NOPALITO RESTAURANT – Las Cruces, New Mexico
Growing up in rural Northern New Mexico, my siblings and I thought all Mexican food was the same–the way my mom, grandmothers and aunts prepared it (which is to say it was outstanding). At the time New Mexicans hadn’t universally acknowledged that the genesis of our cuisine wasn’t solely Mexico. Back then, only the most savvy culinary historians were crediting Spanish and Native ingredients and preparation techniques as differentiating factors that made New Mexican cuisine unique. It also wasn’t that long ago New Mexicans were spelling our official state vegetable as “chili.” No, that’s not an episode of the Twilight Zone. It’s the way it was just a few decades ago when all three of my sisters matriculated at…