September 16 and 17, 2014 Las Cruces, New Mexico Dinner Cha Chi’s and Lunch Giro’s

On Wednesday I went to Anatolia Restaurant for lunch with Aaron and we both ordered the Daily Special of Chicken Donar, a plate with rice on one side and salad on the other.  The salad was garnished with caramelized red onions sprinkled with sumac and a layer of chicken Donar, chopped marinated and grilled chicken, lay on the rice.  A small plastic cup of Tzatziki (cicak) and a grilled sliced piece of pita bread were also served on the plate.  After lunch a plate with small pieces of baklava were served for dessert ($6.99). Aaron wanted to try the falafels, so we ordered an appetizer of four ($5.75), 

Chicken Donar and a falafel with hummus dipping sauce

After lunch I drove to Las Cruces to the Radium Hot Springs Hotel that Scott is renovating.

We went to his and my favorite restaurant near Radium Hot Springs, Cha Chi’s  Mexican Restaurant in Dona Ana.  It receives 5 stars with 100% likes in Urban Spoon and is a superb restaurant.  Since it is September and the height of the green chili harvest, I ordered a chili rellenos plate, hoping to get fresh green chilis.  I was not disappointed.  I was served two of the largest green chili rellenos, I have ever seen approximately 11 to 12 inches long in a soft whipped egg batter and sautéed to perfection filled with a light cheese sauce and covered with a light green chili sauce; perhaps the one they serve as a complimentary condiment with a red sauce for tostadas on the table.  The refried beans were also excellent; creamy, yet full of pieces of whole bean, as if they had been creamed and some whole beans crushed and added back after the refried beans had been prepared.  I loved the dish and consider it the best chili rellenos, I have ever had($8.70).  Scott ordered his usual sirloin steak and enchiladas and his new tenant Marlena, who is a vegan, ordered vegetarian fajitas without cheese and a guacamole salad, which turned out amazingly well, with lots of sautéed mushrooms, as she requested.  I highly recommend Cha Chi’s for Mexican food.

We began Wednesday with a soak in the Radium Hot Springs’ hot radium water pool and made a patty sausage and fried egg breakfast, before dressing and driving to court at 11:00.   At lunch Sammie Singh and Scott and I walked across the street to Giro’s Mexican Restaurant, which impresses me as a down home neighborhood New Mexican restaurant, probably catering to the Courthouse crowd.  I ordered chili rellenos again, but this time got what Sammie described as Gringo style rellenos.  The chili had not been properly roasted and still had lots of skin on them, which caused the batter to not adhere well, the batter was thin perhaps because the egg whites had not been whipped separately, and the chilis were not stuffed with cheese or cheese sauce.  Instead Giro’s smothered the chili with a relatively hot green chili sauce and lots of cheese, which I removed because it interfered with the flavor of the chili; a relatively unpleasant experience, except for the relatively hot green chili sauce.  Perhaps that is why the other diners looked at us slightly askance as we walked in, as if to say, "Are you guys ready for this hot chili experience".  The answer was yes, but the preparation could have been better.  Scott and Sammie both ordered combination plates, Sammie’s plate had a steak taco, an enchilada and a chili relleno; Scott’s had a piece of steak, an enchilada and a steak taco, I think. We all ate to our fill and the chili rellenos powered me through the long afternoon session of court from 1:30 to 4:00 and all the way home.  Here is a picture of Giro’s menudo, which the menu advertises as "The Best in Las Cruces":

 Again it was interesting but ultimately disappointing, the stock was well made and flavorful with nice bite sized chunks of menudo (tripe) but the stock could not hide the obvious taste of canned hominy (posole), instead of homemade.

After court and a couple of conferences with other claimants and counsel, we returned to Radium Spring Hotel and I gathered up my personal effects and I set a new personal best record drive from Radium Hots Springs Hotel to Albuquerque of three hours and ten minutes, arriving home at 8:15.  

Suzette had eaten, so I made simple dinner of onion, tomato and cucumber salad mixed with a couple of heaping tablespoons of Chobani Greek yogurt in an effort to continue my new interest in eating more vegetarian (or should I say my new chili rellenos) diet and try to lose some weight.   I like chili rellenos because they are spicy, filling and have lots of vitamin C, which seems to have a beneficial effect on my respiratory system.  

Bon Appétit