one of my (and my sister’s) favorite places to get fresh seafood every weekend in the summer. It was cozy, beautifully lit and the food was delicious beyond anything I have ever eaten. Actually I only ordered one dish, the fish ceviche tostadas (a cold heap of minced fish, crab and tiny shrimp tossed with lime, pico de gallo and avocado on a tostada). It was heaven and a treat every weekend. My sister was a fiend for the large shrimp cocktail. That stuff is like crack for her. We had never had Mexican seafood like this before. I wrote a story about their opening sometime early last year and got to sample these things. I brought my sister there and we have been there every weekend. It was sad when they closed. I don’t know why they closed, but I do know my sister and I were usually the only customers when we were there.

 Fish ceviche tostada at La Playita.

SB’s Late-Night Lunchbox closed recently too. They were open for two years in the downtown area and they made quite a name for themselves. This was actually the first story I wrote for the Sun-News (I was so excited for this I asked the Pulse editor of the time if I could write something). SB’s was a hip joint serving vegan dishes until 3 a.m. along with tasty treats like Heart Attack Wraps (bacon and cheese wrapped in a croissant and smothered with apple butter) and hippie popcorn, my favorites. They had a wide range of creative homemade things. It was mentioned in all kinds of magazines and Pulse so many times. I was always satisfied when I ate here and I was sad to see it go too (thank goodness some cool youngsters from Mountain View Co-Op with the same vision of eating local and fresh are taking over the place).

 Green chile mac, hippie popcorn, Heart Attack Wraps and Oreogasms at SB's Late-Night Lunchbox.

I saw El Tiberon close. It’s another Mexican seafood place with awesome fish tacos. They briefly opened a neighboring restaurant with other Mexican things on the menu like machaca, carnitas and some fried-intestines-taco thing I always wanted to try (I like fried sheep intestines a lot, don’t hold that against me, I’m Navajo). That went out of business quick and then El Tiberon went underwater just a few weeks ago.

Fried fish and chips, with a fish taco, at El Tiberon.

The kettle corn place also went out of business. These were some good people who always wanted to open up a place of their own. They specialized in snacks, baked goods and kettle corn. They had these awesome, delicious, cute cake pops. I always wanted to go back for more cake pops, but the location was always the issue. They were open for less than a year.

There is always something special at these small, family restaurants. Sure, they can’t seat 300 people, they don’t have fancy booths, 50 waiters and 20 cooks, they don’t have a professional paint job or décor and they don’t have the cheapest prices. They can’t compete with Apple Bee’s or Olive Garden. They make their food from scratch, from experience and love, not from a box and a bag of salty sauce they boil and serve like at the chain restaurants.

It’s unfair. Some of them have really good food to offer, but they get stuck in bad locations and debt that force them to close. Don’t get me wrong, some places are not good and you can tell someone in the kitchen really doesn’t give as shit about what they’re making.

Even though these places above are closed, there are many other small places to go in town. Mariscos Boca del Rio Y Comida Mexicana and Delicias del Mar for Mexican seafood (although I know Delicias del Mar can’t make a shrimp cocktail the way we liked it at La Playita. We tried and were a little disappointed). Mariscos can make this lovely, tasty garlic fish that I loved when I wrote that story. 

Fillet al Mojo de Ajo (fish with homemade garlic sauce) at Mariscos Boca del Rio Y Comida Mexicana.

One of my new favorite little places is A Bite of Belgium on Alameda Boulevard. And that’s one of the reasons why I want to go to Belgium (Bruges) before I die. Michel Mal, the chef, is a cool guy. He’s extremely passionate about food and that’s all we talk about when we go there. Lamb sandwiches, Belgium burger, apricot chausson, apple Danish, homemade sauces, homemade breads, quiche and soups. I’m excited to move into our new Sun-News building, because A Bite of Belgium is going to be next door!

The new lamb sandwich at A Bite of Belgium comes with three different homemade spreads.

Another place I like is Pho Saigon, the Vietnamese place with more than 300 menu items. I don’t know how they do it (300?!?!), but they make everything very good. Pho is a given, curry chicken is my favorite and the spring rolls with the peanut sauce are a must. 

A duck soup up front and beef pho in the back at Pho Saigon.

Also:

Kim-Chi House, the Seoul, Korean joint on Soloano Drive. Mmmm, black bean noodles and kimchi pancakes when you dine in.

Ja Jang Myun, potatoes, zucchini and pork in a black bean sauce at Kim-Chi House.

