The Fork: Ode to An Allsup’s Chimi

A co-worker recently acquired the piece you’ll see in this week’s header image—a glorious work from New Mexico artist Nico Salazar (whom, you may recall, also did some cover art for SFR’s 2017 Best of Santa Fe issue) that just about captures New Mexico’s love for the noble Allsup’s chimichanga in a way that is, shall we say, beautiful.

Who among us, after all, hasn’t wound up stoned and/or drunk at, like, 1 in the morning, famished and scared? Who among us hasn’t gotten so totally fucking wrecked that all we could do was stumble ever forward and long for something savory and greasy, knowing deep down the last time you could get a hot plate of food in a sit down restaurant in Santa Fe past 9:30 pm was in the halcyon days of the Atomic (RIP Atomic)?

What does one do...?

Where does one go...?

Where has the time gone...?

We know that we try to remember that kind of September when we were stoned and oh, so mellow; and when we turned to our idiot buddy and said, “Oh, man, we gotta get that chimichanga, man! If we don’t, we’ll DIE!”

You read that right, Fork-Frenz, we love the Allsup’s chimichanga, which is why we love our co-worker’s new art piece. We look at it and think of times we got so drunk we could only walk to the gas station and slur a bunch of words like, “Chimishhh and ciggiesshhhhh, pleasssssshh.” We look at it and think that Salazar loves New Mexico in the same way we do. We know that he, too, has scored a chimi and sat on the curb, demolished it and felt no guilt whatsoever.

What’s that, some of you who think you’re foodies because you’ve had pasta a couple of freaking times? You’ve never had one? A pox upon thy house! To paraphrase what Frasier’s dad Martin said about Frasier’s mom Esther, you can hit the opera and eat fine, upscale food all you want, but it’s cool to have a hot dog now and again. And why not a chimi—their outer shells, a masterclass in deep fried crispy goodness, and their gooey, melty cheese inside, nestled in and around shredded beef that just drips with goodness? That first bite, like a crispy and heavenly invitation to the softer foodstuff within; that glorious knowledge that even though you’d just ripped the nuttiest bong rip of all bong rips, you still had the mental fortitude and foresight to get two of them.

You’d get a Dr. Pepper, too, because you could and because it was smart. You’d go wild on chimis and colas like time had stopped, like the blood had just been flying through your veins (which is also a Frasier line).

Which is to say that we get it. We get the Nico Salazar piece. It’s Santa Fe as hell. It’s New Mexico as hell. Even though Allsup’s might be one of the weirder places on Earth, it can be a little slice of heaven. Proceed with caution, though, because those bad boys are addictive.

Oh, and by the way, if you wanna make the same chimis at home, click this link. Where does it take you, you’d like to know before you click? Well, it’s to an Amazon link. An Amazon link to the very same Windsor Posada chimis they serve at Allsup’s. Oh, you likely won’t be able to hit the same level as the very nice people who work at Allsup’s (seriously, shoutout to the Guadalupe Street/Cerrillos Road crew for always being so kind!), but you’ll at least be doing something. Besides, bet you didn’t know that’s who supplied ‘em.

Excelsior!

Oh, and if you wanna see more work from Nico Salazar, visit futurefantasydelight.com.

The song that plays in our heads when it’s chimi time.

Also

-Sounds like Santa Fe’s Fusion Tacos is opening a storefront at the Cottonwood Mall in Albuquerque. Nice! We don’t know about you, but we think Fusion is so tight. A staffer here loved their brekkie b, too. And before anyone gets all weird about it, know that this is a good thing because food’s all about sharing.

-Hey, buds who’ve been asking us about Arable—check this out: According to Eldorado Living Magazine, Arable is set to reopen real soon under the watchful eye of chef Philip Castaneda. For those of you keeping track at home, Arable changed hands earlier in the year and has been closed since July, but things are looking up, including an expanded seating area, which we guess is really more like looking outward?

