Hominy and pork stew with red chile, oregano and lime, traditionally eaten at Christmas and New Year. Pueblo Indian roots, Spanish refinement, an everyday winter staple.
Where to eat it: 7 restaurants across 2 cities.
Posole has Pueblo Indian roots in pre-Columbian New Mexico, using nixtamalized corn (hominy). The Spanish added pork after colonization in the 1600s. Across New Mexico the stew is the Christmas Eve and New Year's tradition, eaten for prosperity in the new year. Pueblo Harvest Cafe at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center serves the modern Pueblo version year round.
Tip from the editors. The garnish bowls are essential, not optional. Squeezing lime and adding raw onion at the table sharpens the long simmered stew.
Pueblo Harvest Cafe at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center on 12th Street in Albuquerque is the only modern Pueblo Indian restaurant, missed by museum skippers.
Why locals love it: Inside the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center museum, missed by most visitors but the only modern Pueblo Indian restaurant in the city.
Tip: Visit at lunch when the Pueblo dancing performances run on the courtyard, then order the buffalo posole and Indian taco.
Mary and Tito's on Fourth Street in Albuquerque is the James Beard America's Classic 2010 winner serving carne adovada turnovers and red chile enchiladas.
Try: Carne adovada turnover
Sadie's of New Mexico on Fourth Street in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque is the heritage New Mexican family room since 1954, famous for the stuffed sopaipilla.
Signature: Stuffed sopaipilla, Carne adovada
Barelas Coffee House on Fourth Street SW in Albuquerque is the family New Mexican counter since 1978, with breakfast burritos under $10 and a posole bowl.
Try: Breakfast burrito and red chile
The Shed's red chile, grown out at the family farm and ground in-house, has anchored a Santa Fe lunch line since 1953. Sister room of La Choza.
Signature: Red chile enchiladas, Blue corn enchiladas, Mocha cake
Sister of The Shed, La Choza has plated Northern New Mexican on Alarid Street since 1983; voted #1 New Mexican by Santa Fe Reporter readers repeatedly.
Signature: Carne adovada burrito, Blue corn enchiladas, Green chile stew
On the Plaza since 1905, the Razatos family Plaza Cafe pours weekend brunch coffee for locals and tourists ordering blue corn pancakes and posole.
Order: Blue corn pancakes with pinon and house syrup
More cities are in research. Want posole covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.