Perhaps because I was away from the Land of Enchantment for much of my Air Force career, one of my favorite bloggers has long been Lisa Fain, the James Beard award-winning “Homesick Texan.” Like me, Lisa longed for home during the two decades she lived in New York City. Like me, Lisa returned to her home state, the call of family, friends, bluebonnets, and Tex-Mex luring her back. Also like me, Lisa is fiercely proud of the cuisine of the state she calls home. Much of the enjoyment I derive in reading about her favorite foods is in noting the (sometimes vast) differences in foods just across the border. Take for example cheese enchiladas which she calls “the essence of Tex-Mex.”
She describes them as “a plate of rolled corn tortillas stuffed with orange, oozing cheese, floating in puddles of brown-chili gravy. Yes, that kind of cheese enchilada. The Tex-Mex kind.” What makes Tex-Mex cheese enchiladas so special to her is the chili gravy which Lisa describes as “a mash-up between flour-based gravy and Mexican chile sauce. It’s a smooth and silky substance, redolent with earthy cumin, smoky chiles and pungent garlic. It’s not fiery, as it was originally created by Anglos, but it does have flavor. And there’s no meat in chili gravy—it’s just fat, flour, chicken broth and spices.”
At the very least, many New Mexicans would find the notion of chili gravy absurd, at most repellent. During her time in Austin, Albuquerque Academy and UT-Austin graduate Carmen Rising admits to having experienced a “Tex-Mexistential crisis.” In her quest to find “real” Mexican food in Texas, she encountered the “chili gravy” of which Lisa Fain is so fond: “Next up were chicken enchiladas that came with a list of sauce options including neither red nor green chile, but instead a list of confounding toppings such as sour cream, verde cream sauce, chipotle, and queso (such additions to main dishes would be blasphemy on any New Mexican menu). There was no Spanish rice and, to my horror, no option for blue corn tortillas. Instead came enchiladas covered in mildly spiced queso, fajita-style chicken (instead of shredded), and no fresh, complimentary sopapillas dripping with honey. Uh, seriously?”
It should come as no surprise that enchiladas would engender such a difference of opinion. After all, tastes and preferences vary. It’s been that way from the very beginning for the not-so-humble dish whose very name translates from Spanish to “covered in chile.” Not surprisingly, enchiladas have their genesis in Mexico or more specifically the Aztec capital Tenochtitlán. In chronicling the history of the conquest of “New Spain,” Spanish conquistador Bernal Díaz del Castillo provided vivid descriptions of the great feasts served at Montezuma’s court. Among the lavish spreads he described was what is thought to be the earliest description of enchiladas in European literature.
“Two … young women of great beauty brought the monarch tortillas, as white as snow, cooked with eggs and other nourishing ingredients, on plates covered with clean napkins.” In Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs the dish was called chīllapīzzali (literally ‘chilli-flute’), suggesting its most distinctive ingredient was the chile pepper. Chiles were ground up to produce a spicy paste, into which tortillas were dipped, then filled with beans, squash, fish, game, or eggs. Another Spanish historian described some of the chile-based sauces as “terrifyingly hot.”
While the Spanish forces under Hernán Cortés seized Tenochtitlán and systematically destroyed much of the rich Aztec culture, the conquistadors were content to appropriate much of its cuisine – including enchiladas. Spaniards added new ingredients including cheese, pork and chicken. Spicy sauces replaced chili paste. By 1821, when Mexico gained its independence from Spain, enchiladas were the closest thing the new country had to a “national’ dish.” Later when the United States annexed Texas, California and much of what is presently the Southwest, Mexican dishes–among them enchiladas–found a place in American culture.
Enchiladas are now a global phenomena, available in Berlin, Tokyo, Melbourne and even Moscow. Okay, so that’s Moscow, Idaho but given a month, my friend Howie “the Duke of the Duke City” Kaibel, Community Director for Yelp, would have Muscovites posting about their favorite enchiladas in Russia. With all its permutations and variations throughout the planet, the Aztecs of Tenocyhtitlán would probably be challenged to recognize the dish they held sacred. The scions of Montezuma would especially probably not approve of the “Americanization” of enchiladas with all our calorific cheeses and creams.
