El Modelo (originally El Modelo Tortilla Factory) 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 in the city of

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 ...

, which was founded in 1929. It is located in the historic neighborhood of

Barelas Barelas is an inner-city neighborhood of Albuquerque, New Mexico, located immediately south of Downtown. It consists of the triangular area bounded by Coal Avenue, the BNSF railroad tracks, and the Rio Grande. Originally a separate village, it w ...

History

The restaurant was founded by Refugio and Carmen Garcia in 1929, as El Modelo Tortilla Factory. Carmen would get up at two in the morning to prepare

tortilla A tortilla (, ) is a thin, circular unleavened flatbread from Mesoamerica originally made from maize hominy meal, and now also from wheat flour. The Aztecs and other Nahuatl speakers called tortillas ''tlaxcalli'' (). First made by the indi ...

s to sell for breakfast. She hired Petra Vargas to make

tamale A tamale, in Spanish language, Spanish , is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of ''masa'', a dough made from nixtamalization, nixtamalized maize, corn, which is steaming, steamed in a corn husk or Banana leaf, banana leaves. The wrapping ...

s. Vargas then taught Garcia's family how to make tamales. When Carmen's son, Leo Garcia, came home from

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in 1945, he went into business with his mother. In 1947, Salvador Garcia, the eldest son, helped build the current building in the former location of the family's three room house. The location has not changed since it was established in 1929. In 1985, Hector Mendoza and Virginia Chittim purchased the restaurant, and they ran it together until 2003. At which point, Virginia Chittim took full ownership of the restaurant.

Today

El Modelo continues to serve tortillas and their critically acclaimed tamales. As well as New Mexican cuisine including,

chile relleno The chile relleno (, literally "stuffed chile") is a dish in Mexican cuisine that originated in the city of Puebla. In 1858, it was described as a "green chile pepper stuffed with minced meat and coated with eggs". The most common pepper used is ...

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. ...

, stuffed

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 ...

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 ...

burritos A burrito (, ) or burro in Mexico is, historically, a regional name, among others, for what is known as a taco, a tortilla filled with food, in other parts of the country. The term ''burrito'' was regional, specifically from Guanajuato, Guerr ...

, and

tacos A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican dish consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or wheat-based tortilla topped with a filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and eaten by hand. A taco can be made with a variety of filli ...

Reception

The restaurant was also ranked as the 4th best Mexican restaurant in Albuquerque by

USAToday ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquart ...

's 2012 10Best. In 2013, El Modelo was voted one of the "Best Mexican Restaurants in the U.S." by ''

Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Co. (formerly Wyndham Destinations, Inc., and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation) is an American timeshare company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It develops, sells, and manages timeshare properties under several vacation owners ...

'' magazine, which described the food as "rave-worthy".

References

External links

* {{Restaurants in Albuquerque, New Mexico Mexican-American culture in Albuquerque, New Mexico Restaurants established in 1929 Restaurants in Albuquerque, New Mexico 1929 establishments in New Mexico