MEXICAN FOODS

"Casa Del Burrito Grande"

RUIDOSO, NEW MEXICO

Leo Martinez

Chilemeister

135 W. Hwy 70 - Ruidoso
505-378-4033

CHILEO'S RESTAURANT SPECIALTY IS SERVING AUTHENTIC MEXICAN FOODS

Leo Martinez, owner of Chileo's Restaurant, owes his culinary expertise to his mother. "I would watch my mom cook and emulated her style because we thought her food was the best we ever tasted," Martinez said. "Eventually I became involved in politics, and would have big cook-outs using my mom's recipes." Martinez said his cook-outs became so popular that friends began asking him why he didn't open a restaurant featuring the recipes. "At the time I didn't give it much thought because of all the regulations in California," he said. "Besides, I was busy with my plastering business."

Martinez was born in Albuquerque and moved to
Santa Barbara, Calif. when he was very young. He moved to Ruidoso two years ago to escape the urban sprawl of California, and continued his plastering business. "I like the friendliness of Ruidoso," he said. "It's an easy place to make friends."

After his arrival in the village, Martinez began dining out in hopes of finding a restaurant serving the same kind of food his mother made.
"I just couldn't find a restaurant in Ruidoso offering the style of Mexican food I liked," Martinez said.

Martinez combined his first name, Leo, with chile to come up with the name of the restaurant, and Chileo's "Casa del Burrito Grande" (home of the big burrito), was born.

Chileo's serves breakfast anytime with breakfast burritos, huevos rancheros (with chunks of meat), and menudo on the menu. The regular burritos are stuffed (it takes two hands to handle one) with your choice of red chile beef, green chile pork, or chicken.

"This is real New Mexico chile," Martinez said.
"We don't put anything in it to jazz it up and I use chile from Albuquerque and mix it with just a little bit of the hot Socorro chile." Also on Chileo's menu are soft tacos, enchiladas, chile rellenos, taquitos, and homemade tamales.

Chileo's is located at the "Y" at Hwy. 70 and Hwy. 48. It has a dining area, patio seating, a drive-up window, and prepares orders to go.
The phone number is 378-4033.

The Ruidoso News
April 24, 1995
Don Hixon
Ruidoso News Staff Writer

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