Serving up red and green chiles in New Mexico

In the "Land of Enchantment," diners deck their plates with sauces made of red or green chiles - or both, if they're feeling the holiday spirit. Correspondent Conor Knighton gets a taste of how, thanks to a colorful chile combo, the meaning of "Christmas" takes on a different flavor in the kitchens of New Mexico.
#redchile #greenchile #newmexico
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[@syringaflower1498]

A huge reason why I love living in New Mexico 🌶🤗🌶✨️🎄❄️

[@soulrebel2]

New Mexico should be everyone food destination list. So under rated.

[@emmagutierrez6450]

No Cali!

[@sharilynn3024]

As a Chicagoan transplanted to New Mexico almost 30 years ago, I can tell you this obsession is real!!! But I am a die hard green chile lover!

[@JasonCarney.]

Green chiles are New Mexico's forte!

[@neuhisstihr]

Dear everyone, yes, we New Mexicans love our chile!

[@mililaniman]

I love to eat red or green chiles. This gives me another reason to visit the land of enchantment.

[@johnmcclean343]

I go to Tia's three times a week . Love my Santa Fe.

[@lewstone5430]

Come and visit us Robert!

[@beausandovalthomas]

Chile*

[@tishw4576]

I'm from AZ and live in Ireland. I miss Hatch chilies. Thank you for this fun story. Next time I'm visiting I need to get my fix.

[@beausandovalthomas]

Chile*

[@anotherb7068]

What a big change for you! Hope you get your fix soon😊

[@lewstone5430]

Hatch is too hot for me bro!

[@seanokeeffe2301]

it is chile, not chilies.

[@hezesol5082]

When my dad worked in Oregon we would mail him bags of chile for him to make up there.

[@tayvee4485]

I’m proud of my home state and I love living here born and raised 🥰 I wouldn’t honestly like to be anywhere else, there is no food or Chile like ours. Very proud to be New Mexican!! It’s very true, you gotta love Chile to live here, if not it’ll soon grow on you 🌶💚❤️😋

[@NazriB]

Lies again? New Foodcourt USD SGD

[@larranag]

I love this food so much. ABQ has great food.

[@lidarman2]

mmmm.... Sadies, Los Cuates, The Range. Got another let me know, I am going to Burque soon but don't recommend El Pinto.

[@doninetexas]

I'm a Texan - but always loved New Mexico when business or personal travel took me there. I still remember staying at a motel - asked at the desk for recommendations on where to eat. He said "you are staying in a hotel with a 5 Star restaurant" -- and he was right. Always loved my time spent in NM.

[@damaciojr]

Moved from New Mexico to Arizona two years ago. I miss the food more than anything. Santa Fe is one of my favorite places. So many memories at Tia Sophias.

[@christinap1356]

I moved to Arizona too but 6 years ago.

[@JasonCarney.]

You need to get out more, then. NM rules as far as green chiles are concerned, and pozole. Lots of excellent spots in AZ.

[@brandon3504]

@@JasonCarney. almost all the mexican food ive eaten in phoenix and surrounding areas in the 6 years i have lived here is all mediocre at best. it doesnt even come close to new mexican food.

[@brandon3504]

@@JasonCarney. and i eat mexican food every single day btw

[@McAwesome363]

@@brandon3504 Tucson has the best mexican restaurants in Arizona

[@JeffreyGillespie]

I live here and I feel so blessed. It’s heaven. And with all due respect to “Christmas”, I like it red all day long.

[@schmoab]

It’s always Christmas in New Mexico! Best food anywhere…

[@ThisIsMeOnYoutube]

We lived in MI for thirteen years and just moved back to NM. We are so happy to have real "chile" again. My wife loves the green and I always get mine christmas.

[@The.Original.Potatocakes]

Uhhh those enchiladas look next level.

[@thomaswhitcomb4077]

Best breakfast burrito ever and serving Chile the way it’s meant to be! Been all over the state and can say this with full confidence !

[@HollyRCB247]

Here in NM we don’t say chilies…. It just Chile.

