LA POSTA DE MESILLA, the venerable southern New Mexico restaurant, looks like Christmas all year long, with its colorful string lights and steaming plates blanketed in red and green chile on every table. During the December holidays, though, it celebrates the season with what co-owner Jerean Camúñez Hutchinson describes as a “más y más” (more and more) mentality.
More than 50 festooned Christmas trees bring life to every room, along with wreaths, handcrafted ornaments, whimsical oversize crepe paper flowers, and a life-size folk art nativity scene. Beyond the decorations, it’s the lovingly made classic local dishes and warm hospitality that keep generations of visitors coming back to enjoy this quintessential New Mexican favorite. The bow on top this year is La Posta marking its 85th anniversary under the same family’s stewardship. “Everything about the business is running well,” Hutchinson says. “It’s a great time to celebrate.”
La Posta de Mesilla’s red chile posole is a holiday favorite.
Tucked into the corner where Old and New Mexico meet Texas, the low-slung rambling adobe sits just off Mesilla’s central plaza, growing almost organically from it. The building incorporates the original room where Hutchinson’s great-aunt Katy Griggs (later Camúñez) first welcomed diners on September 16, 1939. Griggs had no experience running a restaurant, or much else, at the tender age of 25, but she had gumption and big ambitions. “Aunt Katy convinced her uncle George Griggs, a prominent merchant, to sell her the building for one dollar, love, and affection,” relates Hutchinson.
The 1840s-era structure, now on the National Register of Historic Places, already had a storied history. Following the Civil War, it had been a stop on the Butterfield stagecoach line, which delivered passengers from the East all the way to California. Later, it became the Corn Exchange Hotel, where rumored guests include legends from New Mexico’s past, like Billy the Kid, Kit Carson, and Pancho Villa.
Server Veronica Seidel walks through a vibrant dining room filled with tropical-bird art.
Initially, the “little chile joint” had four tables, a dirt floor, and no running water. Griggs gathered recipes from branches of her family—the Griggs, Chavez, and Fountain clans—and had her mother prepare the dishes, while Griggs greeted guests and operated the cash register. She quickly distinguished herself as an excellent businesswoman at a time when there were few models. Among her innovations was to serve guests complimentary chips and salsa—something she had not seen done before (and a practice not enough restaurants currently do).
“Katy was as flamboyant as the macaws, parrots, and other tropical birds that she acquired to reside in the lobby,” says Hutchinson’s husband, Tom. La Posta’s current menagerie of Picasso, DaVinci, Sugar, Lucky, and many more birds—cared for by a specially trained veterinarian—continue to delight guests.
The Hutchinsons have owned the restaurant since 1994, but their fond and humorous memories of the place go back much further—like the time they brought Tom’s more reserved family to La Posta on the eve of their wedding more than four decades ago. “Aunt Katy’s bawdy jokes and endless flattery of Tom’s grandpa had his grandma wondering whether this union was such a good idea,” Hutchinson recalls.
Classics make the rounds.
In the decades since, the Hutchinson children—Christopher, Brett, and Elena—have all come to work alongside Mom and Dad. “I wanted to get as far away from the family business as I could as a teenager,” Christopher says, “but I realized, after going away to school at Texas Tech, that truly there’s no place like home.”
The entire family is quick to credit the dedicated employees as a big part of their success over the decades. “The kitchen staff, our servers, bartenders, cleanup crew, everyone works together and gives it their all,” Christopher says. To honor them, there is a Wall of Legends, with photos of longtime staff members, which greets visitors in the entryway. “We build a Día de los Muertos altar annually to celebrate those who have passed on,” adds Elena.
The heart of La Posta’s menu is the dishes created with New Mexican chiles grown nearby. Hatch-based chile company Young Guns provides most of the red and green, as well as jalapeños, while other area suppliers furnish local ingredients, such as pecans and honey. A signature dish from the earliest days is Katy’s tostadas compuestas, little corn tortilla cups overflowing with refried beans and chile con carne that come effusively garnished. Newer additions include a fine beef tenderloin, as well as that Texas import: fajitas on sizzling platters. During the holiday season, the red-chile-enriched posole and Christmas enchiladas bathed in both red and green are especially popular, as is the special cranberry margarita.
A famous La Posta parrot.
For dessert, La Posta offers plump empanadas filled with a revolving series of seasonal fruit fillings—in the winter, pumpkin empanadas reign supreme. And don’t miss out on the flan. The first year that the Hutchinsons owned La Posta, they imported flan from an out-of-state restaurant, flying it in each week on Southwest Airlines. “One week, the dessert missed its connection,” Jerean says. “So out of necessity, our kitchen had to come up with its own version—no plane ticket required.” The result is truly one of the best renditions of the creamy dish you will come across anywhere.
“Tom and I feel we truly are stewards of an important legacy, created by the vivacious Katy, but nurtured by generations of our cherished employees and guests,” Jerean says. “We have to keep this going.” Seeing the family’s enthusiasm is perhaps the greatest holiday gift to all of us who have dined here—it ensures that the future of La Posta sparkles as brightly as its many Christmas lights.
Read more: Mesilla’s strong connection to its Mexican past infuses its present with an intoxicating blend of history, culture, and community.
