More Mesquite Historical Neighborhood

Mesquite is the orginal townsite of Las Cruces. It's a neighborhood of small homes and shops nestled against the downtown area. Mesquite Street is the original El Camino Royal, traveled over 500 years ago by conquistadors, priests, and settlers.

Some of the businesses that were established decades ago are still going strong along El Camino Real ("The Royal Road" that eventually grew to be the longest highway in North America, from Mexico City to Canada), such as Nopalito Restaurant, which also has another branch near Telshor. But the main restaurant is on Mesquite Street, across from Beck's Coffee and down from Mesquite Art Gallery, two relative newcomers who appear to be doing quite well. A few blocks down, on the corner of Amador and Mesquite Streets, is Lujan bakery, great for traditional Mexican "pan dulce," or pastries. Get ready, because Mexican pastries are nothing like European or U.S. baked goods. They are much less sweet, and often feature colored flour that looks like icing -- and isn't -- on top. Strange at first, it's easy -- all too easy -- to develop a taste for pan dulce.

The building for Sunshine Grocery and Grill still stands, newly painted, but it isn't a grocery now. Built in 1918, it is a local landmark, and is used as a location for movies filming in Las Cruces.

It will be interesting to see if after COVID-19 runs its course, if the Mesquite Historical District continues to develop as a corridor for small, quirky businesses.

Would you like to live in the Mesquite neighborhood, just steps from the weekly Farmer's Market and famed COAS Used Bookstore?

Autumn Peek at Famed Chile Test Gardens of NMSU

It is autumn and nearly time for the researchers to harvest their crop of experimental chile varieties. The gardens of the Chile Pepper Institute can be viewed from afar, but are off-limits to the public. The chiles will be examined for suitability of their yield, taste, fertility, etc. by NMSU plant scientists. In years past, the public could mingle the chiles, and I saw many fantastical peppers growing, from pitch-black spheres to ghostly yellow horns that almost seemed to be fluorescent. Now, admire them from behind the fence.

The chile garden is next to the Fabian Garcia Botanical Garden, at University and Main (University and Bowman Street of Mesilla Park form its western boundary). During COVID-19, it is closed, unfortunately, but I can only hope and assume this will not be the case shortly.

If you don't love chiles now, you will once you move here. The New Mexican chiles are the main reason our food is so delicious. Come retire in Las Cruces and taste it for yourself -- and attention SNOWBIRDS -- consider making Las Cruces your winter home! We'd love to have you!

Green Chiles

 

The Mesilla Valley, where Las Cruces is nestled, is famed worldwide for its flavorful green chiles. Note the spelling! It's "chile" and "chiles" with just an "e" -- not the "i" spelling denoting Texas chili! (Strangely, a local chile grower, Biad, spells it with an "i" on their boxes and signs. Very odd!) Chiles are the best part of local cuisine, and this time of year, you can smell them roasting in the open air, literally by the ton. Everyone wants to stock up on roasted green chiles for the year. 

The fruits -- yes, they are fruits, not vegetables -- are placed in a big mesh barrel, and rotated over searing flames until the skin blackens and blisters. A good roaster can char the chiles so expertly that there is very little skin left to remove. They then spray it with water from the hose and it steams the chile to perfection, to the perfect doneness.The charred part just wipes or rinses away. 

Some families enjoy buying a big box or burlap bag of chiles and roasting them at home, with everyone pitching in to get them ready to freeze. Some buy just a few chiles and roast them on a comal, a flat piece of heavy steel set over a burner. 

Walmart sells boxes of chiles (it's very exciting when you see the first boxes appear in stores), and so do other stores, including famed hole-in-the-wall souvenier, ristras, and statuary shop "Ristrammn" (everyone says "Ristra Man," but its actually spelled Ristrammn) in nearby Mesilla.

Chiles are full of vitamin C. In fact, they quite put oranges and other citrus to shame in terms of C! 

Everyone will tell you, and we are here to assure you it's true, that there is no cuisine better than New Mexican food. It's true. The chiles are the secret! Be sure to try Chiles Rellenos when you get here. They're on menus across the city, with two of the best recipes being found at Si Señor and Zia Cafe: Battered, cheese-stuffed, deep fried green chiles served with red or green (chile) sauce. Delectable! Local eatery Matteo's offers Green Chile Horchata, a delicious milk and rice-based drink, and Caliche's Frozen Custard has chopped green chile as a topping for their custard sundaes (custards are a rich ice cream) or their "caliches" (frozen drink that Northerners know as a "concrete"). As we say here, "Muy rico!"