[@clbudd]

I live in El Paso and occasionally travel into NM. I've never heard anyone say "chilies."

[@helpfulcommenter]

@@clbudd Well I'm from NM and my whole life we call the cooked sauces "chile" but the actual fruits, the individual pods I mean, those are chiles. A ristra is strung with chiles. I go buy a sack of Hatch chiles every fall. But when I cook them, then I have chile. To put on stuff. Get it?

[@themominator4745]

You're so right, that why I spell it with no" I". I am NM certified born and raised.😁✌️❤️

[@ThisIsMeOnYoutube]

@@clbudd Do you know why NM is so windy? Because TX SUCKS..!

[@mungy27]

​@@clbuddhey hey! chuco town! 915!! what's up?

[@paulwarren1586]

I was there from 1997 to 2001 as a Marine Corps Recruiter and that is what I miss about the place, I tell people if that if they want Mexican food, then you need to go to Santa Fe, all I can say is that the Mexican food here in Louisiana doesn't even compare.

[@helpfulcommenter]

New Mexican food

[@JonAbbott]

Nice work CBS Sunday Morning! For those who find themselves in Santa Fe, some other great restaurants to visit there include The Shed, Tune-Up Café, and Tomasitas.

[@carlosmartinez6227]

santa fe got taken over by super old white people go downtown on any day no one under 50 all our art and culture is now a fake gift shop in a nursing home

[@johnmcclean343]

Shed tourist trap.....it's good but cafa palacio is very good has great breakfast burritos.

[@ZIALANDER63]

Not just the food but the atmosphere at Tomasitas in Santa Fe is perfect. The big fireplace at the one in Albuquerque is cool too.

[@sharilynn3024]

OMG I love Tomasitas!!

[@925sterling3]

​@@sharilynn3024 Me too! The frozen margaritas are awesome there 😋

[@MrJuvefrank]

I'm glad to hear some good news about New Mexico for a change.

[@dinolandshark104]

Chile is a mass noun and always is spoken in its singular form "chile" in New Mexico. It doesn't matter if you have 50 peppers in a bag. It is still a bag of "chile". I love watching people who are not from New Mexico call them "chiles". Might as well wear a sign that says "I'm not from around here." Which is fine. Either way. I hope you come to love our chile.

[@helpfulcommenter]

I'm from NM too and grew up calling the individual pods chiles. I string Ristras with chiles every year. I can't imagine saying that I string a ristra with chile. Chile is after I cook them down and eat it. That's chile.

[@freelightway]

@@helpfulcommenter 100% correct. Some people wants to change the narrative like always.

[@ledzepgirlnmful]

Most definitely 'Christmas' All the Way !!!! Red and Green chile so good together. 🤤

[@managingmonasmoula9811]

I love both red chili and green chili here in NM. It’s some of the best stuff on earth! So delicious 😋

[@MiJukie]

I love the 505! Woke up to the smell of tamales❤

[@gregchambers6100]

Cooking with Claudia. She made a tamale cake with a bundt pan. duuuuuude.

[@elosogonzalez8739]

NOTHING LIKE IT!!! Love them both.

[@daghaalsuii]

Ahhh, lovely! Time for my chile fix!

[@michelecox5241]

Yep

[@sallyfitzpatrick9750]

Very good introduction to New Mexico red or green. You picked a very good restaurant in Tia Sophia setting in Santa Fe Christmas lights. This particular film was in very good taste. Thank you.

[@annrichardson6957]

Thanks for bringing back great memories of my home town! Feliz Navidad, to everyone who celebrates! And yes, I have the chile on the stove!!! Christmas, of course!!

[@ZIALANDER63]

I NEVER get Christmas. Red and green are two distinctive flavors and I don't like to mix them. Green chile chicken enchiladas at Padillas for me. Followed by sopas with honey or natillas. The best!

[@JonAbbott]

If you like Padilla's, you have to try their carnitas on the Thursday special. Some of the best I've ever had!

