It seems that the farther I get from Santa Fe and Albuquerque in southeastern New Mexico, the harder it is to find New Mexican style Mexican food (there is a strong Tex-Mex influence in this part of the state). Carlsbad does have several restaurants that serve traditional New Mexican cuisine, but Lucy's Mexicali is the best I have found so far.

One characteristic of New Mexican cuisine is that it uses New Mexico chiles, which are hotter than most. At Lucy's I found the chile to be medium to mild by New Mexico standards, but plenty spicy enough to give a good flavor to the food. Even though the "3 chiles" rating I gave it for the heat scale is about equal to most Tex-Mex food, the New Mexico chiles have an excellent flavor that I think is better than in most Tex-Mex dishes.

My favorite dish here was the Stuffed Sopaipilla, with meat, beans, and lettuce stuffed inside a large sopaipilla. I did not think this dish was great by New Mexico standards, but I was very glad to have a decent and good tasting one in this part of the state.

I do not have a record of the items I ordered on other visits, but I am sure it included enchiladas. After trying the stuffed sopaipilla, though, this was my "must order" dish at the restaurant.

I have seen Lucy's Mexicali in Ruidoso, but I do not know if it has the same owners or serves the same type of food (if it does, though, I think it would be worth trying).