We weren’t quite sure what to expect when we set off for our initial visit to The Whole Enchilada, a Mexican restaurant that launched on November 7th in the Corrales Shopping Center. The Whole Enchilada’s Facebook page promised “Authentic Old Mexico cuisine with flavors of Mexican origin,” but Mexico is such a broad and diverse nation that those terms can’t pigeonhole a cuisine. Perusing the menu gave us hope that this restaurant might just be a little bit different…more exciting and varied. That menu lists steak, seafood, “Mexican favorites” such as a beef birria burrito, specialties of the house such as enchiladas Suizas and “Chef’s choice” options such as a Mexican broil. Despite the restaurant’s name, there are only two types of enchiladas on the menu.
26 March 2021: In addition to not knowing what to expect from a menu cutting such a broad swath, we weren’t sure how the items we ordered would hold up after a 20-minute trek (potentially much longer if we cut through Corrales). We figured we’d probably be cursing the most recent shelter-in-place “reset,” especially with items intended to be served hot. We knew the salsa and chips would hold up well in transit and they did. The salsa is incendiary–even for this volcano-eater. My Kim dipped one chip into the fiery stuff and her eyes watered as she coughed and sputtered profanities at me for not warning her. During a return visit in March, 2021 with my friend Tom “Sultan of Simile” Molitor, we were feted not only with salsa but with a queso dip. Perhaps in deference to guests who aren’t as tolerant of piquancy, the salsa seemed somewhat subdued and the queso lacked bite altogether. In any case, we enjoyed the fresh, housemade chips served warm.
28 November 2020: We also figured the tostadas de ceviche would arrive home fresh and flavorful though we also had to wonder how they’d be packed for us. A generous plating of ceviche (chopped shrimp cooked in lemon with onion, tomato, cilantro, Serrano peppers served cold) was deposited in a Styrofoam container designed to prevent spillage and keep our food fresh. The tostadas were placed in a separate container, meaning we’d have to construct our own at home. Alas, our trip damaged most of the tostadas so we used the broken shards in a manner similar to scooping up salsa. No harm done.
28 November 2020: One of Pati Jinich’s (the ebullient host of the James Beard Award-winning and Emmy nominated PBS series Pati’s Mexican Table) favorite food memories is sneaking off to Sanborn’s grocery store in Mexico City with her dad. There she’d always eat their famous dish, Enchiladas Suizas (literally Swiss-style enchiladas). The Whole Enchilada’s version features four hand-rolled chicken enchiladas in a house tomatillo sauce topped with melted Swiss cheese. We liked the dish, but in all fairness, would probably have loved it fresh out of the oven. Our commute didn’t do it any favors (drying it up somewhat), but it did increase our resolve to visit The Whole Enchilada and have the dish again one the world resumes a state of normalcy.
28 November 2020: Similarly, our commute wasn’t kind to the churros con cajeta, one of four desserts on the menu. More precisely, our trip back home dried up the churros. In our minds we could extrapolate their soft, but slightly crispy texture when freshly prepared. We have that to look forward to. The cajeta (thickened caramel usually made of sweetened caramelized goat’s milk) was outstanding, so good we would have loved a pint or so to lap up. This is a dessert we’ll return for, probably many times. That cajeta is a wonder.
26 March 2021: To a sommelier like Tom Molitor, the senses of taste and smell are of primal importance. Born with a heightened responsiveness to these senses, sommeliers are attuned to nuances of aromas and flavors many of us can’t discern. That’s one of the reasons I enjoy dining with Tom so much, especially when the experience entails introducing him to something he’d never had before. During our visit to Whole Enchilada, Tom finally had the opportunity to enjoy beef birria mulitas (three fried tacos dipped in chile and stuffed with a melted white Mexican cheese and birria served with rice and beans).
For about three years, birria–slow-cooked beef as tender and fall-apart moist and delicious as any meat you’ve ever had–has been one of the most popular fads in the foodie community (perhaps not as much in New Mexico which sometimes tends to be behind the times). Though Tom didn’t have a frame of reference for what birria should taste like, he instantly discerned the tenderness of the beef, dipping the tacos into the accompanying consommé. Alas, because the consommé was somewhat lacking in the aromatics and seasonings that sometimes characterize birria, he wasn’t challenged with the opportunity to discern those aromatics and spices. He did appreciate the fluffiness of the rice which was studded with corn niblets and liked the refried beans very much.
