People choose eating places using a variety of criteria.
My 13-year-old, for instance, will not set foot in a restaurant if he has seen an ambulance parked outside. No amount of prodding or pleading helps. He refuses to even consider dining there.
I have similar illogical concerns about small storefront eateries. Often, such restaurants only prepare a certain amount of menu items and you’ll be disappointed when they don’t have what you’ve been craving. Many times, the service isn’t up to par, and the recipes should have stayed in the home kitchen.
Of course, there are exceptions. Tiny doesn’t always signal subpar, just as an ambulance parked outside doesn’t mean someone died of the cooking. (Maybe the paramedics are happy customers.)
The proof that small also is good is at Little Anita’s on South Colorado Boulevard, where the only thing you’ll have to worry about is deciding which one of the numerous menu items you’ll want to eat.
Most of the items, from breakfast burritos to calabacitas (vegetable) enchiladas can be prepared with red chile or the traditional green. The staff claims the red is hotter, but if you don’t like the earthy-intense flavor of red chiles, go for the green. It’s spicy too. After a few bites, your forehead will gleam, or your nose will run, or maybe you’ll reach for a cool beverage.
Neither the red nor green are unbearably fiery, just heavenly hot.
Many of the menu items aren’t readily available at other, larger restaurants. Here, you can order a stuffed sopaipilla in any combination of bean, beef and chicken ($4.75-$5.95). The long pillows of dough are bathed in chile and topped with cheese.
The restaurant also serves a vegetarian tamale made with green chiles and cheese. A plate ($6.25) comes with two huge tamales, rice and beans. The masa was a bit thick even for a corn lover, but the dish was tasty. I’d order it again.
Burritos also come in a variety of combinations. The beef and bean burrito ($4.75), for instance, is stuffed with shredded beef and beans and fills a plate. You won’t go away hungry.
I’m always on a quest to find the best guacamole and Little Anita’s (served with chips for $3.95) is good, but not great. It’s creamy and not loaded down with extras, such as huge chunks of crunchy chiles, but it lacks a powerful taste.
As a nice surprise, each entrée comes with a sopaipilla (plain, not sprinkled with sugar or cinnamon) so you can sop up any remaining chile on your plate, or drizzle the fried dough with honey.
The place gets busy, but the service is so quick, you won’t wait long for a table.
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Little Anita’s
New Mexican|1550 S. Colorado Blvd., 303-691-3337; another location at 6830 S. Yosemite St.| $2.35-$8.50|Daily, 6 a.m.-8:30 p.m.; major credit cards, no personal checks.
Front burner: Hard-to-find items, delicious, kids’ menu and vegetarian options.
Back burner: During busy times, people waiting for a table stare anxiously at already-seated eaters. Just ignore them.
