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| - Two words: CHEESE CRISP.
Not a quesadilla. A cheese crisp.
Back in the day, this was a part of growing up. Every Mexican restaurant had one. Your mom would make them. It's simple: you take a tortilla, cover it in cheese, top it with green chile, and let it crisp up under the broiler. Pure cheesy simplicity with the bite of warm chile. It's perfection.
Somewhere along the way this got turned into a quesadilla, a folded tortilla with cheese and usually some meat that's slapped into a sandwich press and served with a side of salsa and sour cream. (Which is nothing like a quesadilla in Mexico, which is more along the lines of a taco with melted cheese, but I digress.) While Taco Bell proved that you can turn this into something you can eat while you're driving, it's nothing like an old school cheese crisp, and you rarely see them on restaurant menus anymore.
Carlos O 'Brien's hasn't forgotten me as a small child in the 1970's and they still make the best cheese crisp ever, with your choice of either diced green chile or green chile strips. Order several for the table and thank me later. Also, catch them at lunch, because they do mini cheese crisps for $3 and they have a fantastic burrito enchilada style on the lunch menu, too.
When I taste one at Carlos O'Brien's I think of my mom making them for me and me trying to make them without burning them. I can't think of higher praise than a restaurant triggering memories like that. Go eat one and see what you remember.
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