26 March 2021: It’s not only proponents of the Paleo diet who enjoy the bone marrow trend that’s swept across North America for several years now. Roasted bone marrow has been consumed by humankind for as long as we’ve inhabited this planet. Though composed almost entirely (97%) of fat, bone marrow contains stem cells which produce white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets, which in turn help fight infections, help carry oxygen throughout the body and help with blood clotting. So there! Moreover, bone marrow is delicious.
During our inaugural visit to Whole Enchilada, we were warned not to order Tuetano tacos (charbroiled bone marrow served with ezquite, rice and beans) because the marrow would likely “melt” by the time we got it home. During our sit-in meal, Pancho Villa’s ragtag army couldn’t have prevented me from ordering it. Two large bones split down the middle and burbling with unctuous marrow were presented beautifully along with two corn tortillas. Despite the Flintstonian size of the bones, there just isn’t much marrow to extricate so we had to rely on white onions, cilantro and a fiery chile paste to give the tacos some substance though they did take away from the flavor of the marrow somewhat. Delightful accompaniment in the form of elote (roasted corn scraped off the cob slathered with chile and Cojita cheese) was a highlight.
15 May 2022: The 1983 movie Trading Places may have been the first time many of us learned about pork bellies in the commodities market. Don Ameche as the condescending Mortimer Duke explained to Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy), a subject of a social experiment conducted by the manipulative Duke Brothers: “Commodities are agricultural products. Like coffee, that you had for breakfast, … wheat, which is used to make bread, … pork bellies, which is used to make bacon – which you might find in a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich! Later when Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Ackroyd) conspires with Valentine to avenge being wronged by the Duke Brothers, he exalts: “I have a hunch something very exciting is going to happen in the pork belly market this morning.”
Order the pork belly tacos (three sous vide pork belly tacos on corn tortillas topped with an apple jalapeno slaw and chipotle apple glaze sauce with a side of esquite) at Whole Enchilada and that excitement will visit your table. The sous vide pork belly is magnificent with a nice balance of fatty and meaty pork. There’s nary a hint of bark on the pork nor is it smoky, but it’s porcine candy nonetheless. The influence of sweet-tart apples is a nice counterbalance to the piquant jalapenos and chipotle glaze. If you’re not a fan of slaw that’s mostly cabbage and mayo, you might appreciate that there isn’t much to this “slaw” other than red onions and apple slices. Bravo Whole Enchilada! These tacos are superb!
15 May 2022: Columnist and author Gustavo Arellano has a unique perspective on eating fajitas: “Eating a fajita is like eating a living, breathing organism – you can feel the burrito’s ingredients sigh inside with each bite, each squeeze.” Good fajitas should elicit audible sighs of delight as you enjoy them. Great fajitas should elicit involuntary salivation when you reflect on your experience eating them. Whole Enchilada’s fajitas approach only good. They’re composed of the usual suspects–beef, flour tortillas, onions with sour cream and guacamole–but a plume of fragrant steam didn’t precede their delivery to your table. That’s a biggie. Worse, they were lukewarm when we dug into them. Sure they were delicious, but fajitas should put on a show and they should always be hot enough.
15 May 2022: In 2017, Gustavo Arellano lamented “most conchas suck.” He’s probably got much more experience with conchas than I do, but most of the conchas we’ve had in New Mexico’s Mexican bakeries and restaurants are actually quite good. Some are actually memorable. Among them are the conchas with ice cream at Whole Enchilada. A fluffy concha is sliced in half and in sandwich-like fashion, ice cream drizzled with caramel and sprinkled with walnuts is nestled atop the bottom half. It’s a unique and delicious way to enjoy conchas.
After our first visit, I debated whether or not to even publish this review considering the take-out experience was certainly not representative of what our experience would have been had we dined on the premises. In the end, I figured if we (mostly) enjoyed our meal despite the situation, how much better would it be once we’re able to have a more leisurely in-place experience. During my second visit, I did discover just how much better the Whole Enchilada is when we were able to sit down for a leisurely meal inside the restaurant.
