Red And Green Chile appears as a signature dish in 1 United States cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Red and green chile (Christmas) · Santa Fe
The defining choice on every New Mexican menu: red or green chile, or both, Christmas. Red is dried, smoky and often deeper; green is bright, vegetal and hotter when young.
Spanish colonists brought the chile pepper north from Mexico in 1598, and the long-pod cultivars stabilised in the Rio Grande Valley around Hatch (south) and Chimayo (north). By the early 20th century, the red-or-green question had become the state's edible identity; New Mexico made it the official state question in 1996. Christmas, ordering both, dates from the late 1980s as restaurants tracked tourist indecision.
Where to eat in Santa Fe:
- The Shed
- La Choza
- Horseman's Haven Cafe
- Tomasita's
- Atrisco Cafe & Bar