[@Creole_Lady]

I like them all 🌶️

[@mickikindley7821]

Yep chile is the best

[@eddiefniii]

Hatch Chile. Nothing even compares. I’m in Houston. Here it’s poblano. Or even bell peppers. Uhhhh no way! When I go back to Roswell it’s Chile everyday. In one form or another. Even in green Chile dip! Along With Chips that are loaded with spices. Heaven!

[@c_rsedx]

"people come for the green but stay for the red" I stay for both 😅

[@scottnorris8929]

What a nice segment featuring Tia Sophia's - a tremendous restaurant we have frequented since the late 1970s !

[@crushivintage]

This is true about NM's chili habit... also everyday is Christmas if you want it to...

[@seanokeeffe2301]

CHILE........................... NOT CHILI.

[@jeffmonaghan]

I'm hungry for this food 😋

[@laurabaca9683]

The Rio Grande Valley has the best Chile. We get ours from Chavez Farms. I prefer red better than green except on burgers and bologna.

[@GR8APE69]

I tend to prefer the Lemitar region.

[@GR8APE69]

Lol. That sounded like I was talking about wine. We do take it that seriously though!

[@RJelly-fi6hd]

I love my New Mexican chile. I just am allergic to it, now. 😔 I still eat it, despite my symptoms, every Christmas because I have to eat the tamales for a traditional Christmas meal. Other than that, I stay away from it the rest of the year. I can't wait!!! I love that our chile is on the news!!

[@okimball1]

great job on this Santa Fe is one of a kind

[@johnmcclean343]

I go to Tia's three times a week. I love my city Santa Fe.

[@lewstone5430]

I used to love the green chile cheeseburgers at Bert’s Burger Bowl! I just saw that it closed a few years ago though.

[@johnmcclean343]

@@lewstone5430 unfortunately yes they did. Want to say it's a taco place not sure ...

[@lewstone5430]

I’ll have to try it next time I’m in SF.

[@ARIZJOE]

Green. The food is as good as it looks. The Land of Enchantment. Truly one of our most unique states,. and Santa Fe is the oldest capital, going back to 1050. A different place.

[@KuzbekCO]

Red or green? My answer is always, "whichever one is spicier." I love me some chile.

[@JasonCarney.]

Because you haven't had fresh Hatch chiles. I'm a pepper head and I do appreciate Hatch green chiles, the best green chiles there are.

[@cindymorgan5123]

That was a great story!

[@jayhumphreys2030]

Tia Sophia’s is the best for breakfast. Best huevos rancheros in town. And that waiter they showed always has the best terrible jokes.😊

[@lennym480]

Tortilla Flats has better 🤫

[@911theanonymous]

As a native New Mexican I can say there is no chile like the chile grown in Hatch. It’s exquisite. We put chile on everything, even pizza. Go to Dions for a green chile and pepperoni pizza. You showed a generic kind of food. For an authentic NM meal go to a Hispanic family who knows the ins and outs of chile. You will be pleasantly surprised.

[@helpfulcommenter]

DId you know the reason the chile grows so hot and tasty in Hatch? In the 40s when they were testing nuclear bombs in Alamogordo, the fallout drifted over once and settled in the valley mostly around Hatch, and it incorporated into the soil. Ever since, they could grow the hottest and best chiles. It's true.

[@Anamnesis]

It's true. All of it. They even take baths in the stuff because water is rationed down there. 🤣 Kidding aside, the best chile rellenos I've ever had were in Santa Fe, in the La Plazuela Restaurant at La Fonda on the Plaza, right after harvest season. Nowhere else can they be grown, picked, roasted, and sold locally like they do it down there. Fresh on a whole other level. 🌶

[@StrayDogVideos]

I got addicted to red immediately, craved it again few hours after eating. The green was a slower trip, but I’m there now all the same.

[@lewstone5430]

Happy Holidays to everyone, from Albuquerque, New Mexico! That’ll be just green for me though!

[@johnmcclean343]

Lewiston so I live Santa Fe , I don't know lots places in Albuquerque, you have a top three to share. ?

