Like most modern conflicts, the rivalry between soft and hard tacos will not end until one side gets eaten by a bear. Broker a culinary truce with today's Groupon: for $10, you get $20 worth of Southwestern fare and drinks at The Green Chile.
Hailed by Northwest Food News for whipping up “big bowls of spicy love”, The Green Chile’s owner Mark Jensen crafts lunch and dinner menus of Southwestern dishes crowned with piquant Hatch green chilies imported from New Mexico. Like epicurean trick-or-treaters, chefs stuff flour tortilla pillowcases with black and pinto beans, stir-fried onions, and bell peppers before grilling each Santa Fe burrito and bartering melted cheese for mango salsa ($8.79 at lunch, $11.29 at dinner). Grilled Hatch chiles fill Mesa quesadillas ($7.95) with signature zing, and a Texas tuna melt ($6.95 at lunch, $8.95 at dinner) moseys into mouths haberdashed in a ten-gallon cheddar and jack cheese hat. Spelunk through the stacked enchiladas’ three strata of corn tortillas to uncover seasoned beef and cheese stalagmites ($9.79 at lunch, $12.29 at dinner), or cozy up with a warm bowl of zesty red chili ($7.95 at lunch, $9.95 at dinner). Top entrees with a combination of The Green Chile's trademark red and green salsas by ordering dishes "Christmas"-style, or keep meals monochromatic with declarations such as "Arbor Day."
The Green Chile
The chefs at The Green Chile want to re-create southwestern Tex-Mex cuisine, even if that means ordering shipments of New Mexico’s signature hatch chilis directly from the source. Although these mild or spicy green peppers appear out of place in Boise, they perfectly complement the restaurant’s burritos, quesadillas, and Southwestern-inspired burgers, adding a distinctive dose of regional flavor to dishes. Even without the chilis, the menu’s recipes continue to draw inspiration from the Southwest. A hearty red chili with diced onions and sour cream takes its cues from Texan cuisine, and the Arizona burrito’s flour tortillas are reminiscent of the state’s acres upon acres of tortilla-filled cacti.