Loaf ‘N Jug Chile & Frijoles Festival, the annual celebration of the array of peppers grown in the area. “The festival has definitely increased the awareness of Pueblo’s chile crop throughout the region and state, thus increasing the demand,” says Juls Bayci, communications director for the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce. Each year the farmers plant nearly 300 acres of chilies and close to 500 acres of frijoles. Farmers like Carl Musso of Musso’s Farm sell thousands of bushels of chilies worth tens of thousands of dollars at the fest. Amid pepper-eating contests, cookoffs, craft booths and live music performances, the smell of farmers roasting chilies hangs in the air. “It’s just getting bigger and better every year,” said Musso, who owns the oldest and most well-known chile farm in the area. Many restaurants feature Musso Farms chilies on their menus. The Musso Farms pizza, at popular local pizzeria Angelo’s, features sausage, pepperoni and chilies. Hot, medium or mild, Pueblo’s chilies lend a little kick and a hearty flavor when eaten plain, mixed into an entrée or atop a tortilla chip. And if you think there’s a limit to what chilies can do, consider Pueblo’s other concoctions, like green chili jams and jellies, breads, stews – even beer. Whether they’re fire roasted, barbecued or baked, Pueblo green chilies kick anything up a notch or two.
Fire roasting Pueblo chilies
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Jeff Adkins
Sloppers Get TV Time Smother a burger with the famous chilies and top with raw onions and you’ve got a slopper, possibly Pueblo’s most unique contribution to the food world. The origin of the messy meal (most often served in a bowl, to be eaten with a spoon) is a little cloudy. Although it is known to have originated in Pueblo, no one can agree on which restaurant was the first to serve it. Today, a variety of Pueblo restaurants slop up sloppers, including the Pantry Restaurant on E. Abriendo