We were there on Wednesday night last week, iand there was live entertainment on the patio. Elena's staff was very friendly and helpful with our many menu questions. We all wanted to try their chile relleno, since it was ""High Chile Season"" in New Mexico! Fortunately, they have an ""a la carte"" menu so we all ordered a single chile relleno to go with our chosen entrees. The chile rellenos were described in detail in the menu (de-seeded, stuffed with cheese, dipped in egg white batter), and although the product delivered did not match the description, it was very flavorful and we enjoyed them very much. A whole, seeded chile was dipped in the batter then TOPPED with white cheese. Normally I prefer stuffed rellenos, but these lost nothing in the translation.
The rest of the food was also very good. My cheese enchilada plate was cheesy and hot, with lots of the coveted red chile sauce on top. We thought the chips and salsa superior to most others we've had.
We tried this place because we thought so highly of one of the owner's response to a critical review of the service on Yelp in June 2010. Which also underscores the adage that if you have a problem with service or food, it's probably best to address it with the management immediately rather than Yelp it later, when it is much more difficult to rectify.
We are returning to Ruidoso next summer, and we will be returning to Elena's Place!
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