El Paso, the dusty taco mecca of 750,000 on the western tip of Texas, is in the news more often for the drug-related throwdowns in nearby Juarez, Mexico, than for its beloved chile colorado, fatty barbacoa and handmade tortillas. But when the collective chew of the wildly delicious, food-rich city stops long enough, locals are taking notice of a chef who is quietly stealing his own headlines with juicy veal chops and silky green chile soup. Think of it as fine dining in the time of border unrest.

Armando Pomales, the talented executive chef at Cafe Central, a 92-year-old restaurant in the city's downtown arts district, is the baby-faced native El Pasoan heading a fine dining charge that has the state's biggest border town on a white-tablecloth upswing. Not to worry -- the city is still devoted to Chico's Tacos, famous for quasi-crunchy flautas swimming in unidentified pink broth under mountains of processed cheese (just go with it, they're delicious), and H&H Car Wash and Coffee Shop, whose huevos rancheros rank among the best in the state. But, an excitement is building around Pomales and his kitchen, where he also plates those grilled veal chops with thick goat cheese fritters and a salad of morel and black trumpet mushrooms, house-cured bacon, pea tendrils and watermelon radishes dusted with pistachios.

Quality bang for the buck

Pomales is determined to serve dishes like this even though he's situated in a desert locale that hardly lends itself to easy sourcing. "There are some farmers around here, but not enough supply for everybody," he says, while contemplating another of his daily challenges. "El Paso has a really big stomach, a really big appetite. So if it's a $50 entree, they're expecting bulk."

In 1999, a 19-year-old Pomales arrived at Cafe Central while still enrolled at El Paso Community College, where he later earned his culinary degree. (He now teaches there part time alongside his former mentor and teacher, Richard Webb.) Pomales began work on the garde manger station preparing salads and worked his way up to executive chef in 2006. Now 30 years old, he has never worked in another restaurant. (That is, if you don't include his one-week stint years ago as a busboy across the street.)

Next to other chefs garnering similar acclaim in larger U.S. cities, Pomales has comparably less experience. He turns bashful when he discusses the mentions of Cafe Central in publications such as The New York Times and Saveur magazine, both written since he took the helm.

He's also humble when asked about his status as a two-time semifinalist for this year's James Beard Foundation Best Chef Southwest Award. "As much as those nominations put me in the spotlight, there are a lot of other chefs who have done tremendous jobs here in El Paso," he says. But none of them are coaxing the sweeping flavors of the region into scallops served alongside green chile and shrimp fondue and chipotle-marinated prawns wrapped in bacon.

As for venturing outside the city limits, Pomales feels the way you might suspect. "I daydream, of course," he says. "That's part of our lifestyle. You want to go to Paris, you want to go to Spain. You want to go train with Thomas Keller in New York. I do dream about it, but I like El Paso. It's home. And why not make home a little bit better?"

Photos, from top:
Chef Armando Pomales. Credit: Mark Lambie / The El Paso Times
One of Pomales signature dishes. Credit: Cafe Central

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