HUNGRY GERALD

Yes, it’s Christmas every day at Sopaipilla Factory, the exemplary comfort food restaurant dishing out New Mexican cuisine a 15-minute drive north of Santa Fe. HG lunches there at least twice a week. There’s a ritual. HG slides into a comfy booth. Felipe Garcia, the pleasant, welcoming proprietor, says: “Señor HG, enchilada or burrito? Christmas, as usual?” HG always orders chicken. An enchilada for light eating or a giant burrito when really hungry. “Christmas” has a specific meaning in Norte, the food language of Northern New Mexico. It means half the plate is smothered in green chile and half in red chile. Red and green. Christmas. Get it? At Sopaipilla Factory the red chile has plenty of heat while the green is mild and mellow. It is just the opposite at nearby El Parasol, another HG favorite. At Angelina’s in Espanola, the heat levels vary every day. Last time HG was there the waitperson warned HG about the green chile. “Picante !! Picante !!” HG tried it anyway. Mouth fire. So, when eating in Northern New Mexico ask about the heat levels of the two chiles but be sure to order “Christmas” if you want to have a tasty holiday.

Espanola, a gritty town ten minutes drive from HG/BSK’s Jacona home, is much maligned. It has some social problems (it is known as New Mexico’s meth capital); a political system that is often criticized; much unattractive housing and numerous shopping centers built without an iota of soul or aesthetic foresight. Offsetting this is colorful, vernacular architecture (featuring some wonderful neon signage), a surprising amount of cutting-edge modernism and numerous good places to eat. Foremost among them is Angelina’s, a spacious place that draws a colorful crowd of New Mexicans–young, old, ranchers, cowboys, farmers, government officials, businesspersons. The food is solid Northern New Mexico. Red chile sauce is a specialty but the green is not far behind (on a recent visit, HG had a bowl of super assertive green chile menudo that chased away the chills and any lingering effects of a previous night’s overindulgence in alcohol). During the meal, HG/BSK shared some robust ground lamb burritos (the lamb had been grilled with pico de gallo and melded New Mexican and Middle Eastern flavors). Lamb is a specialty of Angelina’s (sheep have been raised in Northern New Mexico for many generations). At Angelina’s, you can have lamb in many forms. There are lamb burgers (plain or grilled with jalapenos and onions); lamb chops; lamb ribs (Costillas) and lamb fajitas. And, you can specify lamb in any of the traditional plates like enchiladas, flautas, tostadas, etc. for a $1.00 additional charge. Besides the lamb dishes, Angelina’s has another unusual twist. The restaurant serves traditional, down home diner favorites: Deep fried breaded catfish; pork chops; liver and onions; chicken fried steak. You can also get a big, ribeye steak; salmon, trout and shrimp. There’s wine (not exactly a Parisian carte de vins) and beer. Very nice flan for dessert. Yes, Angelina’s does it all. Big portions. Small prices. Lots of plain spoken comfort.

Tostadas don’t get enough respect. In the world of down home, plain spoken Northern New Mexican food, tacos, burritos, enchiladas, tamales get all the attention. Tostadas are an afterthought (In Yiddish, a nuch shlepper. See how HG expands your language skills?). So, what is a tostada? This is the way they do it at El Parasol in Pojoaque: A corn tortilla is fried until crispy. It gets a layer of refried beans (refritos); then browned ground beef (fragrant with garlic and cumin); green chilis; a layer of guacamole. It is topped with chopped iceberg lettuce, raw onions and tomatoes. Final touch is fiery salsa (red or green). Lots of different flavors and textures. Crisp. Unctuous. Earthy. Fresh. Cold. Hot. The gamut is run. HG imagines that during this health conscious time, tofu will become an alternative to ground beef in the construction of tostadas. There are a number of Sikh ashrams in HG’s neighborhood and these turban wearing folks seem to favor funky Mexican flavors for their vegetarian dishes at El Parasol and Sopapilla Factory. So, Tofu fajitas, anyone?