Chilaquiles in NYC: What They Are, Red vs. Green, and How to Eat Them

In Mexico, chilaquiles are a morning dish: what you make with yesterday's tortillas, what you order at a market stall, and a famous cure for the night before. In New York they've become a brunch staple. If you're not sure what you're ordering, start here.

What are chilaquiles?

Chilaquiles start with corn tortillas cut into wedges and fried until crisp. The chips go into a pan of hot salsa and get tossed or simmered just long enough to soak some of it up, so the edges soften while the middle keeps a little crunch. They're finished with crema, crumbled cheese, onion and cilantro, and usually eggs, shredded chicken or both, with beans on the side.

The name comes from Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, and the dish is old: a way to turn stale tortillas into a hot breakfast. Every region and every family has its own version.

Red or green?

Chilaquiles verdes are made with salsa verde: tomatillos, green chiles, onion and cilantro. They're bright and a little tart. Chilaquiles rojos are made with a red salsa of tomatoes or dried chiles like guajillo and ancho, and they taste deeper and smokier. Neither color is always spicier; the heat depends on the chiles. Some places serve them divorciados, half red and half green on one plate.

Chilaquiles, nachos and migas

• Chilaquiles are sauced. The chips go into the salsa, and you eat them with a fork.
• Nachos are crisp chips with toppings on top, eaten by hand.
• Migas, in their Tex-Mex form, are scrambled eggs cooked with strips of tortilla.

How do you eat chilaquiles?

1. Eat them right away. The chips keep softening in the salsa, so the first minutes are the best.
2. Use a fork. These aren't finger food.
3. Break the yolks. With fried eggs on top, let the yolk run into the salsa.
4. Get a bit of everything. Chips, salsa, crema and cheese in each bite, with the beans alongside.

Our chilaquiles

Ours are on the weekend brunch menu. Here they are as they read on our menu:

That makes them chilaquiles verdes, with the eggs sunny-side up, and our menu rates them 2 out of 4 for heat. On the same menu you'll find the red velvet chicken & waffles, and most appetizers, tacos and sides from the dinner menu are served at brunch too.

Brunch on the roof

Brunch is Saturday and Sunday from 12pm to 4:30pm, with the last seating at 3:45pm and a live DJ from noon. Bottomless brunch is unlimited mimosas and sangrias for $25 per person for 90 minutes, and everyone at the table participates. Not drinking? See our zero-proof brunch guide.

Cantina Rooftop is at 605 W 48th Street, between 11th and 12th Avenue in Hell's Kitchen, about a 12-minute walk from the C/E subway at 50th Street. Tables for 2 to 8 book online; walk-ins are welcome, but we recommend booking.