First of all, y’all really wanted that Chocolate Maven gift cert, because we’re pretty sure we never received so many emails in our entire life. There were so many good suggestions, too, and we’re going to take them under advisement (including at least two that will require us to do some, like, go-to-the-library type research.) Thank you all. It means a lot and gave us much to think about. For now, though, we’ve chosen a winner, and it’s reader Susan C., who suggested we look into the wild and wooly world of tortilla chips.
Now then, why did we pick Susan if we’re saying we got a million other cool ideas? Well, for one thing, some of this stuff requires a lot of research, like we said. For another, we can do whatever the hell we want. Who’s going to stop us? You? Don’t make us laugh. We’re drunk with power and we like it! We’re unstoppable! WE ARE LEGION! Now, if you’re reading this, Susan, and you haven’t emailed us back about the prize yet, please do so at thefork@sfreporter.com. Otherwise, everyone just calm down and be cool.
So, without further delay, let us get into the world of tortilla chips!!!!!
Though we tend to look south of the border when it comes to the provenance of tortilla chips, it seems the truth lies more in the Los Angeles area of California circa 1940-something, when/where, the popular story goes, a lady named Rebecca Webb Carranza first cut up tortillas into li’l triangles and fried them to serve at a party with pals. Tortillas themselves are, of course, much older, with roots dating as far back as 2500 BC and the Aztec people. Anyway, LA is also where those little chippies were first mass produced, too—also in the 1940s. It’s been a second since we’ve been to Mexico, but we hear they’re popular down there, too, these days.
But wait, because that might not be the truth after all! Some folks actually credit one Jose Martinez of San Antonio, Texas with the invention of the chips. See, Martinez was all about masa and would sometimes toast leftover bits into crunchy little snacks. Webb Carranza might still get credit as the person to foist tortilla chips into popular food culture, though. We might never know...
It’s tricky to nail down precise numbers, but according to a joint survey from the folks at Tostitos and Sabra (one makes chips, the other makes dips...like hummus), Americans eat more of ‘em on Cinco de Mayo—and we’re talking, like, more than 16 million pounds of chips and 25 million pounds of dips. Dang! We’d point out Cinco de Mayo is about a lot more than eating chips, but this is America, where we reduce histories and events into snacking parties!
National Tortilla Chip Day is Feb. 24. Celebrate accordingly when we get there by putting a chip in your shoe when you go to bed. Hahaha! Just kidding! God, can you imagine?
Tortilla chips are the official state snack of Texas, as they have been since 2003. They’re also the official snack of Salsa Day at the Forktress of Solitude.
Unless people get to putting weird ingredients in them, most corn tortilla chips are naturally gluten-free. You might want to check whatever bag you have just in case, but it sounds like you celiac dorks can and should get down to munching.
Did you know Doritos have their origins at freaking Disneyland? Turns out a tortilla supplier for the park’s Casa de Fritos (which is today called Casa Mexicana) suggested frying and seasoning leftover tortillas and ugly, misshapen tortillas and seasoning them. This was in the 1960s, though we couldn’t find a precise date. Anyway, while eating at this place, a then Frito-Lay marketing exec liked them so much, he brought that savvy tortilla supplier into the Frito Fold (TM; just kidding) and the rest is history—including a period in the early 2000s when your old pal The Fork and a bag of weed built long-lasting ties with the Doritos brand.
The masa used by most tortilla chips makers is still achieved through the ancient Mayan process of nixtamalization, which is all about soaking corn in an alkaline solution that lets it turn into dough more easily. Lord help us, we love a good still-done-this-old-ass-way story.
OK, but why are these chips shapes like triangles? Well, it’s about dipping and also about preventing waste. See, when you cut something into a circle, you always have these weird little scraps left over, and when you cut something into a square, the structural integrity makes dipping harder. Triangles are the way. All hail the glorious triangle and its powerful dipping power!
Lastly, let’s kick it back to the 1940s—specifically 1943—where we understand a waiter named Ignacio Anaya from Piedra Negras, Mexico, reportedly invented nachos. As the story goes, Anaya found himself alone at the restaurant where he worked one night, chefless, and when a hungry gang of roving hungry folks arrived all hungry and full of hunger, he threw together whatever he could find in the kitchen—tortillas, cheese, jalapeños. As Anaya’s nickname was reportedly Nacho, he was all like, “Here, dudes, try these most excellent...uh...nachos especiales.” Now, we can’t know that’s what he said, but it sounds right to us. Anyway, thank goodness he did that, because we had nachos just the other day and they were glorious.
