Boise Restaurant-The Green Chile

Another restaurant that has been on our radar for a while is "The Green Chile" featuring southwest cuisine and located on State street in northwest Boise.

My wife and I stopped in for lunch, we first noticed what was not on the menu. At Mexican type restaurants, I often prefer those dishes served on rice, and my wife leans toward shrimp preparations. Neither were to be found here. Another missing Mexican staple were refried beans. Only cowboy beans were offered here, cooked un- mashed black beans, which I actually prefer.

As the names attests, the specialty of the house is the green chile sauce and at the server's suggestion my wife ordered the green chile bowl. It was lacking in much flavor other than quite spicy hot.

I ordered a regular combo platter,  my two selections being the chicken filled chimichanga and chile relleno. The chile relleno is not made in the traditional deep-fried in an egg batter style, nor is it rolled in an egg crepe like so many of local establishments serve. Instead the chile and cheese are rolled in a flour tortilla and then deep-fried. I knew this was the case from the menu and thought I would still give it a try. The  traditional deep-fried in egg batter still reigns supreme.

The chicken chimichanga was filled with unseasoned chunk white breast meat, relying on the sauce to impart the spicy flavor. I appreciated the quality of the meat but overall the dish was somewhat underwhelming.

In addition to the signature green chile sauce, they offer a milder red sauce. This red sauce is similar to the enchilada sauces  found around the area, but I found it superior as the flavor was much milder than the normal sauces served, which to me was an improvement. (Okay, I am not a big enchilada sauce fan but I could eat this one and my wife also enjoyed it.)

Most dishes are served with the above mentioned beans, spanish rice, (we noticed a flavor of corn here,) and steamed vegetables. There were also some burgers on the menu.

"The Green Chile" calls themselves sizzlin southwest, not Mexican, and from what I read it sounds like New Mexico style cooking with their own unique twists.

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