Hefty bowls of posole are popular at the restaurant all year, but never more so than at Christmas, when the dish is almost always requested “red” and combined with piquant chile colorado.
- 2 pounds lean pork loin, cut into
- bite-size pieces
- 2 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon ground oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Chile Colorado Sauce (see recipe below)
- 3 16-ounce cans hominy, drained
- 1 tablespoon dried whole-leaf oregano
- 2 quarts water
- Optional garnishes: chopped onion, dried whole-leaf oregano, lime wedges
CHILE COLORADO SAUCE
- 12 to 18 mild to medium dried red chile pods
- 2 cups water
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- Salt
- 1 cup warm water, optional
Serves 6 to 8
- In a small stock pot or Dutch oven, combine pork and lard. Cook over medium heat until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes.
- Strain off and discard all but about 2 tablespoons of fat. Add ground oregano, cumin, garlic powder, and salt, and stir well.
- Add the sauce to the pork and continue to simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes.
- In another stock pot or Dutch oven, combine hominy with the whole-leaf oregano and water, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Pour chile-and-pork mixture into the hominy, stir well, and continue cooking for about 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. The posole should be a bit soupy. Add a little more water, if needed.
- Ladle posole into bowls and top with onions, whole-leaf oregano, and lime wedges, or serve the garnishes on the side so that guests can customize their dish.
CHILE COLORADO SAUCE
- Rinse chile pods and discard stems and seeds. In a medium saucepan, add pods and 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer about 10 minutes. Let the chile mixture cool briefly and then pour it into a blender. Add the garlic and puree the mixture. Pour mixture through a sieve into a bowl.
- In a deep frying pan, warm the lard over medium-high heat. Add the flour and stir continually until the flour is light brown. Do not let the flour turn dark or burn. Remove from the heat and pour in the chile mixture, carefully to avoid splatters. Stir together, then add salt to taste. Simmer for about 5 minutes to blend flavors. If the sauce seems too thick, add warm water—it should be very spoonable. The chile can be made a day ahead.
La Posta is known for its margaritas and 100-plus tequila selection, including what Tom Hutchinson proudly notes was the state’s first full barrel of Patrón Añejo. This cranberry rendition is sweet, spicy, and screams Christmas tradition.
- ½ cup Spiced Cranberry Simple Syrup, divided (see recipe below)
- Gold sanding sugar, or other coarse sugar
- Ice cubes
- ¾ cup silver tequila
- ½ cup Patrón Citrónge or Grand Marnier
- ¾ cup cranberry juice
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- Sugar cranberries (see note)
SPICED CRANBERRY SIMPLE SYRUP
- 1 cup water
- 1¼ cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons whole allspice
- 2 tablespoons whole cloves
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 1 two-inch nob of fresh ginger
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
Makes 4
- Pour 1 tablespoon of the syrup onto a saucer. Place sanding sugar on another saucer. Dip the rim of a highball or martini glass in the syrup, then dip it into the sanding sugar. Let dry. Repeat with remaining glasses. Fill each glass with ice cubes.
- Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice, add 4 tablespoons of syrup, the tequila, orange liqueur, and the cranberry and lime juices. Cover and shake well, then strain into the prepared glasses. Taste and add more syrup, if desired.
- Garnish each with a cinnamon stick and a small skewer of sugared cranberries.
Note: To make sugared cranberries, set aside a dozen or so pretty berries. Rinse in water and drain, then immediately roll the berries in a couple of tablespoons granulated sugar, just until it sticks. Let dry briefly before using as a garnish.
SPICED CRANBERRY SIMPLE SYRUP
- Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Raise the heat and simmer the mixture for about 5 minutes until the cranberries start to split. Once most have popped, remove the pan from the heat and cover it. Let the mixture steep for about 2 hours for the flavors to infuse.
- Strain the syrup through a fine mesh strainer into a jar, pressing on the solids to extract as much flavor as possible. Cover and chill. Lasts up to a month refrigerated.
These plump little pastry pockets are among La Posta’s most popular holiday traditions.
FOR DOUGH
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons shortening
- About ⅓ cup whole milk
FOR FILLING AND EMPANADAS
- 15-ounce can Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin
- 1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- Powdered sugar, for garnish
Makes 1 dozen
FOR DOUGH
1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. Mix in shortening with a fork or fingers, until combined. Add just enough of the milk to make a somewhat soft dough, easy to handle and not sticky. A little water can be added if there is not enough milk. Let the dough stand for about 10 minutes.
2. Roll out dough on a floured surface to about ⅓ inch in thickness. Cut into circles about 4 inches in diameter, preferably using a cookie cutter that size. Reroll scraps of dough to cut additional circles.
FOR FILLING AND EMPANADAS
- In a medium bowl, stir together pumpkin, granulated sugar, and cinnamon.
- Place a heaping tablespoon of pumpkin filling in the middle of a dough circle. Fold the dough over the top to make a half-moon shape. Pinch the edges together decoratively to seal. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
- Pour several inches of oil into a deep, heavy skillet. Warm the oil to 350°. Fry the empanadas, a few at a time, until golden brown, about 3 minutes.
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature.
