El Parasol

It is one of the simple pleasures of life, sitting down to a well-constructed cheeseburger, taking a bite, and tasting the green chile, feeling the burn but more than that appreciating the pungent flavor.

There is something going horribly wrong in our nation right now, as restaurants compete to put more and more beef on their burgers. Half pound and three quarter pound burgers are supplanting more rational sizes as the marketing departments of restaurants and fast food chains have decided that More is Better. This is a very American sort of trend, but now we are faced with burgers out of balance. Sure, beef is an important part of the burger, but a carefully crafted hamburger is not only about the beef, it is an ensemble, with each element making a valuable contribution. This is especially true of the green chile cheeseburger.

The pinnacle of humanity’s culinary progress, the properly-constructed green chile cheeseburger is a delicate — and subjective — art form, an organic sculpture that bursts in your mouth with the first bite and lingers long after the final swallow. The chile must be hot and flavorful, and abundant, yet the meat, cheese, and other fixings must not be overpowered. Each ingredient has a role to play, from the crunch of the onions to the smoothness of the cheese.

I just polished off a darn fine green chile cheeseburger here at El Parasol. For those who know the town, it is located where Los Alamos Building and Loan was when I opened my first bank account there a bazillion years ago.

One side effect of not going overboard with the beef: the burgers are cheaper as well. The guy in line in front of me ordered a GCCB, as did the woman behind me. Looking around I see some people with burritos and other New Mexican fare, but the GCCB’s are all around me. And no wonder. Mine was damn yummy.

Perhaps I am being less critical, as it is the first green chile cheeseburger that I’ve had in a long time, but boy did it hit the spot. I wonder what it would take to get them to open one of these in Prague…

7 thoughts on “El Parasol

  1. Could you please post pictures of the GCCBs for those of us who live far away from the Land of Enchantment?

    Thanks.

    P.S.: The “latest photos” might be almost as long in the tooth as the poll.

  2. Ah, Cheryl, you can’t just say you’ve been to a goat ropin and leave it at that. Goat ropin?!?! details please.

    When I was at El Parasol this summer, I made sure to go native and have the chicharones burrito and a bowl of menudo with plenty of fresh onion and oregano. Tara was thoroughly disgusted with me. Que sabroso!

    Jer, you’re such a gourmet you go on about burger patty size versus taste balance and taste ensemble. How about the fact that burger patties are getting gigantic and Americans are Obese with a capital “O”?

  3. BTW, I might have missed it, but a few episodes ago you said something portentious about the Pirates and important doins for the 8th of June. Now you are with pL. So whats the scoop?

  4. In case Jerry doesn’t comment, June 8th is significant in that it’s a big film festival in the Czech Republic where Fuego and Jerry would like to show the new and improved cut of Pirates and have a script ready for all the hollywood moguls who’ll be lining up to bid on the feature film version.

  5. I assume it’s the same folks. They say “since 1958” and mention two other locations, but the atmosphere here is quite different from El Paragua.

    June 8, as Pat indicated, is when we must be prepared to begin the marketing blitz to turn Pirates into a cultural icon.

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