Spice it up: Chile season heats up Hatch, N.M.

Could your backyard hamburger or your abuelita’s chile rellenos use a little kick?

Then you could be overdue for a quick day trip to Hatch, New Mexico for its famous chiles that offer the perfect amount of blacktop and spice.

Chile season is in high gear and just about everywhere you look in Hatch you see signs advertising the tasty green goodies – even at the local gas station.

A daytrip from Las Cruces is about 35 miles, but if you’re driving in from Tucson, you’re looking at about a 2 1/2 hour drive.

“We live in Tucson and usually towards the end of the summer all of the grocery stores have the roasted hatch chiles but they’re always a day or two older so here we can get them fresh out of the field. They add special flavor to almost anything you cook. The heat you can’t really find anywhere else except here locally in the valley. Roasted and peeled. Wow only at Gilly’s, king of Chile,” said a group of chile customers.

As for that road trip, don’t forget to mark your calendar for Labor Day weekend when Hatch hosts its annual chile festival.