A couple of years ago, yet another
bone of contention between
New Mexico and
Texas cropped up. This time, it was over who invented
Frito Pie.
Santa Fe locals have long claimed that their own Teresa Hernandez, a Woolworth's lunch counter worker, first poured chile con carne over Fritos sometime in the 1960's.
All Texans, of course, knew the falseness of this claim. In our characteristic modest fashion, we shrugged off the immoderate boasts of our beloved neighbor. So it would have remained, were it not for the meddling of The Wall Street Journal, which published a story in 1999 that revealed the true genesis of the dish. In that story, it was revealed that Daisy Dean Doolin, the mother of Frito-Lay founder Elmer Doolin, first poured leftover Texas chili over Fritos in San Antonio, in 1932.
The efficient Yankees of the Journal produced sufficient documentary evidence to eviscerate New Mexico's claim, so they established a defensive position at "Santa Fe has the best Frito Pie." In all honesty, I can't understand why, because New Mexico has its own unique cuisine, which is universally admired, and which cannot be duplicated elsewhere, due to their intoxicating, inimatable local chiles.
In any case, the largest seller of Frito Pie is Sonic Drive-Ins, which is an Oklahoma-based chain. For trademark reasons, they call their dish chili pie, but it's the real thing. Try it. It's good.