• San Luis Valley, CO
• Costilla County
• Masa
• Sopapillas
• Mexican food, to go

Eat at Emma’s

The San Luis Valley is perhaps the only section of Colorado untrammeled by tourism. There are no ski resorts, no hotels, and no day spas. But herein lies a secret even more delicious than the precious powder of Vail: Since 1937, in the tiny town of San Luis (pop. 739) in Costilla County, Emma Espinoza has been handcrafting the most exquisite comida Mexicana north of the border.

"You have to cook with love."

Espinoza, 88, started off making bowls of red chile in a small one-room restaurant in San Luis, Colorado's oldest town. She toiled in relative obscurity for the better half of last century, until the late 1980s, when hushed word of her phenomenal cooking began to spread to the valley and beyond.

Her place looks perpetually closed, but diners who press beyond the nondescript façade will find themselves thrust into a warm cantina buzzing with the mingled Spanish and English of local families and ranchers on lunch break. An ornate spiral staircase connects to a railing above, where one can imagine prospectors, showgirls and banditos from days gone by gawking and throwing dirty looks at out-of-towners.

Espinoza's daughter, Theresa Lobato, now helps manage the restaurant. She's currently in the process of passing down the recipes to her children as they were handed down to her from her mother. "I would hate for it to be lost, so we improvise to keep it fresh," she says. "Mom figured out the best recipe for masa, so I'll pass that along with all the red and green chile secrets."

Espinoza, who still climbs the mesas behind the restaurant every day, can be spotted zipping around the kitchen, greeting customers, scolding the waitress, and checking on ingredients.

But what to order? Ask locals, and you'll hear a chorus of "Emma's Special." It consists of a beef taco, a green chile enchilada and a red chile enchilada, rice, beans, and sopapillas. It might look like nothing much, but don't be fooled; fanatics of Southwestern cuisine will see all previous benchmarks surpassed with each transcendent (and spicy!) bite.

Her secret? "You have to cook with love," she says, puttering around her shop with an energy and enthusiasm that defy her years. "That's the only way to make it special."

Posted on March 06, 2006