The Whole Enchilada
10701 Corrales Road, N.W., #25
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(505) 897-5933
Website | Facebook Page
LATEST VISIT: 15 May 2022
1st VISIT: 28 November 2020
# OF VISITS: 3
RATING: 21
COST: $$
BEST BET: Churros Con Cajeta, Tostadas de Ceviche, Enchiladas Suisas, Salsa and Chips, Tuétano Tacos, Beef Birria Mulas, Agua Fresca De Melon, Pork Belly Tacos, Fajitas, Conchas with Ice Cream
REVIEW #1193
Does their chili gravy have a kiss of cumin, or are the owners bonafide cuministas?
Our server indicated cumin is used on many of the restaurant’s dishes. Not on anything I’ve ordered so far…
It was an honor to share a Comida Mexicana De Origen meal with you, sir. I was always confused by the difference between Birria and Barbacoa. Although we call the dish or type of tacos “barbacoa”, in reality, that word is a cooking method. In Mexico they make a big hole in the earth, heat stones to high temperatures, put them at the bottom, and introduce the meat wrapped in banana leaves or “pencas” from maguey.
The primary reason for the common confusion between birria vs barbacoa is because of birria is a product of barbacoa. Birria is made by submerging barbacoa in a sauce that is prepared with the meat in the hole. This dish is often prepared with sheep meat, but in the north of Mexico beef is used, and in other states, they use goat meat. It really depends on the part of Mexico that you are in as birria has a lot of variety.
I liked my Birria Mulitas very much. I would like to try it as a soup next which Whole Enchilada offers as well. By the way, the dish is often served at celebratory occasions, such as weddings and baptisms, and holidays, such as Christmas and Easter. Easter is next week so everyone get in to Whole Enchilada and celebrate!
Tom, I was hoping you’d give the beans the sage sommelier treatment: “The terroir at which these beans were grown is rich with fecund soil, a moderate climate and a topography that facilitates irrigation. When cultivated, the beans were stored in burlap bags redolent with nuances of hydrocarbons and vegetal tones which suggest earthiness. The beans have a fresh fruit-forward flavor that impresses itself on the palate and lingers on the nostrils.”
Sorry, I just don’t have the lingo down pat. I need to drink more wine.
Mot juste my friend, I think you are a natural at picking just the right sensory words. Actually, I did love the texture and freshness of the refried beans and the corn-studded rice was fluffy and delicious. Delicious, too, was agua fresca de melon (which was cantaloupe, my favorite fresca). I will return.
Tom, thanks for the information on birria. I wasn’t going to comment because I’ve never tried it and it hasn’t been generally available in my area of “the tundra”. Then, I remembered a recent article from “Eater” that addressed its increasing popularity in the New York City area and I re-read it. Apparently, most of the birria is made with beef but it was noted that oxtail is also popular with lamb making an occasional appearance. The author did lament the lack of goat-based birria.
I only knew about birria from Gil’s occasional mention of it but I pretty much ignored looking into it because I had a preconceived notion that it was likely well-laced with cumin which I absolutely loathe. Knowing that Gil has similar feelings about cumin, I should have known better but the thought of goat – or lamb- also deterred any further research even though it looks delicious. I especially like the fact that the tacos are dipped in the chile before being loaded with meat and cheese. Based upon the endorsement of both you and Gil, maybe one of these days I’ll get back to New Mexico and try it at The Whole Enchilada, find it locally (I’m sure as heck not going to NYC any time soon), or work up the energy to make my own.
Becky, evidently birria originates from the state of Jalisco. The dish is a meat stew traditionally made from goat meat, but occasionally made from beef or mutton. Do you have an opinion regarding goat meat dishes? We seem to see beef always substituted for goat meat in traditional Mexican cuisine here in America. Are Americans not into goat meat? Have you done any research on this? Moreover, duck and rabbit dishes are few and far between in America much to my chagrin.
