CHILES ABOUND AT MESILLA SHOP An Old Mesilla restaurant opens a chile shop, the perfect fix for chilehead tourists.
If you've a passion for peppers, then blaze a trail to the hottest spot in Old Mesilla - the chile shop located inside the 200-year-old adobe building that houses La Posta restaurant. The small chamber contains a mesmerizing gaggle of chile paraphernalia. The hot pod dangles from ceilings, crowds shelves, countertops and floor space, and embellishes apparel, cookbook covers, tiles, kitchenware, jars, pouches, posters, puzzles, ceramics, tin retablos and more.
About a year after Jerean Camuñez Hutchinson and husband Thomas "Hutch" assumed the La Posta family business in 1996, Jerean decided that she wanted something to call "mine. I love chile and a chile shop was the answer," she says, gesturing proudly toward the cozy room that once served as storage area.
What distinguishes this chile shop is that nearly 70 percent of the products "are from New Mexico and a good percentage are from right here in Las Cruces and Mesilla," Jerean says, who selected the items by "researching all the little towns. Chile had to be either in the product or on it." Local artists such as Mary Jane Carson, Linda Klein, Shelley Fritz, Jenny Carver, Beverly Chavez Floyd, and Ginny Chenowith showcase and sell their chile theme creations.
The chile shop is also the ultimate source of fiery fare for tingeing taste buds. Chile-powered packaged and canned eats are provided by locals Kathy Fesler (Chile Ranch) and Lisa Asel (Ol' Gringo). Other goodies include a passel of sweet heats such as chocolate chile almonds (a few of which I popped as Jerean and I chatted), and snacks such as chile combative peanuts, pretzels and pecans (New Mexican Pecan Co.), salsas, chile bread, stew, and mixes. Plans are underway to bottle and sell La Posta's own zippy salsa.
Once your eyes have feasted on the palatable offerings, prepare yourself for the "Wall of Flame," an awesome collection of more than 100 exotic hot sauces that peek devilishly from a 7-ft. freestanding rack. "New Mexicans prefer their chile fresh but people like Easterners, who have trouble finding fresh chile, resort to the sauces," explains Jerean. "I should warn, some of the brands have names that might be inappropriate for young people [or folks who don't appreciate bawdy humor]."
Take for example the Pepper Girl Brand. One slick label, Bad Girls in Heat, is etched with two voluptuous women posing seductively in a desert setting. Another brand is Scorned Woman - Don't Get Mad, Get Even. Other designates include Heine-Hurtin' Hot Sauce, and the Ultimate Burn whose hallmark is a bikini clad woman. Hold the bottle long enough and the swimming top vanishes baring what's underneath. But most brand names aren't so outlandish. Marie Sharp's Habanero is a popular sauce, says Jerean. "It has more flavor than heat. There are so many products out there that compete to be the hottest. Why, they're so hot, you can't even taste it."
Chile items can be gift-wrapped or slipped into one of the paper sacks festooned with chiles, nimbly hand brushed by Jerean and staff. Shop hours are daily, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. For more information, call 524-3524.
The chile shop isn't the hottest news from La Posta, however. The restaurant, famed for its century-old family recipes, is expanding and adding some savory additions to the drink menu. I'll soon highlight the history and happenings of La Posta, which will celebrate its 60th year in '99.
CHILE NEWS
And speaking of La Posta...the restaurant served as the initial meeting place on May 22, 1973 for the founders of the International Connoisseurs of Green and Red Chile - 26 local chile lovers with an interest to start "a fun society with a serious purpose." Headed by former NMSU president, Dr. Gerald W. Thomas helped draft the statement of purpose: "We want to bring together in this society those who plant and grow chile, those who process and distribute it; those who do research to make it better, the people who cook it and those who enjoy it. We think we can do this and have fun in the process." Members included such celebrities as Bob Hope, Vickie Carr, Paul Harvey, Lawrence Welk and others. After an extended hiatus, the Connoisseurs, now headquartered at the NMSU Alumni Office, are back in full swing with a newsletter and hot recipes. More on this topic later. If you can't wait, contact the group's executive secretary, Debbie Widger, at 646-4034.
A Pod-Pourri of upcoming columns:
- We're aware of the horror stories that describe the relationships of in-laws. Well, they've just gotten horrifically hotter. Two native New Mexicans, a mother-in-law and a son-in-law, entered the New Mexico Wine and Chile War. They both placed - one first, the other second - but the battle continues - "Mine's better than yours." I'm staying out of this one. You be the judge!
- Full coverage of the Hatch Chile Festival, plus hot pod recipes.
- An interview with Albuquerque-based Dave DeWitt, world-renowned publisher of Fiery Foods Magazine (www.fiery-foods.com).
- Meet Santa Fean Ana Pacheco, publisher of La Herencia Del Norte, a magazine dedicated to the preservation of New Mexico's Hispanic culture.
- Ristra making with a native New Mexican.
