Chile and Cheese

Okay, here is my latest find in New Mexico. I actually heard about this long before I got to Alamogordo and it was in the back of my mind to try one but hadn't really seen one on a menu yet. Then yesterday after we worked late, Bill and I decided to go to the McDonald's on base to grab a quick dinner before we headed up the mountain. Now most know that I only eat at McDonald's only rarely and usually under duress ever since I saw the movie "Supersize Me". But it was close (a few hundred yards from the office) and we were hungry. And they had the thing I had been thinking about - the green chile cheeseburger.

The green chile (I dasn't spell it 'chili' lest hoards of angry chile-philes beat me for blasphemy)is a staple crop in New Mexico and so I guess it was inevitable that it ended up on a hamburger, the staple food of America. It's exactly what it sounds like, a pile of chopped, roasted green chiles on a cheeseburger (in this case on the McDonald's double cheeseburger in lieu of pickle).

I thought it would be like the mild green chiles I buy in a can at home but these chiles had a bit of heat to them. The spicy flavor added some depth to a pretty average fast food burger and transformed it to a tasty treat. The heat from the chile lingered even after the bite was gone and made a great counterpoint to the salty fies. And I think the heat is the point, the mild canned chiles I am used to would have rendered the burger quite ordinary and pointless.

Now as I traverse the highways and byways of Southeastern New Mexico I am on the lookout for even better specimens of the species. (Although I doubt any will be able to match the McDonald's price of a buck.) I have found a list of the best green chili cheeseburgers in the state and a couple are either nearby or on my way to certain destinations. I'll report back the results, loyal readers, and encourage you to try this spicy addition to your boring burger.