-Gruet Winery is running a fall special on cases in the aptly named the Gruet Case Shipping Special. What does that mean for you, a fan of wines and such—an oenophile, as it were? Well, it means that shipping on any cases run a flat $20. Even better, Gruet has a wine club you can join, which comes with case discounts and tasting room discounts and sometimes even a free glass for you and a pal, plus the ability to say things to people like, “Oh, are you not a member of a wine club?”

-We hear Rooftop Pizzeria (which is a pizzeria on a rooftop on the Plaza) is hiring for pretty much all service positions and back-of-house, and you can apply via email to manager@rooftoppizzeria.com. It’s been a sec since we’ve been there, but we can only imagine tips become pretty stellar in the summer. Still, we don’t KNOW that for sure, so don’t operate based on our assumption. Isn’t there pinball up there by Rooftop?

More Tidbits

-What, you may be wondering, are butter boards, and why are young people who use TikTok talking about ‘em so much? Well, in short, the new viral food trend is all about butter with various accoutrements thrown in to fancify it, and we’ve even seen it referred to as “cowboy caviar,” though we kind of thought that cowboy caviar was a term for when people ate animal balls. But we digress. In summation, you’re gonna see stuff about smeared butter on boards, OK?

-Ruh-roh, though, Shaggy, because Food & Wine reports there’s a butter shortage going down, and that the price of that smearable gold has “increased significantly more than the price of food overall.” Tough blow, butter boarders and bagel buyers. Hard stuff, salmon skinners and potato peelers. Huge bummer, bros. Huge bummer.

-Speaking of food trends, we understand there’s a new fruit thing just in time for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. Traditionally speaking, you’ll find foods like honey-dripped apples and carrots, but when it comes to the second night of the holiday, one that’s been about trying new things, often fruit, we can apparently expect an update from dried fruits to fancier things like tropical whatevers. Now, we’re not Jewish, but we’ve loved many a Jewish person and wanna ask any of y’all reading this now to drop us a line with your thoughts on the matter.

-Since there is no ethical consumption under capitalism, and since the vast majority of the internet is just finding ways to feel like shit about anything you like, have liked or might like to like, know that the founders of coffee brand Quintal Coffee say that the way we do coffee is all wrong. Don’t worry, though—they’ve got a plan.

-Lastly this week, over on Eater-dot-com, our favorite food site, writer Tanya Bush argues that you should be infusing your own whipped cream. Yeah, idiot! Turns out it’s easy and tastes better. You could infuse it with an Allsup’s chimi, we bet. Jay-kay, friends, jay-kay. But still, you can do all kinds of cool things with whipped cream, just ask anyone who has ever made a kickass key lime pie.

A Totally Scientific Breakdown of The Fork’s Correspondence

In the print edition of SFR this week, you shan’t find any food writing, but ye totally SHALL find info on a new book from Maria Hinojosa, which is, like, food for thought.

Number of Letters Received

33

*So many nice emails this week. Y’all, we love it. We...we just love it.

Most Helpful Tip of the Week (a barely edited letter from a reader)

“What a waste of electrons.”

*Funny you’d say so, primmer.isopods, if that’s even your real name, because your mother said the same to us about you. BADOOOOOM!!!

Actually Helpful Tip(s)

“How to use up all that Nestle Quik or other powdery things that make lumpy chocolate milk, so the powder just sits getting old in your cupboard? You add it to your favorite shortbread recipe, to make a sort-of-milk-chocolatey confection. Subtle, divine.”

*Reader Donna G has the gooooood idea here this week. If you forgot, we were trashin’ on Quik choco milk powder last week in the way one does when a company thinks it’s too good for the letter “C.” Donna might have saved the day. Do you have a good shortbread recipe, though, Donna? We want it.

Number One Grinners Fan,

The Fork

PS—we’re off next week to do some super-cool napping and slapping, whatever that means. Sorry, buds. Stay strong.