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Monday, May 26, 2008

Things I Like In New Mexico: Sopaipillas

Kids, maybe I just have not found the right place in Austin, but I don't think a good sopaipilla exists there. Hence, when I come to Albuquerque, I have to have a sopaipilla and honey fix from Los Cuates. This fine New Mexican establishment makes sopaipillas as big as your head.


For those not yet initiated, they're basically fried dough, put in oil so hot it causes the dough to puff when cooking (we sometimes call them "sofa pillows" because of their fluffiness). They are delivered to your table with your meal, and the "correct" process for eating them is to poke a little hole in the sopaipilla and drizzle honey throughout. It's not generally a dessert...usually you eat it with your meal. The dough and honey do a good job of sopping up some of the residual heat from your green or red chile. (I have seen horrible crimes against sopaipillas that involved stuffing them with ice cream and covering them with powdered sugar...that's not cool. Simple is best).

In fact, I got curious and checked on Wikipedia...here is what it says about why I can't find a good one just anywhere:

"Thought to have originated in Albuquerque in the late 18th century, sopaipillas are served in nearly every New Mexican-style restaurant, and have spread into other areas where New Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine is served. They are less common in restaurants specializing in other genres of Mexican food such as even in neighboring Arizona and Utah, and are practically unknown in Mexico itself."

Interesting. Lesson: if you are passing through, stop and have one with your green or red chile. In the meantime, if any Austinites know of a good place for sopaipillas around town, let me know. If it passes the test your next one's on me.

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