So far, 2005 is shaping up to be the year we conquer the chile: dark and musky guajillos, sweet and fruity anchos, startling cascabels, bold, almost tannic pasillas. It's pretty easy to turn the dried pods of your choice into a rich, thick sauce. Toast, soak, grind, and fry, and then simmer along with your choice of meat or fowl. Inspiration is no further away than the prodigious chile section at El Burrito. They sell so many chiles, they pack their own! There's also a full complement of dry goods, a small but spiffy selection of housewares, and well-stocked produce and dairy cases. (On our last trip we picked up some fresh, peeled nopales and some very pretty prickly pear fruit. The prospect sent the kids scurrying to the basement.) If all that isn't enough to prompt the purchase of an armload of dried peppers, take a trip through the line of El Burrito's cafeteria, take your sampler to the charming tile-and-adobe-graced dining room. Surely there you, too, will resolve to conquer the chile.