[@lewstone5430]

@John McClean sure: El Viva Mexico on Wyoming, Sadie’s on Hotel Circle (right off I-40) and Lindo Mexico on Central near Louisiana for a bit more of an upscale experience. Enjoy!

[@caitlinfahey6230]

I’d add El Patio on Harvard off Central, The Shop for huevos rancheros/chilaquiles and Ben Michael’s in Old Town for a truly unique experience.

[@johnmcclean343]

@@lewstone5430 Hey thanks a lot greatly appreciate that.!

[@johnmcclean343]

@@caitlinfahey6230 Thanks Caitlin ! I did see couple cool hangouts near Nob Hill

[@ninamoua5439]

I do miss the food in New Mexico.

[@bradevans5566]

Some of these comments… New Mexican cuisine is not Mexican cuisine. The Native American and French influence on the Spanish heritage has created something different and special. I’ve gone to Mexican restaurants here in Washington and no one has heard of sopapillas. Or green chile except as a sauce. That’s why I have to go back home to NM to get the real deal as far as I’m concerned.

[@johnmcclean343]

You got that right Brad

[@carlosmartinez6227]

it's a off shoot of mexican food i grew up with this self hating racist lie we aren't any more spanish than the rest of mexico

[@carlosmartinez6227]

@@johnmcclean343 people with white last names talking about new mexican culture like they know anything like they didn't destory our culture with their fake art and fake john meem garbage

[@Bluesbabesrv]

Guess you are talking to the wrong people.

[@carlosmartinez6227]

@@Bluesbabesrv im from here so

[@mikehawk8276]

Red and Green on some enchiladas with an egg on top.. Doesn't get much better

[@StrayDogVideos]

New Mexico has the best food in the United States. At least the best I have found yet.

[@davidstorch717]

We New Mexicans understand our obsession with Chile, it makes us feel good. Simple as that.

[@jcsnsando]

I miss home!

[@peppitachips1764]

Meanwhile at my house mom and pops be like it’s hot enough

[@JLVera]

dry chiles are sweet memories from my childhood visiting my uncle farm not in New Mexico but in old central mexico That is were the real deal is... But happy that new mexico separate "" and is part of usa. keeping the heritage in their own way

[@JohnDoe-xu2vx]

Yum!

[@colleenmayes1537]

I haven't lived in NM for decades but have always managed to get ahold of some Hatch green chile every year. I currently have a case in my freezer and it's not going to last until the next harvest.

[@jeffforbess6802]

It’s Christmas, so both. Or a green Chile cheeseburger.

[@migs375]

she meant people in the U.S. dont have an obsession because Mexico's obsession with chile is the greatest in the world.

[@equal4206]

GREEN

[@jorgepreciado6984]

Very Mexico ;)

[@vivalasvegas2826]

Both

[@maltratar]

VIVA MEXICO!!!!!!

[@cw5533]

“Xmas” IYKYK red and green

[@danielroque8504]

The best chilis come from New Mexico!!

[@JesseCorrea-p3f]

Interesting how Christmas looks like the Mexican flag 😏🍵🇲🇽

[@brucegelman5582]

Someday in another life I will afford to live in Santa Fe!!!

[@helpfulcommenter]

Uh... it's not that expensive unles you live in certain neighborhoods, which is true everywhere. Unless you like work at McDonalds or something. But for anyone with a professional career there's really no reason why you couldn't afford it. You only get one shot at life Bruce, if you wanna live in SF then you should really try to realize your dreams.

[@donniegrande9186]

Love Mexican food for breakfast and the Latinas for dinner lol

[@L.Spencer]

Burritos are a staple here in San Diego, but we don't eat them on a plate, we take them out of the bag, unwrap them and eat them while driving. And they're huge. So once we take some visiting friends to "Old Town" to eat "Mexican" food, and the burritos are on plates covered in salsa. Now I know where that came from, probably New Mexico. I had never seen anything like it. You're supposed to eat it with a knife and fork! I apologized for taking them there, not that they knew the difference. I now realized "San Diego Taco Shop Mexican Food" is unique. At least I think it is, I haven't checked out LA's Mexican food. (Why go there?) I've heard they and the rest of California put rice, beans, lettuce in their food, like IN the burritos. That's just filler, or side dishes. Some taco shops here in San Diego do that, but we don't go back to them.

