Hatch Chile Festival

this past wkend, we made the 3 hr drive south to Hatch, NM, home of the beloved Hatch green chile pepper. we watched with mouths open as trucks carrying chile worshippers from TX, AZ, and CA lined up to buy sack after giant sack of chile peppers, their truckbeds lined with open coolers waiting to receive roasted chile goodness. Hatch residents claim their tastebuds can tell a Hatch green chile apart from other (lesser) green chiles, that it has a different flavor from other peppers. i don't know enough about peppers to confirm this, but i know i've never seen so many ppl drive from so far to stock up on one specific food. 

chile ristras- decorative clusters of peppers found hanging outside doors of homes throughout NM