Must-Try! Panxa Cocina’s Hatch Green Chile Menu and Roast
Panxa Cocina translates to “kitchen of the belly” in Catalan Spanish and this month dedicated Chef Art Owner Arthur Gonzalez goes all out in the tummy-pleasing category as he celebrates the coveted Hatch chile with a special tasting menu offered through a month of the harvest, plus weekend “chile roast-out” event September 15-16.
The talented, affable Mexican-German Chef Art Gonzalez
This first (New Mexican) Hatch Chile Restaurant Celebration is a perfect fit for Panxa Cocina, an eclectic “modern southwestern” as proven by the Catalonian name. The Hatch chile represents the best of New Mexican classic state cuisine where Chili already reigns supreme, and the official “state question” is “Red or green?”, referring to a diner’s preference to the color of chilies. However, ironically, only green chiles are grown in the internationally renowned Hatch New Mexico – which are only told apart in terms of heat (mild, medium or hot) by their labeling when harvested!
Talented, versatile Bar Manager Greg Goin’s tequila-driven cocktail (and full mezcal) menu will also be featured in the event. A special Hatch Chile Bloody Mary is on the menu through September and all through the year now because of their popularity.
Fallon with the Mexcal cocktail September special
(photo courtesy of Panza Cocina)
Caution! The Hatch Chile salsas and sturdy housemade chips are enticing enough to finish. They are artfully set on tables thoughtfully set with rosemary stalks and zucchini blossoms, small candles and burlap runners that add texture and a southwestern hue.
Golden Cornbread arrives next, its aroma preceding it, wafting through the room. Studded with corn kernels and silky Hatch chile bits and oozing with melting butter, it is a challenge not to finish when it all. The cast iron skillets keep the bread warm. This is actually four portions.
The cornbread was delicious the following morning, topped with local honey and a cup of espresso flavored with Mexican cinnamon.
(plate courtesy of The Ivy Restaurant)
Chef Art spent time in Santa Fe and brings the best of it back with him. Another southwestern classic invokes the Hatch Chile twist. Here the Heirloom Blue Corn Quesadilla is accompanied by roasted Hatch chile jam, squash blossom, and house queso fresco. This is a beauty worthy of a Georgia O’Keefe painting.
Heirloom Blue Corn Quesadilla
Chef Art explained that he grew up in a culturally diverse culinary heritage both in his Asian neighborhood background and at home that included an Oaxacan grandmother on his dad’s side and a German mom. He often carefully and with confidence, combines the two using his background in French cooking techniques.
Wagyu Country Fried Steak with Hatch chile gravy is tender and juicy and filling in the Northern New Mexico way.
Wagyu Country Fried Steak with Hatch chile gravy
For dessert, the Pear & Hatch Green Chile Stuffed Sopapilla features smoked vanilla ice cream. Minced hatch chile is playfully stuffed inside a Sopapilla (sweet fried pastry) for dessert. Equally whimsical is Chef Art’s “smoked” vanilla ice cream, which he announced with a chuckle. On the plate, it almost looks like a stuffed acorn and just the right amount of sweet following the filling meal.
Pear & Hatch Green Chile Stuffed Sopapilla
The special menu for September is timed with the 6-week Hatch chile harvest season, Los Angeles’s only dedicated modern Southwestern restaurant, Panxa Cocina, is partnering with New Mexico State University’s Chile Pepper Institute (CPI) to launch the first-ever Hatch Chile Month
On Saturday, September 15 and Sunday, September 16 from 12-5 PM, Chef Gonzalez and the team at Panxa will host their first Hatch Chile Roast and Fest. The chef is driving to Las Cruces to pick them up from the source.
The dedicated outdoor space across from the restaurant will be transformed into the ultimate roast-out. Guests can take home the beloved roasted Southwestern ingredient to enjoy in their own homes. The major roast-out in Hatch, New Mexico is the event of the year and the biggest in the world, where 50-pound bags of roasted chiles fly into waiting for SUV and trucks.
Panxa Cocina is located at 3937 E Broadway Long Beach, CA 90803
Gerry Furth-Sides 
Barbara Hansen 
Chef-owner Alain Cohen 
Roberta Deen 
Jose Martinez 
Nivedita Basu 