[@GR8APE69]

San Diego serves more traditional Mexican foods. What you get in New Mexico is New Mexican food. It's a blend of Mexican and Native American cuisine that is similar yet distinct from traditional Mexican food.

[@rgdssd]

There’s nothing like San Diego burritos, especially the carne asada burritos!

[@laquiqa5631]

Same as New Mexico there is just green or red on the inside Or both.

[@L.Spencer]

@@laquiqa5631 I need to get out more and try different things, and travel more and try different foods, too. I try to categorize foods, partly to understand, but I really don't know much. 😊

[@renzopinto3836]

Ying Yang of spiciness

[@geothunder1971]

NM is high desert and is very dry, people come here from out of state and the mix of dry air and juniper pollen is harsh. Thats where chili addiction comes in! I was told years ago eat chili on everything and your sinuses get flushed out and lubed up, it works!

[@winner33660]

My people are from Tucson, God knows I Love 🌶️ Chili, Red or Green, I'm going to start mixing, and calling it Christmas. Been watching 🌞😎 Sunday morning 🌄 43 years, Day One, with Charles Kuralt , it's my Favorite show, Merry Christmas 🎄

[@JasonCarney.]

Any relation to Linda Ronstadt?

[@winner33660]

@@JasonCarney. Yes, All Tucson Arizona Ronstadt's are related, to my knowledge, we are a Mixed Heritage, German immigrant to Sonora Mexico,. Merry Christmas 🎄

[@JasonCarney.]

@@winner33660 Cool. And Merry Christmas to you as well!

[@seanokeeffe2301]

CHILE. NOT CHILI. CHILI IS A TEXAS CASSEROLE DISH.

[@winner33660]

@@seanokeeffe2301 According to Webster's, In American English 🌶️ Chili is the most common spelling for the spicy peppers as well as the stew we put on hotdogs, be sure to tell other Texans, Merry Christmas 🎄

[@pritchettdan]

Yummy!!!

[@Zodamay]

Lol, I'm preety sure that Oaxaca is the world capital of chile 🌶️

[@mattfitzpatrick4008]

Love some Tia Sophia's in SF!!! ❤️❤️❤️

[@MikeYoungeasytravel]

They forgot to mention the small fried cubed potatoes served with the chiles.

[@themominator4745]

Papa's Freitas! Mmmm

[@helpfulcommenter]

@@themominator4745 lol papas fritas? It's not like someone named Papa cooked them. papa means potato

[@themominator4745]

@Dusty Blivet Man, I grew up with chicanos and not everyone in the U.S. knows New Mexican cuisine. I lived it,I love it, and I am NM true.✌️❤️

[@terrancecobb6802]

... I am in Florida, and I have a close frond here that is from Albuquerque. He ALWAYS speaks on his green chili, and says the same thing..."we put green chili on everything"

[@seanokeeffe2301]

CHILE. NOT CHILI.

[@terrancecobb6802]

@@seanokeeffe2301 👍 shows u how much I know on the subject. I do not see the attraction to it, BUT, I know it's loved!

[@terrancecobb6802]

@@seanokeeffe2301 oh, and thanks for yelling from the back seats!

[@sharilynn3024]

It is indeed an obsession. But it is something you have to taste on a good recipe to understand! 🥰

[@helpfulcommenter]

How close is the frond? What kind of palm tree is it? Do you sit under the shade of the frond? Sounds lovely. I wanna visit Florida some day with my friends, and sit under fronds.

[@anotherb7068]

Yummmmm

[@michelleholland8460]

I love Sante Fe and I absolutely love chiles but I was disappointed. There certainly weren’t many Mexican Americans to represent the the Sante Fe Chile culture.

