by Bottom Line: The Chilaquiles from Snooze AM Eatery offer an interesting twist on that dish, and the Habanero Pork Belly really kicks it up.
I am a big fan of Chilaquiles. I first discovered this dish of tortillas cooked in sauce while vacationing in Mexico (I have a recipe for it here) and have since found that it is on the menu of quite a number of restaurants here in San Antonio. It has actually become quite popular nationwide as food shows like Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives have featured it on a regular basis. So, if I do see these on the menu, I tend to order them, especially at breakfast or brunch time. Just recently, when I stopped at Snooze AM Eatery in the morning and saw the Chilaquiles, I knew that was what I would be ordering.
Snooze is a national chain that focuses on breakfast and brunch with fresh ingredients, and they have quite a selection of mimosas and Bloody Marys to go along with their food selections. This place makes it a point to add a unique twist to all of their dishes, and that is true with the Chilaquiles:
Crispy corn tortilla chips layered with black beans and green chili. Topped with house-made cilantro garlic aioli, two sunny-side-up cage-free eggs, house-made pickled peppers & red onions, cotija cheese, cilantro, and fresh lime.
You can add meat to the dish for $2.75, so I went with the Habanero Pork Belly which turned out to be a good choice.
To start with, this is not a traditional plate of chilaquiles. Instead of cooking the tortillas with the sauce, they layer it on along with black beans. But it is still quite tasty, and the chips retain more crispiness that way. The green chili has the expected mild but slightly pungent taste with a nice kick of cumin. The beans are earthy and cooked through and work well with the green chili and chips. I did not notice too much of the cilantro garlic aioli, but when I got a few bites, it had a nice tang and notable herbiness from the cilantro (there are some fresh leaves floating around the plate as well). The pickled peppers and onions deliver a good tartness along with a touch of sweetness. The eggs are perfectly cooked, and the velvety yolks add a nice layer of texture when they are popped open.
The Chilaquiles by themselves are quite excellent, but their decadent Habanero Pork Belly really kicks them up and becomes the star of the plate. These are thick slices of meat that are exceptionally tender like slow-roast pork but also have a nice crust from the seasoning. There is a bit of sweetness there along with a peppery kick and a nice pop of heat from the Habanero chilis.
The pork belly by itself I would put above Medium on my scale, and when everything is mixed together on the plate, the dish gets to just above Mild. That’s good for me for a breakfast item because I don’t want too much heat with my morning coffee. But there is just enough kick to leave a nice tingle in your mouth so that you know you ate something with some heat.
Take note that this is definitely not a diet plate. The Chilaquiles themselves total up to 800 calories, which is a substantial amount to start the day with. And if you add that Habanero Pork Belly (which I advise), that tacks on another 360 calories. Now, if you skipped breakfast and have this for brunch and don’t eat again until dinner, you won’t be doing too badly. But if this is your first meal of the day, you better be going low-calorie or no-calorie on lunch at least!
Snooze has quite a number of other offerings that should be of interest and several that deliver a kick like the Chilaquiles, breakfast burritos, tacos, and the Habanero Pork Belly Benny. They are a little on the high side price-wise for their dishes (the Chilaquiles with the pork run sixteen bucks in my area), but for the quality ingredients they use and the good food they are putting together, it is worth the money. And while nothing they have will set your mouth on fire, there are still several dishes that offer a nice kick. You can check for a location near you on their website.
Nutrition Info:
Chilaquiles
Calories: 800
Fat: 43g (8g Sat/0.5g Trans)
Protein: 27g
Carbs: 80g
Sodium: 1860mg
Habanero Pork Belly
Calories: 360
Fat: 28g (0g Sat/10g Trans)
Protein: 0g
Carbs: 40g
Sodium: 560mg
