Frito Pie: Chile and Corn Chips, Straight From the Bag

Not every New Mexican classic is refined, and thank goodness for that. Frito pie — corn chips smothered in red chile, cheese, and onion, sometimes served right in the split-open bag — is the state's great guilty pleasure, and its fans defend it with a straight face.

The glorious mess

The canonical version is almost absurd in its simplicity: a snack bag of corn chips slit down the side, flooded with red chile con carne, then crowned with shredded cheese and diced onion and eaten with a plastic fork on the go.

Frito pie proves New Mexican food doesn't have to be fancy to be fiercely loved.

Fairgrounds and lunch counters

You'll find it at state fairs, ballgames, school cafeterias, and an old Santa Fe lunch counter or two that claims to have invented it. Everyone has a version, and the debates over its origins are affectionately unresolved.

Elevated, if you insist

Some kitchens now plate a fancier take with house-made chile and better cheese, but purists argue that half the charm is eating it out of the bag. Either way, the red chile is what makes or breaks it.

Field notes

• The in-the-bag version is the authentic street format.
• It lives or dies on the quality of the red chile.
• Peak availability: any state fair or Friday-night ballgame.

It will never win a fine-dining award, and it doesn't want to. Frito pie is New Mexico letting its hair down — cheap, messy, and completely beloved.