New Mexican Food in Taos
HeyTaos · Food
New Mexican Food in Taos
Red chile, green chile, posole, sopaipillas, blue corn, breakfast burritos, and the green chile cheeseburger. New Mexican food is its own cuisine, not a variation on Mexican food, and Taos is one of the best places in the state to eat it.
The Chile Question
When your server asks "red or green?" they are asking which chile sauce you want. This is the official state question of New Mexico, made official by the legislature in 1996. If you want both, say "Christmas." There is no wrong answer, but everyone in northern New Mexico has a strong opinion and will share it.
Red chile is made from dried red chile pods, typically Hatch or Chimayo varieties. It tends to be earthier, deeper, and sometimes hotter. Green chile is made from roasted fresh or frozen green chiles, often Hatch. It is brighter, sometimes fruitier, and the heat level varies wildly by batch and by kitchen. Locals often specify a preference before being asked.
New Mexican chile is not salsa and it is not hot sauce. It is a sauce that goes on or under the food, not beside it. It is made from a single ingredient, reduced and seasoned, and the quality of the chile determines the quality of the plate.
Chimayo red chile, grown in the Chimayo valley south of Taos, is considered by many cooks the finest red chile in New Mexico. It is available in bags and ristras from local food shops and at the source in Chimayo.
Essential Dishes
| Dish | What it is |
|---|---|
| Posole | Hominy corn slow-cooked with pork and red or green chile. A staple at feasts and family meals. Rich, filling, warming. Often served as a stew or soup. |
| Tamales | Masa dough filled with meat and chile, wrapped and steamed in corn husks. Made in large batches at Christmas and for feast days. Each family has its own recipe. |
| Enchiladas | Corn tortillas rolled or stacked with filling and covered in red or green chile sauce and cheese. New Mexican-style enchiladas are often stacked flat, not rolled. A fried egg on top is standard. |
| Chile Relleno | A whole roasted green chile stuffed with cheese, battered, and fried. One of the benchmarks for judging a kitchen. The chile should be identifiable, not obliterated by batter. |
| Sopaipilla | Fried dough puffs served alongside savory meals, drizzled with honey. In New Mexico they are a bread substitute, not a dessert. A good sopaipilla should be light, airy, and hot from the oil. |
| Blue Corn | Blue corn tortillas, blue corn pancakes, blue corn atole. Native to the Pueblo tradition, used in everything from breakfast to tamale masa. Has a nuttier flavor than yellow or white corn. |
| Carne Adovada | Pork marinated and slow-cooked in red chile. Intensely flavored. Used as a filling in burritos, served alongside eggs, or eaten straight. One of the defining preparations of northern New Mexican cooking. |
| Biscochitos | Anise-flavored shortbread cookies. The official state cookie of New Mexico. Made for Christmas and special occasions. Lard-based traditionally. |
| Atole | A warm drink or thin porridge made from ground blue corn, masa, or pinole. Pueblo in origin. Not widely available in restaurants but still made in homes. |
The Breakfast Burrito
The New Mexican breakfast burrito is a flour tortilla filled with scrambled eggs, potatoes, and a protein, usually bacon, sausage, or carne adovada, then smothered in red or green chile and melted cheese. It is not a small item. It is a meal that can carry a person through a morning of hiking, skiing, or rafting without issue.
This is different from a California burrito (tightly wrapped, not smothered), a Tex-Mex burrito (larger, different filling profile), and a Mission burrito (rice and beans inside, wet outside). New Mexican smothered means the entire burrito is covered in chile and cheese and served open on a plate. You eat it with a fork.
The breakfast burrito question in Taos is which kitchen makes the best one. Locals have opinions. The debates are genuine. The best version of this dish in town is a matter of legitimate local controversy.
The Green Chile Cheeseburger
The green chile cheeseburger is a New Mexico institution with its own cult following and a dedicated trail of enthusiasts who drive the state ranking the best versions. The New Mexico Tourism Department has run a Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail for years. It is that serious.
A proper New Mexico green chile cheeseburger uses whole roasted green chile, not a salsa or relish, draped directly over the patty under the cheese. The chile should be identifiable as a pepper with some texture and char. It should be hot enough to matter. American, cheddar, or jack cheese. The bun is secondary.
Taos has strong contenders. The burgers guide on this site has the current list with honest assessments.
Drinks
The margarita is the standard drink order in northern New Mexico. The best local version is made with fresh lime juice and good tequila, not a sour mix. The Adobe Bar at the Historic Taos Inn on Paseo del Pueblo Norte is the most storied margarita location in Taos.
Pinon coffee is a northern New Mexico specialty. Pinon nuts, the seeds of the pinon pine harvested across the Southwest, are roasted with coffee beans to produce a slightly nutty, aromatic cup. It is available in cafes and grocery stores across the region and is worth bringing home.
Take It Home
The most useful souvenir from Taos is the food. Chimayo red chile in bags or ristras, pinon coffee, blue corn meal, green chile sauce, local honey, and pinon nuts travel well and are not available everywhere. The local food shops and co-op carry these. The Chimayo source is the Santuario de Chimayo area, about 60 miles south via the High Road, worth the drive for the chile and the church together.
Where to Eat New Mexican Food in Taos
The full guide to New Mexican restaurants in Taos County is on the restaurant guide page, with honest assessments of which kitchens are worth the trip.