Roswell Cuisine Scene Is Coming in Hot (and Spicy!)

In Roswell and Chaves County, the chile pepper is king, and it pairs well with just about anything, including cheeseburgers!

By Kathy Bradshaw on December 9, 2023

Jeffrey S. Otto

New Mexican cuisine is spicy and flavorful. It’s diverse. Its saucy. It’s homegrown and made from scratch. And it takes center stage in the Roswell cuisine scene.

As a former region of Mexico from 1821 to 1850, New Mexico has adopted many Mexican influences and dishes, while still maintaining its own distinct flavors. 

“It’s a different form of Mexican food – a cross between Native American cooking and Mexican,” says Martin “Marty” Torrez, owner of Martin’s Capitol Café in Roswell. 

One thing that sets New Mexican cuisine apart is its abundant use of the chile (yes, with an e) pepper. In 2022, the state grew an estimated 53,000 tons of chiles – nearly the weight of the Titanic. Chiles are so ingrained in New Mexican cuisine that the pleasantly pungent odor of green chiles roasting is considered the “official state aroma.” 

Roswell Cuisine Scene: Red, Green and Delicious 

Both red and green chiles are used in New Mexican cooking, and each variety has a very different flavor. Torrez explains that they’re both fruit from the same plant, and green chiles are simply an unripe version of the same pepper. 

Chiles turn bright red and dry out as they ripen, a method commonly done by tying them on ropes or wires called ristras – that iconic image you see emblazoned across cookbooks and postcards – and hanging them out to dry. 

Traditionally, chiles were sun-dried on hot tin roofs, Torrez says, though nowadays, the ripening process usually occurs in an oven. But before red chiles are good enough to eat, they must be rehydrated again, normally by steeping or boiling. 

The debate of red vs. green chile is as heated as cat vs. dog. In fact, New Mexico is the first and only state to designate an official state question: Red or green? 

Naturally, this refers not to the best color of M&Ms or an important distinction in traffic light status, but one’s preference of chile pepper. You’ll frequently hear it asked in both restaurants and private kitchens. And any restaurant worth its rellenos is going to serve both – a red and green combo aptly known as “Christmas” by locals. 

Where to Get Your Chile Fix 

“There are a million different ways to cook chiles,” Torrez says. At his Martin’s Capitol Café, you can get chile on eggs. On chicken fried steak. On a biscuit sandwich. In a stew. Or in Torrez’s favorite dishes: the chile rellenos, asado enchilada and green chile cheeseburger (for which he’s won awards). 

The spicy green chile cheeseburger is the hottest thing going in New Mexico – so much so that you can even get one at the local McDonald’s. 

Adam Roe, owner of Roswell restaurant Peppers Grill & Bar, agrees. Visitors know they need to try a green chile cheeseburger, he says. “They’re kind of the thing.” 

Like Martin’s Capitol Café, Pepper’s makes use of chile in all its many forms. He knows that some like it hot, but some don’t. So, Pepper’s offers sauces ranging in spiciness – a feat that takes a bit of culinary magic. It can be challenging to tame the unpredictable beast that is the chile. 

“Chiles vary in heat. One week, they’re mild. And the next, they’re hot,” he says. “There’s really no way to tell until you cut into one and eat it.” 

Need a few additional places to enjoy delicious local eats? Turn up the heat at Cowboy Café, a rustic breakfast and lunch diner in Roswell. At the La Escondida Café, the breakfast burrito and steak picado are popular. Follow up your chile cheeseburger with ice cream at Yoly’s. Try the chile rellenos at Antigua Cocina Mexicana, or order from Los Cerritos Mexican Kitchen and take it home to Netflix and chile. 

Both Torrez and Roe source their chiles locally in Chaves County as often as they can. 

According to Roe, locals returning from trips out of town miss New Mexican food so much that they often stop by Pepper’s directly from the airport. “They’re craving this style of food and wouldn’t try it anywhere else but in Roswell,” he says. “It’s addictive. They want to get their green chile fix.”