Widely praised for the best red enchiladas in the City Different, the
Shed deservedly caught the attention of the foodies at Serious Eats:
http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/01/t...ew-mexico.html
The enchilada dish arrived on a piping-hot plate, swimming in a red
chile sauce complete with beans and posole. Was Cheryl's recommendation
spot on? I groaned audibly after just one bite of the enchilada. Having
eaten my share of enchiladas in Northern New Mexico over the years, I
must agree with Cheryl's assessment that The Shed serves the best
enchilada plate in town.
For those who aren't acquainted with the New Mexican specialty,
enchiladas are rolled and filled tortillas, topped with melted cheese
and surrounded by chili. In a perfect execution, every component of the
enchilada€“the tortilla, its filling, the topping, and whatever other
ingredients are included€”should meld together, the sum being greater
than its parts. Lesser enchilada platters often go awry in the cheese,
which can congeal into a rubbery mass midway through eating the dish and
the tortillas, which can be too thick and doughy.
At The Shed, the cheddar is melted to a creamy, liquid-like texture.
Miraculously, the cheese stays that way throughout the entire meal; even
as I polished off the last of the beans at the end, the cheese stayed
soft and stringy within the sauce. The restaurant uses blue corn
tortillas, which retained their texture and sopped up the savory mixture
of chili and onions. Little kernels of posole were tender and flavorful.
Even the beans, which are usually the most neglected item on a plate,
were perfectly cooked€”neither grainy nor mushy. Best of all, the red
chili sauce was pleasantly spicy with just a touch of the natural
sweetness that comes from using the best quality dried red chilies.