Little Anita's is a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

and

New Mexican cuisine New Mexican cuisine is the cuisine of the Southwestern US state of New Mexico. It is known for its fusion of Pueblo Native American cuisine with Hispano Spanish and Mexican culinary traditions, rooted in the historical region of . This So ...

restaurant chain from

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. The chain has nine locations in Albuquerque and four in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. The chain comprises its traditional

casual dining Restaurants fall into several industry classifications, based upon menu style, preparation methods and pricing, as well as the means by which the food is served to the customer. This article mainly describes the situation in the US, while categor ...

locations as well as Little Anita's Express

fast food Fast food is a type of Mass production, mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. ''Fast food'' is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheat ...

restaurants.

History

Anita Tellez is responsible for the creation of multiple restaurants across the United States, and her children and grandchildren often took over the individual restaurants. Little Anita's is a restaurant chain established in 1976. It was owned by her only grandchild, K. Starrs Ortiz, and was named after one of Mrs. Tellez's own great grandmothers. The restaurants have become well known in the Albuquerque, New Mexico restaurant scene since then. The chain expanded to Denver in 2001. Another chain of restaurants started by Anita Tellez, Anita's New Mexico Style, serves Little Anita's New Mexico inspired food in the

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

area. Both chains are independently owned but borrow heavily from each other's menus. There was also a solo Anita's restaurant in Fullerton,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Specialties

The restaurants serve their critically acclaimed

sopapillas A sopaipilla, sopapilla, sopaipa, or cachanga is a kind of fried pastry and a type of quick bread served in several regions with Spanish heritage in the Americas. The word sopaipilla is the diminutive of sopaipa, a word that entered Spanish f ...

and red/green chile-smothered foods, as well as other New Mexican fare like

enchiladas An enchilada (, ) is a Mexican dish consisting of a corn tortilla rolled around a filling and covered with a savory sauce. Enchiladas can be filled with various ingredients, including meats, cheese, beans, potatoes, vegetables, or combinations. ...

made with blue corn,

huevos rancheros ''Huevos rancheros'' (, 'ranch-style eggs') is a breakfast egg dish served in the style of the traditional large mid-morning fare on rural Mexican farms. History The label “ranchero”, refers to the rancheros or vaqueros (cowherds or cowboys ...

, and green chile cheeseburgers.

Reception

In Colorado, they have won multiple awards, including multiple accolades from

Denver Westword ''Westword'' is a free digital and print media publication based in Denver, Colorado. ''Westword'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue circ ...

, including "Best Taste of New Mexico" and "Best Red Chile".

In popular culture

Their location at University Blvd. in Albuquerque was featured in

Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan for AMC (TV channel), AMC. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Breaking Bad), Walter White (Bryan Cran ...

(season 5).

References

External links

* Mexican-American culture in Colorado Mexican-American culture in Albuquerque, New Mexico Restaurants established in 1976 Restaurants in Albuquerque, New Mexico Regional restaurant chains in the United States 1976 establishments in New Mexico Mexican restaurants in Colorado New Mexican restaurants {{US-restaurant-stub