El Patron: The Boss of New Mexican Cuisine

Opening El Patron early this year was a restaurateur’s dream: Customers from the Daskaloses’ Albuquerque location — who had either relocated to Phoenix or are Phoenicians who vacation in Albuquerque — were a built-in customer base, stampeding to the Scottsdale location as soon as El Patron’s Facebook page announced the opening.

Long-time restaurateurs Jimmy and Nadine Daskalos bring here the menu that has earned them a “Best in New Mexico” for the past seven years — along with their Albuquerque chef to get the kitchen squared away.

The cuisine is New Mexican. “New Mexican is different from Mexican,” Jimmy Daskalos explains, “in the chile sauces, the use of Hatch chiles, and an emphasis on flavor over heat.” There’s further difference among North, South and Central New Mexico style, primarily in the method of cooking the chile. “We use roasted and peeled Hatch green chiles. The flavor of the chile comes out,” explains Nadine Daskalos about their Central New Mexico style. Heat varies seasonally, and El Patron takes that into account and mixes hot and milder chiles in its sauces.

Nadine jokingly refers to the menu as “red, green and Serrano cream.” Red and green are sauce choices on such menu items as the enchiladas, burritos, sopapillas and chimichangas, and the Serrano is part of what makes the Blue Corn Seafood Enchiladas — filled with flaky white fish, succulent shrimp and calabacitos — and the signature Green Chile Chicken Lasagna — noodles layered with braised chicken, sautéed mushrooms and a blend of cheeses — even more special.

An El Patron favorite is the Carne Ardovado Plate. High-quality, red chile-braised pork shoulder, swimming in a choice of sauce, can be enjoyed by fork or wrapped in the tortillas it’s served with. Guacamole makes a good go-with, with its fresh, simple and clean flavor of chunky pieces of avocado and tomato mixed with diced pieces of red onion and cilantro.

Service is the same high quality as the food. That’s a natural result of the Daskaloses’ philosophy: “We take care of the staff so they take care of the customers,” says Jimmy, sharing that most of their Albuquerque staff has been with them more than a decade.

El Patron

8977 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale
(480) 590-8180