My first – and for many years, only – white Christmas was about 500 miles from here, at my grandmother’s house in Artesia, New Mexico. It’s a memory that’s been on my mind recently, because the preliminary forecast for this winter indicates that we might be in for more snow than usual, and because I just went to Green Chile Kitchen, which specializes in bringing the flavors of New Mexico to 12 E Main in Yukon.
Owner Tara Peters’ café is a sister branch to the original – literally. Her brother went to college in Santa Fe, fell in love with the food there and celebrated its flavors by opening Green Chile Kitchen in San Francisco.
And those flavors are worth celebrating. Especially the flat enchiladas, which taste almost exactly like I remember my grandmother’s – a big stack of blue corn tortillas, savory chicken, sour cream and cheese and either red or green salsa, or the seasonally appropriate “Christmas” combination. You should work the red in there, though, because it’s really good, and you’ll have no problem finding green chiles elsewhere on the menu. They’re in the stew, in the fajitas, in the queso (which is frankly outstanding) … even in the dessert. Yes, really: They have green chile apple pie – and it’s delicious, an unexpectedly sweet-and-spicy treat.
It’s cold out there, so a little heat is probably just what your palate ordered. Go get some Southwestern flavor, and may all your Christmases be delicious.