After recovering from the exhaustion of my Ireland trip, I had to harness the power of positive thinking to gear up for my next trip two weeks later. My outlook changed when I realized that I would get to sample some great regional foods when I traveled to Albuquerque, New Mexcio for work. Although I planned on taking advantage of a series of receptions hosted by colleges and academic centers, my friends persuaded me to go to actual restaurants. I sampled favorites like green and red chile enchiladas, fresh tortilla chips and guacamole, quesadillas and frijoles.
My absolute favorite item on my New Mexican tour was the complementary basket of sopapillas and the squeeze bottle of honey that accompanied it. Prior to my first trip to Albuquerque, (when I traveled with my then-boyfriend and now-husband from Chicago to Los Angeles after knowing each other a total of six weeks; I was lucky that it all ended in love and marriage and not a Lifetime Movie entitled "Highway to Death: The Regional Food Reporter Story," starring Markie Post as yours truly), I had only heard of sopapillas from one of my favorite Judy Blume books, Tiger Eyes.
Sopapillas have the consistency of fry bread (see Indian Tacos) and the puffiness of Indian naaan. The doughy treat itself is not sweet, but with the a touch of honey, it's transformed into a perfect sweet ending to any meal. In Tex Mex restaurants, they often come as part of your meal and they can be a nice way to mediate the carb withdrawal felt after finishing an entire basket of chips and a warmer of tortillas. Sometimes, restaurants will dust the sopapilla with powdered sugar and cinnamon to evoke a funnel cake feel, but the honey is what really makes it taste like pure heaven. You can also find sopapillas filled with beef, pork or beans in the Southwest.
Happy Eating!
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