So there you have it—a bunch of stuff about tortilla chips. And if we could leave you with any advice, it’s that you can do so much better than Tostito’s. If you’re in Santa Fe, might we recommend Alicia’s Tortilleria? So dope for tortillas, chips, burritos and more.
We’d still eat it.
Also
-Chef Fernando Ruiz (a perennial SFR fave) has reportedly finally broken ground on his forthcoming taco joint, Escondido, down there on Agua Fría Street within the new El Camino Crossing development. Our little paper reported on the place in May last year, when Ruiz and investors—including former Meow Wolf CEO Vince Kadlubek—had hoped to get the ball rolling on a new building soon. Better late than never, we say (in MxPx voice), and we’re gonna eat those tacos.
-If’n you head down Cerrillos Road and then pop over onto Maclovia Street, you’ll find Rowley Farmhouse Ales, a combination brewery and eatery hidden away and tailor-made for locals. Why do we mention this place, you ask? Because of the new special for locals, duh. Seems Rowley chef Jeffrey Kaplan wanted to take out some of the sting of existence for folks who live around here, and will now offer a lunch deal Monday-Friday from 11:30 am-3 pm in the form of an RFA burger (that’s the name of their burger) with a free draft beer (under $9 on the beer, but still!). Know that.
-We hear chef Zachary Perron is killin’ it out there at Blue Heron, being the restaurant at Ojo Santa Fe (formerly Sunrise Springs). Perron is all about fresh ingredients from the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market and the Beck & Bulow butcher shop. We hear the beer and wine out there is now all local stuff, too. Neat! So, in summation, you can soak in a tub, rock a local beer and chow down on some amazing local comestibles!
-Lastly in local stuff, this edition of The Fork dropped/drops on Thursday, Aug. 24, which means you won’t have a whole lot of time to hit the 10th Anniversary Party for the Santa Fe Spirits tasting room on Read Street in downtown Santa Fe. Friday, Aug. 24, from 3-10 pm, the jam-a-lam will have plenty of discounts, spirits and games to play. Congrats, Santa Fe Spirits—especially to business manager Caitlin Richards, who is our favorite reader right now.
In case you didn’t know what we meant abot MxPx voice.
More Tidbits
-A new report from cobank-dot-com says that plant-based meats are facing a bit of a consumer crisis. That’s, of course, a complicated way of saying that we all had a lot of fun trying out new forms of fake meat, but it gets harder to stay enthused over time. According to this report, inflation might get some of the blame as shoppers gravitate back toward cheaper options, but folks like familiar things, too, like...y’know, meat. Read the report here.
-This is so barely food-related, but there’s a new teaser out for Good Burger 2, the sequel to the 1997 film Good Burger starring Kel Mitchell and Kenan Thompson. It was about a guy called Ed who worked at a burger joint. It was based on a sketch from the Nickelodeon sketch program All That. Just, like, know that. Here’s a link.
-Just a little reminder that you can donate to the Maui Food Bank if you’re looking to help the people of Hawaii right now following those devastating wildfires. Don’t go there, just send money. Seriously. If you do decide to donate, send us proof that you did and we’ll maybe pick someone out for a little prize or something.
-HuffPost Food was out there being ADORABLE with tall tales of a definitive way to make the best margarita, at least according to mixologists, which is an annoying term for bartenders who decided infusing something makes them scientists. Anyway, we’re from Santa Fe and can think of, like, five bartenders off the top of our head who know what’s up and don’t need HuffPost or whomever.
-File this one under “drinks,” but it seems raccoons (being nature’s bandits) in Germany are B n’ E-ing into people’s homes to steal and drink beer. We think the crime is adorable and we did not hate learning about it at all. If you need to see it to believe it, note that there’s evidence of a raccoon being all drunk at a German Christmas Market right here.
A Totally Scientific Breakdown of The Fork’s Correspondence
You shan’t find any food coverage in this week’s SFR, we’re afraid, but that shouldn’t stop you from checking out all the other times our paper has talked about food. Click here to do that.
Number of Letters Received
69
*Nice.
Most Helpful Tip of the Week (a barely edited letter from a reader)
“I just don’t care about creamed corn.”
*Cool?
Actually Helpful Tip(s)
“No one is stopping you from eating a Twix in the morning. Just saying.”
*...and they were right.
Chipped and also cracked,
The Fork
