A quest for Christmas-style burritos (those doused with both green and red chiles) led me straight to Jack-n-Grill, a 12-year-old New Mexican staple on Federal Boulevard. It’s hard to ignore this restaurant’s “wall of recognition,” where there are too many accolades—including appearances on the Travel Channel’s Man vs. Food and Extreme Places to Pig Out—to count.

My server helped pare down the menu’s 14 burrito choices by recommending the carne adovada, which is pork marinated and slow-cooked in a heady red chile sauce. The burrito was—as promised—monstrous, and it came marked straight down the middle with one half smothered in vegetarian red chile and the other in Jack-n-Grill's signature pork green chile. Shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes were merely a garnish.

One forkful from the green chile side and I reached for a swig of ice water, one from the red side was decidedly more mild. Eaten together, the dish offered the ideal balance of heat and flavor. That said, the chiles’ kick depends on the day, and sometimes the red sauce eclipses the green on the heat scale.

Bonus: Ask for Christmas-style burritos at these other local stops: Tom's Urban 24, Little Anita's, Rio Grande, and pretty much any burrito shop serving up red and green chile. 

Jack-in-Grill, 2524 N. Federal Blvd., 303-964-9544

Follow editorial assistant Lindsey R. McKissick on Twitter at @LindseyRMcK.