Addicted, But Not to CHILE ADDICTION

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The above picture is of New Mexican chilies. It was taken two years ago during the southern New Mexico chile harvest. The chilies pictured are call New Mexican or Anaheim chilies, depending on with whom you are speaking. They can range from somewhat mild to medium hot to Scotch Bonnet hot, depending upon the batch and where they are grown.

Having said that, a grandma-friendly, totally sweet, heat-free New Mexican chile in New Mexico is rarer than a heterosexual male at a Lady Gaga concert.

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CARLITO’S BURRITOS

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Geez Louise! We wish we liked this place more.

So we’ll give it another chance even though:

* The green chile had no tang and no heat;

* The posole was strangely hominy-challenged (and barely infused with pork), and a shade of dark red we’ve never seen in a New Mexican diner (FYI: Our screen saver on our home computer is a bowl 0f posole from Duran’s Central Pharmacy in ABQ, NM, so we at ELV knows us our posole.);

* That same pork and corn stew hardly registered on the Scoville scale;

* We thought you couldn’t mess up a sopaipilla, but this version was bready, pasty and thick (more like Navajo fry bread), which is okay,  but it wasn’t in the same league as El Sombrero’s.

Pity.

Because no one gets a jones for New Mexican food like ELV.

So we asked the folks who recommended Carlito’s to us and were told they’ve been multiple times, and sometimes the food has that kick of authenticity and sometimes it doesn’t.

As with Lola’s, we suspect corner-cutting and a shaky staff are to blame.

But we could feel the love with one bite of our carne adovada — packed with flavor (and some serious heat), and an indication that someone here is familiar with the real enchilada.

So we shall return, the next time we get off a plane after three days of top drawer French and Italian food in the Big Apple.

Driving across town for a bite probably won’t be on the program.

CARLITO’S BURRITOS

3345 East Patrick Lane #105

Las Vegas, NV 89120

702.547.3592

www.carlitosburritos.com