Carlsbad, New Mexico

My wife's family hails from New Mexico. One side from Albuquerque and Santa Fe and the other side from from Calrsbad. I have spend lots of time in Albuquerque/Santa Fe. This week I made my first visit to Carlsbad.

Carlsbad is not really on the way to anywhere. It is 5 hours from Albuquerque or 3 hours from El Paso. The whole vibe of the place is really more West Texas than New Mexico. We flew into El Paso and drove the three hours through the Guadalupe Mountain National Park to reach our final destination.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park



There are a suprising amount of good things to eat in Carlsbad. They can be broken down into three categories. New Mexican Style Mexican, BBQ and Green Chile Cheeseburgers.

New Mexican Style Mexican

Even though the best known restaurant in Carlsbad outside of Carlsbad (its been mentioned, among other places, in the New York Times) is a BBQ Joint called Danny's, in my opinion the best thing to eat in Carlsbad are the enchiladas which are a convienient vehicle for the delivery of "chile". If you are not familiar with New Mexican Chile it is a sauce made from either red or green chiles served over enchiladas or anything else. Unlike other salsas or mexican sauces it doent contain vinegar. Red Chile is made from roasted and dried red chile peppers ground down to a powder while green chile is made from chiles that are roasted and chopped. In New Mexico the State question is Red or Green? meaning red or green chile? In Carlsbad the question is Cortez Mexican or Lucy's Cafe? As in who has the best chile. Chile in New Mexico is the state religion and in Carlsbad it is no different. The style found in Carlsbad is distinctive when compared to fancy places up north, according to my wife's uncle they dont go for any funny business in their chile in Carlsbad, meaning no cilantro, no cumin or other "funny spices". Just chile. Not even Chimayo Chiles like they rave about in Santa Fe, they like Pecos Chiles and I have to admit that they are quite good. The green chile we sampled was bascally green chiles roasted and pureed while the red chile was more reminiscent of the northern style with a roux like base. If you ask for both green and red chile you ask for it "christmas" style.

Enchiladas from Lucy's



Enchiladas served New Mexican style are served flat rather than rolled, covered in chile (in this case green) with a fried egg on top. The version at Lucy's was my favorite in Carlsbad. Both the red and green chile were blazing hot. If I had one problem with Lucy's it is that I noticed some jalapeno mixed in with the chile to enhance the heat. New Mexicans consider this lazy. When i asked my wife's uncle why they did this he said that they only do it at lunch time when there isnt a big enough turn over on the hot chile to make it scorching as is, hence the need for the jalapeno pick me up.

I also sampled the enchiladas at Cortez, sorry no pictures, and they were also very good. Not quite as hot as the chile at Lucy's and noticeably smaller portions. Still excellent.

BARBEQUE

As I mentioned earlier the most "famous" restaurant in Carlsbad is Danny's. I am no expert on BBQ, but i do enjoy smoked meats casually, so i snuck away to Danny's and took some pictures. Danny wasn't in, but everyone else was really nice. Danny's used to be located in the Dairy Queen. About 3 years ago he got his own place.



Pork, Brisket and Ribs


Danny's Pit specially made by J & R in Mesquite, TX


Brisket resting


Overall, I enjoyed the BBQ at Danny's. The pork was absolutely delicious but I found the brisket was a little dry. The ribs were very very good bordering on excellent except they didnt quite give me a tug and fell off the bone without much effort. I was sad not to try the chicken, sausage or turkey but a man can only eat so much. Danny's homemade sauce, which has a vinegar base was quite excellent. Danny uses pecan wood in the smoker which is an obvious choice because Carlsbad is covered in pecan trees.

GREEN CHILE CHEESEBURGERS

I love green chile cheese burgers and Carlsbad has several great places to get your fix.

Green Chile Cheeseburger from Kaleidescoops with Texas Toothpicks



This was a great version served with Texas Toothpicks which are onion strings and green chiles deep fried. I didnt have my camera, but an even better green chile cheeseburger can be found at The Church Street Grill.

Carlsbad is in the middle of nowhere, however, if you find yourself stuck there for a day or a week, there is plenty of good food to eat.

Lucy's
701 S Canal St,
Carlsbad, NM 88220
505 887 7714

Cortez Mexican Restaurant
506 S Canal St
Carlsbad, NM 88220
(575) 885-4747

Danny's
902 S Canal St
Carlsbad, NM 88220

Kaliedesoops
425 N. Canal St.
Carlsbad, NM 88220

Church St. Grill
301 W. Church St.
Carlsbad, NM 88220

Great to know. I have a friend in Alamogordo who I visit every couple of years, and I was hoping to get to Carlsbad next time. I do think that, when you say Carlsbad is not like New Mexico, I'm guessing you mean not like northern New Mexico, near Albuquerque and Santa Fe. I've spent a lot of time in southern New Mexico, and it's a lot different from the north--more, as you note, like west Texas, and looks a lot like your photo below. But still different in usually good ways. Plus southern New Mexico is a major pistachio and pecan growing region, so even if you don't like the cooking, there's still plenty of goodies to stock up on. And the green chiles are almost legendary, especially from down around Las Cruces.

Old Mesilla, next to Las Cruces, is another hotbed of great food -- though primarily just the New Mexico cuisine. Massively historic town, however -- almost every name you've ever heard from the Old West lived or at least passed through Old Mesilla. A few hours from Carlsbad, but perhaps somewhere to meet the Carlsbad family next time you're out that way.

http://www.oldmesilla.org/

Cynthia wrote:I do think that, when you say Carlsbad is not like New Mexico, I'm guessing you mean not like northern New Mexico, near Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

That is exactly what I meant. i wasn't trying to imply bad--just different.

Great post!

I too, am of two New Mexicos. Family is in Las Cruces, but I've spent a lot of time in the Santa Fe area as well. We ate many family dinners at La Posta in Old Mesilla. Katie, the proprietress, really liked to razz my uncle and as a little tyke, I remember being worried we were in trouble because that lady was yelling at Uncle Clyde.

The further west one goes in southern NM, the less Texas it becomes. We always referred to the two as Wild West, and Spanish Colonial, but even that doesn't quite describe it. Sometimes we describe the difference as rice and posole, heh.

I'd also posit a third culinary New Mexico, and that's Indian New Mexico - Basically the Western pueblos and the Navajo Nation. Fry bread and mutton country, if you will.

Hatch is the little town right north of Las Cruces, and I agree that they're probably the best green. We got about 10 gallons of Portales Green Chilis this year as well, and I'm pretty impressed. Pecos red is fine, as is Mesilla Valley, but I generally stick to the Chimayo red. We order it from a lady in the village.

Funny I should run across this now, as Rebecca is in the kitchen this minute prepping for my assembly of some (Chimayo) red enchiladas topped with over easy eggs for supper.

yum yum!

Since we are talking about the wider variety of things in that general region ...

The Guadalupe Mountains National Park in one of the most underrated parks in the system. There are a lot of good short and long hikes. Also, there is a historical homestead that shows the gardening in the area. Carry water and food with you as the services are very limited.

Carlsbad - The restaurant at the Caverns, run by a concessionaire, has the WORST food that I have ever had in a national park ... and most are not that great.

Tiajuana's, even though it is a chain, has some some pretty good dishes and a great, enthusiastic staff.

Las Cruces is one of my favorite towns although some people told me "it was not worth a stop." BULL. I would strongly recommend a stop at the farmers market downtown on Saturdays which has great food and some great artwork. Also, there is a farming museum that is quite interesting.