New Mexico has plenty of picturesque small towns but one town stands out for being unique. There’s nowhere on the planet quite like Hatch, which is located 40 miles north of Las Cruces. This New Mexican town is, after all, the Chile Capital of the World.
The town’s 1648 residents eat, sleep, and breathe chile. So do many New Mexicans, but Hatch is special because it’s the place where our state’s vaunted green chile is grown.
We consider the quality of our chile so superior that we actually passed legislation banning anyone from claiming their chile comes from the Land of Enchantment if that isn't the case.
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Since chile is an integral part of New Mexican cuisine, it should come as no surprise that this small town supports an unusual number of excellent restaurants. Foodies in the know come to Hatch with big appetites.
More than 30,000 people gather to enjoy ristra crafting demonstrations, live musical performances, a watermelon-eating contest and, of course, a chile eating competition.
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