Tom, I personally don’t like goat – or mutton or lamb – any more than I like cumin. It mostly comes under the heading of “I don’t care for the flavor” and probably relates to what I ate growing up. Given the ready availability of beef and pork in the U.S., goat and the other meats just haven’t caught on here. Americans can afford to be a bit squeamish when it comes to eating food that comes under the heading of devouring animals from the petting zoo like Mary’s little lamb or the Easter bunny. The same holds true for horsemeat which I’m told is still popular in France. With that said, there are some regional festivals dedicated to goat such as the World Championship BBQ Goat Cook-Off in Brady, Texas that I discovered when I was writing my book on food festivals. I think there’s still some kind of goat festival in California that might interest you next time you’re in that area.
Becky, excuse my ignorance but the thought occurred to me that the tradition of goat in Mexico is a matter of economics? Goat cheaper to raise than cow or pig? Don’t know. Separately, the only animal you didn’t address is duck. You like duck? Duck is such a stable in Asian countries I wonder if it only makes an appearance in the US where there’s an Asian community? I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area so duck was readily extant in places like Chinatown. I love Duck Confit and it’s nearly impossible to find here in New Mexico. Maybe if someone did a green or red chile version it would sell? 😄
Hi Tom: Sorry for the delayed response. From what I gather, goat meat is more widely consumed than beef worldwide based on economics (it’s cheaper to raise) and religion (pork or beef is often prohibited).Then there’s taste preference – for example, Americans just don’t care for the stronger taste.
So about duck – I used to eat it until I had the great good fortune to be “adopted” by a pair of wild ducks that I named Mama and Papa. They came every summer for almost ten years and Mama would announce their arrival by standing outside my office window and quacking loudly until I came outside and fed them sunflower seeds. She hatched her eggs in planters I had on my dock and when the babies were old enough, proudly marched them up to visit. Of course, Mama and Papa got older and then one year, they didn’t return.
Here in New York, we always had domesticated Long Island duckling pretty much available but it’s popularity has waned – along with the duck farms themselves. Crescent Duck Farm seems to be the only remaining business of its kind on Long Island.
I see that duck confit can be ordered from D’Artagnan online and they feature a recipe for a bahn mi made with duck confit that looks pretty good.
Someone named Ken Miura noted the decreased popularity of duck can be attributed to the following: 1. We have no national holidays for eating duck, so no one thinks about it. 2. We see it constantly in Chinese markets, cooked with the head still on. Most people don’t like their food to stare back at them. 3. Very fatty. Although this doesn’t stop them from eating big macs, when they see how much fat gushes out of a cooking duck, they worry about their health. 4. It’s sometimes gamey. Americans like their flavors to be mild.
becky, I guess it’s cultural. European conquest of America was driven by British invasion. You don’t see duck being served on the Downton Abbey series, do you? Rabbit is a cultural menu occurrence in France, so perhaps, rabbit is more common in Quebec than in the US?
I would rather have a duck staring back at me than a Big Mac. Yes, you are right, Americans like mild. They only like strong in their military.
Given there is no “Reply button” for Tom’s query of “You don’t see duck being served on the Downton Abbey series, do you?” of 4/6:
Blimey! Downton Abbey, let alone the Titanic (built in the UK and launched from Southhampton), reportedly served a bit of Duck as recounted herein!
[Lest those links (embedded in ‘Downton Abbey’ and ‘herein’ don’t work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7ULKKJ5UpI & https://downtonabbeycooks.com/?s=duck]
I was wondering if this location is related to one on San Mateo that has closed according to Yelp.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/whole-enchilada-albuquerque
It could well be related, Bruce. In the short conversation I had with the one of the owners, she indicated her husband is from Michoacan and the Whole Enchilada restaurant that closed purported to serve Michoacan food.
Gil, your timing is spot on. I just noticed the signage change this morning (from the Greek restaurant to Whole Enchilada). As soon as I got home I looked them up and made the same mental note you did when I found the menu. Only 2 enchiladas with that name! Will probably check them out soon as Soozi is a big fan of the Enchiladas Suizas – her “absolute favorites” were from Casa de Pico in old town in San Diego (In La Mesa now since 2005).
We will probably order them and eat in the car so as to maximize the take-out experience.
https://www.casadepico.com/