On a road trip through New Mexico years ago I remember stopping in a McDonalds and being surprised that they
actually served hot sauce with their burgers. What I learned is that New Mexicans LOVE their spicy food. Which is
great, because I am a spicy food addict myself.
So it is no surpise that one of the more popular pepper festivals in the country takes place in the state. The
Hatch Chile Festival takes place September 2-3 in the sleepy town of
Hatch, New Mexico. Never heard of it? Well, there’s not much happening there except for the festival. But maybe that’s
enough, eh? The festival is pretty standard fare for chile celebrations. There is a chile cook-off, chile roasting, a
chile pod competition, carnival rides and fiddling contests. And if you’re really lucky, you can catch the coronation
of the Chile Queen.
If you want to read more, the LA Times
has a good piece on the
festival, or you can go to the festival’s main site.