John picked eating at Chile Verde Restaurant for his birthday.  Tom and I are usually in the south over John’s birthday, so it was nice to be able to celebrate with him.  We had never eaten at Chile Verde, which was an added bonus.

We met at Chile Verde on a Wednesday evening, the night before John’s birthday.  The restaurant is in a storefront area at Polaris and doesn’t look like much.  The decorations were low key with photos of various groups of Native Americans on the walls.  The food is New Mexican, a mix of Mexican and American made from the freshest ingredients.

Chile Verde opened on Sawmill Rd in Columbus in 1991.  In 2023 they expanded to the Polaris location and then, shortly after that, shut the Sawmill location.  The restaurant is not a chain and only has this one location.

Tom and I arrived before John and Jackie and had plenty of time to study the menu.  I must have been hungry because everything sounded good.  Fortunately, the waitress brought a basket of fresh, homemade nachos with salsa.  They were delicious and I made Tom move them away from me after a few minutes of nibbling.

When John and Jackie came we ordered and then spent some time catching up.  Tom and I have been spending so much time with Dad that we haven’t seen John and Jackie much.  Tom ordered a fajita burrito, I got the Navaho flatbread, Jackie ordered a chicken breast, and John got another kind of burrito.

When our food came, everything was very good.  The servings were very generous.  I wasn’t expecting a plate full of topping on my Navaho flatbread.  All of us had lots of food left over, enough for another meal.

Then the waitress came and asked if we wanted dessert.  I, at least, have to hear the options!  The choices were a brownie with ice cream or a sopaipilla.  We decided to share the brownie and, when it came, there was plenty for the four of us.  The waitress also brought a sopaipilla for John as a happy birthday from Chile Verde.

Both of the desserts were wonderful.  We polished the food off both plates.  John ate most of the sopaipilla, but we all tried it.  Fried dough with cinnamon, sugar, and chocolate on top.  What’s not to love?

I enjoyed our meal at Chile Verde very much.  I would be glad to go back so I can try some other dishes on the menu.  I do think, however, that I will always leave room for dessert.