Chile that's over the top: Share New Mexico's love affair with the great Frito pie

Sunset, May, 2002 by Sharon Niederman

Elmer Doolin of San Antonio, Texas, made a successful bid for culinary immortality when he founded the Frito Company in 1932, originally manufacturing his crunchy corn chips in the family kitchen.

But mom did him one better. Sometime during the early 1930s, Daisy Dean Doolin gave in to a curious impulse: She dumped her chile over a bunch of Fritos. It was the invention of the Frito pie, and since Mrs. Doolin's time, generations of Cub Scouts, rodeo attendees, and county fair--goers have accumulated fond memories of this down-home dish. In fact, the state of New Mexico has adopted it as its own, with several eateries churning out some of the best Frito pies you'll find anywhere.

The formula of pie

The most authentic Frito pie, many say, is created when red chile is ladled directly into a small bag of Fritos. That's the way Teresa Hernandez makes the "world famous" Frito pies she serves at the Five and Dime General Store in Santa Fe. Hernandez began working at Woolworth's (now the Five and Dime) on the plaza in 1953, introducing the Frito pie there in the 1960s. Today, the establishment serves more than 56,000 tasty Frito pies a year made with her mother's secret recipe for tangy red chile. She refuses to add any garnishes, maintaining that "the original didn't have lettuce or tomato!" Says Hernandez: "The trick is to get the chile in the bag. But if you love what you're doing, everything will come out good!"

Next to nostalgia, the quality of the red chile is probably the most important ingredient in the Frito pie. At the Diner, a popular stop in Tres Piedras, 30 miles northwest of Taos on U.S. 285, the chile is irresistible.

Owner Barbara Cozart prepares her chile from her own recipe, and she is "very particular" about her ingredients, using only locally grown red chilies from the Espanola Valley. Her version is rich, crimson, and satisfying, with the meat-and-bean-filled chile saturating the crispy Fritos to just the right level of pliability. Built in the early 1940s and the only A.H. Valentine diner still standing in New Mexico, the Diner has its original red stools and mirrored stainless steel counter. Cozart proudly serves her Frito pies in the Diner's vintage bowls.

A slightly updated version of the Frito pie is found at Orlando's New Mexican Cafe in El Prado, a couple of miles north of the Taos plaza via Paseo del Pueblo Norte (State 68). Served in a generous soup bowl, Orlando's Frito pie is a deep-dish wonder consisting of either beef or chicken (your choice), beans, savory red or green chile, and plenty of shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. It's the kind of dish that's impossible to stop eating once you've started.

This family business is among the area's favorite New Mexican restaurants. San Pasqual, the patron saint of the kitchen, presides over a hot pink, tangerine, and lime green interior reminiscent of Mexican folk art. Umbrellas shade a patio packed with lively diners from lunchtime until the stars come out.

Bag New Mexico's Frito pie

Five and Dime General Store.

58 E. San Francisco St. Santa Fe

(505) 992-1800.

The Diner.

U.S. 64 and U.S. 285

Tres Piedras

(505) 758-3441.

Orlando's New Mexican Cafe.

Closed Sun

1114 Don Juan Lane

El Prado

(505) 751-1450.

RELATED ARTICLE: The Diner's Frito Pie with Barbara Cozart's Red Chile

Here's a down-home version of the Southwest classic that's easy and unpretentious and hits the spot--perfect for a meal that's often eaten out of a Frito bag.

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 30 minutes

MAKES: 6 servings

2 pounds ground lean (7% fat) beef

1 tablespoon garlic powder About 1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 can (15 oz.) black beans (optional), rinsed and drained

3 tablespoons ground dried New Mexico chilies or chili powder About 4 1/2 cups Fritos corn chips (15-oz. bag)

6 tablespoons finely chopped onion

1 1/2 cups shredded longhorn cheddar cheese

2 cups finely shredded iceberg lettuce

3/4 cup chopped tomato

1. In a 5- to 6-quart pan over medium-high heat, stir ground beef, garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon salt until beef is crumbly and well browned, 6 to 8 minutes.

2. With a large slotted spoon, push beef mixture to one side of pan and tilt pan so liquid runs to opposite side. Stir flour into liquid until well blended, then mix with beef mixture. Add 2 cups water, black beans if using, and dried chilies; stir until mixture boils and thickens, about 8 minutes.

3. Spread about 3/4 cup Fritos in each of six wide, shallow bowls and sprinkle chopped onion equally on top. Divide chili equally among bowls and top with cheese, lettuce, and tomato. Add more salt to taste.

Per serving: 776 cal., 53% (414 cal.) from fat; 44 g protein; 46 g fat (14 g sat.); 45 g carbo (3.9 g fiber); 1,088 mg sodium; 117 mg chol.--Sara Schneider