Delicias on Lohman, a Mexican joint with a very homey, comfortable feel, a good burger and killer fajitas.

Green chile cheese burger at Delicias.

Ranchway BBQ, the Mexican barbeque joint on Valley Drive that serves the very best, most delicious refried beans in town. They make it themselves; boil the beans early in the morning, blend it down and do some magic to it (I’m pretty sure it’s a ton of lard, but hey, that’s what refried beans are). I also come here for the tampico steak. It’s a large rib-eye — on the fatty side — grilled up with some green chiles. Yes.

 The tampico steak at Ranchway BBQ.

International Delights, the only place left in town that serves Middle Eastern foods. I love Middle Eastern foods and I kind of eat it once a week (cause I make it at home). Mmm, falafel…

 The falafel sandwich at International Delights.

El Patron has the best Huevos Rancheros I’ve had so far (and this is saying a lot. I’m not really a breakfast person at all).

Huevos rancheros at El Patron.

Cow Palace way on the other side of town in Doña Ana. They have very good homemade fries and this great fish and chips plate. 

The fish and chips at Cow Palace (it's the special on Fridays).

Those are some of my favorite places in Las Cruces. I wish the very best for all of them and can’t wait to visit them again. I also can’t wait to try something new at some other little-hole-in-the-wall place. 

Please support your favorite local restaurant. 

(Wow, I can't believe I had photos from all these places... All photos by Andi Murphy.)

Soup Pt. 2

The cold wind is blowing, I've been coughing for two days, blowing my nose and sucking on Halls. It's time for some soup. Ahhh, chicken noodle soup.

I'll be honest and admit that I've only made this once and it was heaven. It lasted two days for both lunch and dinner and I got some ideas for this wonderful soup from a few other soups I enjoy. 

Cabbage in soup is pretty good. I like the soft texture and mass it gives to the soup and I got this idea from Delicias Mexican cafe. When you order a big meal, you get soup for starters and that soup is very simple and good and it has cabbage in it.

I love aush (a delicious Afghan soup). When I make it , I use garlic, bay leaf and lentils. I love lentils and they're good for you too. (Oh, I also like split peas because they usually has a nice little crunch.)

I like my version of chicken noodle soup because it's more than the plain ole' chicken, noodles, carrots and celery soup. It has all kinds of stuff in it and I think that's what I like most about certain soups; that they're more than just a watery bowl of broth, they have substance, some weight to it, they have healthy things and chunky things.

I'll give you the recipe:

Chicken Noodle Soup by Andi

About a tablespoon or less of olive oil

1 chicken breast

3 carrots

1 teaspoon garlic (I use garlic already chopped)

1/2 onion

3 celery stocks

1 bay leaf

salt, pepper

About 1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 lentils

1/4 split peas

1/2 cabbage head 

Sprinkle of parsley flakes

2 cups of swirly egg noodles

chicken stock, enough for 4 cups

Enough water to make it all a soup (you can also add water in the middle of this too)

Cook chicken breast pieces in olive oil with carrots, celery, onion, garlic and bay leaf adding salt, pepper and paprika. When chicken is cooked add in the water and chicken stock. Add in lentils, split peas and the sprinkle of parsley (if you need a measurement, about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of dry parsley) and boil for about 20 minutes, that's how long it takes for the lentils and peas to cook. Add in cabbage and swirly noodles and boil for about 15 more minutes, until noodles are done. Taste and add more salt if you need it.

 

And more soup...

So I wrote a blog a while back about how I didn't like soup. Well, I like soup now and have since ordered it and thought about ordering it at a few restaurants. At least I'm starting to look at their soup menu now.

I'm also making more soup at home. I also tried to make fish head soup when I was feeling adventurous, but that was an epic fail. The recipe called for a bottle of amber beer and that was a mistake and a half. I really don't cook with alcohol and I didn't like the taste of it in this soup (I also made a Brunswick chicken soup with white wine that I didn't really care for). It made the whole pot of fish head soup disgusting -- the fish heads were good, though, we ate the meat off the bones but we didn't finish one bowl of it. And it made the house stink for three days.

Tilapia heads for fish soup.

Oh, and I did get to try some menudo. It's like the official soup of Las Cruces. I'm not too big of a fan. It had like a wheaty, grainy, dull taste to it that I wasn't fond of. This was very light, though, and I can see why people around here like it so much. It was delicious, but that faint intestine taste in the background was a little off putting. Don't get me wrong, if someone offered me a small bowl of menudo, I'd eat it.