Several weeks back I wrote about a Sunday morning breakfast that included homemade green chile sauce – my attempt to follow Michael Pollan’s Food Rules by using all fresh local ingredients. I provided the recipe. And I got some great comments and e-mails, a couple of which said things like “are you f-ing crazy? Do you think I have ANY access to fresh green chile since I got exiled to Seattle?” (Sorry Pat Palmer. . .)
In response to that, and as a confession of sorts, I have to tell you that I don’t always make homemade green chile sauce, especially since mine is never quite as good as El Pinto Green Chile Sauce. It’s an item I ALWAYS keep in my cupboard. And I love a couple of sunny-side up eggs covered with it.
In the interest of checking out the sauce’s applicability to the rules, I read the label, and discovered, much to my pleasant surprise, that El Pinto’s sauce basically follows the rules.It has tomatoes, Anaheim green chiles, caramelized onions, salt and garlic. I had a moment when I read “calcium chloride” on the label, but wikipedia reassures me that calcium chloride is basic table salt. You probably all knew that. . .
I’m passing this along to all of you because you can go to www.elpinto.com and order a jar of green chile sauce to cover your own sunny-side up eggs next Sunday morning. It’s only $3.99 per jar and it’s delicious.
Photo credit: visitãlbuquerque.org
If you’re in Albuquerque, drive north on 4th street past Alameda, look for the cottonwoods on the right, and pull in to El Pinto’s parking lot – treat yourself to a New Mexican meal on one of their five patios. I can attest that the margaritas give Sadie’s a run for their money. The restaurant was built in 1962 – just a kitchen and a dining room –and now seats over 1,200. The website touts it as the largest restaurant in New Mexico, and it’s one of the most attractive buildings in the state. I’ve had some great times there. It’s the choice for graduation parties and wedding rehearsals, and I once sat on the back patio with my pal Bruce while he tried to talk me out of moving from Albuquerque to Quay County. He named all my favorite things – movies on Sunday afternoons (we only have one movie theater in Quay County), the Frontier, Corrales, skiing at Sandia, the Rio Grande Wine Festival, and after listing about fifteen items, he said, “And here – you can see the mountains from right here. Why would you want to leave this?”
Well, as you all know, I moved. But I plan to go back to El Pinto and sit on that patio and look at the Sandias sometime soon. Until then I keep a jar of their green chile sauce in my fridge and use it almost daily. Try it out.