[@deborahholt228]

Yeah just old white people 😂

[@lewstone5430]

Time for some Prozac?

[@carlosmartinez6227]

welcome to santa fe where ut's all for old white people. They pushed us out and made a fake version of our culture go downtown it's always super old white people

[@carlosmartinez6227]

@tiki98 am i wrong?

[@mgurule76]

Think your in the wrong thread

[@n.d.7931]

I can't choose either lol

[@keithmasumoto9698]

But tell me, do the chiles present a level of spiciness/heat? Is it a hot or mild heat or could it vary. I so want to try this, for years now.

[@MrJuvefrank]

I saw mild Hatch chile and spicy Hatch chile at the store. Maybe man can change the amount of spiciness, or maybe they are a different breed of Hatch chile.

[@charleskundelius5206]

Hatch it in Phoenix arizona is the best new Mexico green in arizona come check it out

[@emmagutierrez6450]

Not the best food, but yes, the restaurant is legacy in old SF.... Chile, frijoles, tortillas and a turist-tab make Mexca😂ns and Chicanos thrive with Food, culture and Love. ❤

[@Blumpdog]

Just to be clear, Colorado’s green chili will never will be as good as ours. However, their weed is pretty good 👍

[@marcanthonymartinez5772]

It's cause we have rich soil. In nm

[@lewstone5430]

I’ve had weed from both states. Both great!

[@richardwallace6313]

red or green? Christmas, of course.

[@gregchambers6100]

Yo. Las Cruces here. We've got 100 lbs of roasted peeled both in our freezer. Sshhhhh! don't tell anyone.

[@adrianmartinez2990]

In New Mexico we use red chile instead of gravy on mashed potatoes!

[@lidarman2]

Oooo forget it es'e! Glad you used "Chile" and not "Chilli."..BTW, the best chile in Boulder, CO is in mi casa (and no, not Chef Hosea Rosenberg's snootie-chefie New-mex restaurant, Santo). And FWIW, I grew up in the Burque so I call the paper bag lanterns Luminarias not farolitos. But the chile is still the same....Also, Sopapillas are not just dessert so please people outside of New Mexico, stop serving them at the end with cinnamon sugar. Serve them plain with the meal (With a honey bottle) and let the patron decide whether to use them savory to sap up the chile during the meal or eat as dessert with honey--or both.

[@MrJuvefrank]

I wish Colorado would stop using the Denver boot.

[@aleetee2003]

It's amazing how different they taste even though they're both NuMex Big Jims.

[@LintonWong]

2:27 shout out to EP!! 🙌

[@iluvj50]

Is it me or does that restaurant owner look like he could be Fred Armisen's older brother?

[@shinankoku2]

I have never heard that before … I had never heard of Fred Armisen, either, so I looked him up. I think we have a passing resemblance but my wife doesn’t. I’ll have to ask around tomorrow when I’m at work.

[@sofistk8ddd1]

Anyone else notice Albert Einstein’s face in the dish the man receives from the waiter at the end!!!

[@cesartrujillo4190]

Thank you for spelling chile without an extra i and for leaving out the cumin so it’s not Tex-Mex.

[@Uliseslima-kr9op]

All I see here are burritos enchilados ...... con salsa para entomatadas .

[@helpfulcommenter]

The reason why Hatch chiles are so spicy and tasty is because the fallout that drifted over from Alamogordo in the nuclear testing during WW2. It settled in the soil and the rest is history.

[@dannyshipley7590]

Merry Christmas.... Red or green ?

[@lewstone5430]

Green.

[@shinankoku2]

Merry Christmas, indeed!!

[@4672-m9f]

plaza lights are not hung with care

[@ericmazzie]

The new state question: "Red, green or X-Mas?" :)

[@helpfulcommenter]

No, the question is Red or Green? and if you want both you say Christmas. We know you're not from here if you say "both"

[@erikagonzales5951]

Me too!!! Don’t call it sauce!