• Culinary note: Chile does not refer to the stew that most Texans are fond of claiming as theirs. They can have that stuff. Chile - and this is the correct spelling - refers to the pepper - a vegetable - that is used to flavor most Mexican/New Mexican cooking, either simply chopped up or as a sauce. The New Mexico State Legislature, for lack of anything better to do, has given the state an official State Question (like a State Bird or State Flower). The State Question is, "Red or Green?" This refers to whether you want red chile or green chile sauce on your food. A general rule of thumb to use is that red is usually milder while green is usually hotter. This is not always true, though, so you should always ask the server. The real truth is that red is more consistent in "hotness" while green can vary significantly. You get to be a real addict when you can eat green chile sandwiches.

  Another point to keep in mind is that drinking water is not a particularly effective way of putting out the fire. Iced tea, milk, beer, etc. all work much better.

The Hacienda, El Comedor and Roberto's are among the best of the Mexican/New Mexican restaurants in town. Chope's is also excellent but that's down the valley a ways near where Reta lives. Garduno's is a new place that has opened recently (they have several locations in Albuquerque) that is also very good.

For other restaurants, Lorenzo's has pretty good Italian food and pizza. It's also very convenient to campus and to the Comfort Suites/Sleep Inn complex. There is also a Bennigan's near there.

Cattle Baron is the place to go in town for steaks and the like. They have a pretty good salad bar too. Tatsu is a Japanese restaurant that is quite good and quite expensive (there are rumors of a change in ownership recently so I don't know if this is still true). Mix is a newer Japanese/Korean restaurant that is closer to the university and is probably under the Tatsu umbrella. Lemongrass is a Thai restaurant that is also close to NMSU.