The Patty Aragon Green Chile Classic — a sure sign of fall

Posted Wednesday, September 16, 2015 8:00 am

Photo courtesy Jacque Aragon
Green chile roasting — a familiar and popular fall sight in southwest Colorado. Green chile will once again be at the heart of the Mountain Chile Cha Cha on Sept. 26 with the Patty Aragon Green Chile Classic.[/caption]

By Jacque Aragon

Special to The PREVIEW

Each year, the fall season arrives with shorter days, cooler nights and bushels of fresh roasted green chiles.

In Pagosa Springs, there is an annual green chile cook-off where chefs of all abilities and backgrounds compete for cash, trophies and bragging rights. This event, the Patty Aragon Green Chile Classic, was created to celebrate the green chile harvest and pay homage to a local green chile enthusiast who sated Pagosans’ green chile palettes for years with her tasty homemade recipe.

Patty Aragon, along with her husband, Ross Aragon, owned and operated Al’s West and East from the 1970s until 1992. Al’s was famous for its green chile, which was served straight up or atop burgers, fries and almost everything.

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