Hatch Chile Season: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

If you’ve lived in Dallas for any amount of time, you’re already familiar with Hatch chile season — a time of year when restaurants and grocery stores throughout North Texas fill their menus and shelves with everything Hatch.

The season starts at the beginning of August and lasts about a month. The chiles are grown in a specific soil and climate in Hatch, New Mexico, harvested by the ton, then shipped around the world. We’ve rounded up a list of some of the best places to indulge in these chiles around North Texas. Do yourself a favor and find some before they're gone.

Central Market

Multiple Locations

Central Market's Hatch Chile Festival is one of the grocery store's premiere annual events. Stores receive shipments of around 250,000 pounds of Hatch peppers each year. This will be their 27th year, and festivities will run Aug. 5 – 19. You can buy fresh or roasted hatch peppers, mild or hot by the pound or by the case. To kick off the season, there's a free Hatch Sampling Stroll from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 5, at each location. Sign up for free tickets via this link.

Sample your way through the store and get bites of Hatch marinated sirloin, crab cakes, guacamole, Hatch chocolate and chile-friendly wines. You’ll also receive a $10 coupon that can be used to purchase any Hatch products that evening.

Of course, there are the must-have staples you should buy each year, including Hatch chile hummus, pimento cheese, rotisserie chicken, salsa and those Hatch chile and sweet lime cookies.

Blue Goose Cantina

Multiple Locations

Blue Goose Cantina is hosting its 20th Annual Hatch Chile Fest. Start your meal with Hatch salsa, queso and guacamole and a nice, spicy Hatch margarita. Don't miss the Hatch tacos, enchiladas or quesadillas.

Blue Mesa Southwest Grill

14866 Montfort Drive and 8200 Dallas Parkway

Blue Mesa Southwest Grill celebrates its 26th Annual Hatch Chile Festival starting Aug. 2. Look for crispy fried Hatch strips with ancho mayo, Hatch pozole, a Hatch cheese relleno and steak taco combo, and more. For dessert, try a Hatch cajeta swirl brownie served with vanilla ice cream and fresh berries. The featured cocktail is the Hatch pineapple margarita with Casamigos silver tequila and grilled pineapple. And new for this year: Hatch brunch for the entire month.

Cane Rosso

Multiple Location

The pizza of the month at Cane Rosso is the Hatch Stinger with house-made mozzarella, pepperoni, bacon marmalade, ricotta, roasted Hatch chiles and habanero honey.

Eataly Dallas

8687 N. Central Expressway, NorthPark Center

While Eataly Dallas is an Italian marketplace with a focus on imports, there's a heavy emphasis on seasonality and local specialties. So, naturally, they're getting in on the Hatch chile party with offerings across their marketplace and restaurants, August 15 – 28. Look for the following Southwestern cult favorites for pickup in the store:

• House-made sausage with roasted Hatch chiles and wagyu and Hatch chile burgers at the butcher counter
• Crab cakes and salmon burgers made with Hatch chiles, capers, house-made breadcrumbs and herbs at the seafood counter
• House-made brioche infused with Hatch chiles and Pecorino Romano from the bakery
• Eataly's popular Salsiccia e Cipolla Pizza alla Pala (Roman-style pizza) with a seasonal twist – house-made sausage, Hatch chiles and onions
• House-made sausage sauteed with Hatch chiles and peppers from the Made in Eataly department
• Savory cornetto with Hatch chiles, sundried tomatoes, ricotta and Pecorino Romano DOP in Café Lavazza

For those dining in, Italy chefs are bringing Hatch to the restaurants and bars too. At Terra, sip a smoked pineapple and Hatch spritz, perfect to pair with your wood-fired dishes. At Il Pastaio, their pastai (pasta makers) are adding Hatch to the menu with a handmade pasta prepared with a Hatch chile pesto.

Thunderbird Pies

7328 Gaston Ave., Suite 110

click to enlarge

Courtesy of Thunderbird Pies

Thunderbird Pies in East Dallas will have the Hatchy Bastard during the entire month of August. It's their Honey Bastard pie with Hatch chiles added, as if the Honey Bastard needed anything added to it.

Kenny's Burger Joint

Plano and Frisco Locations

If you’re in the 'burbs of Frisco or Plano, be sure to stop by Kenny’s Burger Joint for a Hatch green chile burger, available only this month.

Zoli's NY Pizza

14910 Midway Road, Addison

Zoli’s NY Pizza in Addison and Fort Worth showcases the Hatchbox20 as pizza of the month. The pie has mozzarella, garlic cream, smoked brisket, caramelized onions, roasted Hatch chiles and roasted corn on a sesame seed crust.

Urban Rio

1000 14th St., Plano

The tamale of the month at Urban Rio in downtown Plano is the Chicken Hatchmole, which is two house-made tamales filled with shredded chicken, Hatch chiles, Monterrey jack and Hatch cream sauce, and served with their Rio rice and beans. On Aug. 16, the restaurant will partner with Lockwood Distillery for a Hatch Chile dinner that offers five courses and five cocktails for $54.90. Reservations are required and can be made via the Urban Rio website.

Eatzi's Market

Multiple Locations

Eatzi’s Market and Bakery will have Hatch specialties Aug. 4 – 17. Grab-and-go items include Hatch chile chicken empanadas, chicken salad, chile hummus, queso and pimento cheese. Eatzi's ready-to-eat meals will include a Hatch chile bacon cheddar burger and a Southwest-inspired Hatch turkey meatloaf served with fresh tortillas.

Resident Taqueria

9661 Audelia Road

If you’re ever going to visit Resident Taqueria, Hatch season is the time. Starting later in August and for a limited time feast on the Hatch chile relleno taco. The chile is stuffed with mozzarella, breaded and fried, then placed on a small house-made flour tortilla and topped with warm salsa ranchera and cotija cheese. Wash it down with a Hatch margarita.

Grand Prairie Farmers Market Hatch Chile Festival

120 West Main St.
8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13

Check out the Grand Prairie Farmers Market Hatch Chile Festival on Aug. 13 for both raw and roasted Hatch chiles sold by the pound. Along with the usual local fruits and vegetables, homemade goods and crafts, there'll be live music, food and games.