Fullerton, CA 92832
Listing on Yahoo! Local
No known official website.
Appetizer: Chips and Salsa
Entree: Blue Corn Chicken Enchiladas
Beverage: Orange Bang!
Dessert: Sopaipillas
UPDATE: Anita's has closed down.
This place was suggested to me by a good friend after he found out I had started posting reviews of Mexican restaurants recently. It's definitely a hole-in-the-wall, but it's a very respectable hole-in-the-wall. The outside appears rather generic but the inside is decorated with a number of native American artifacts that add the appropriate ambiance. They also have an outside walk up order window for those on the go. Not being very cultured at all I would've assumed at first that it was a Tex-Mex restaurant but it is actually Mexican food with a New Mexican flair. I suppose you could call it "New Mex-Mex." Or, to be less redundant, maybe just "New/Mex." Does anybody else know a better term?
Anita's specialty is their sopaipillas (I thought it was spelled "sopapillas" but their menu says "sopaipilla," so for this review I will follow their convention), puffy pastries that you can stuff with food from your plate, or eat plain, or drizzle some honey onto (they bring you a big squeeze bottle of honey with any sopaipilla order).
We got plenty of chips and salsa (I think I ate too many - I need to train myself to not eat too many chips before the main entree arrives). My friend ordered the "stuffy dinner" (so called because it comes with two big sopaipillas to stuff fixin's from your plate into), his wife ordered the carne asada plate, and I ordered the blue corn enchiladas. And I took advantage of the fact that they had Orange Bang on the menu to drink (whoever invented Orange Bang is a genius).
For dessert we ordered, guess what?, more sopaipillas. This time it was a basket of seven smaller ones from the dessert menu and they came with a cup of chocolate dipping sauce in addition to the honey. Very tasty and one serving was enough for the three of us to share. I think on my next visit I'm going to try their apple cinnamon burrito.
Overall Anita's earns a four Speedy Gonzales rating:
UPDATE (April 11, 2007):
Here's some better pictures taken during my visit to Anita's yesterday:
And then some pictures taken about three weeks later:
Indian Taco
"Stuffy"
Sopaipilla with chocolate and honey
Apple Stuffy
Hold your cursor over the Apple Stuffy to look inside it.
Their hours appear on their high tech marquee
Huevos Rancheros
Just had lunch there today. Have dined here several times over the years. My wife and I both had the Stuffy platter lunch special with the pork and chile verde filling. As good as I remember and the sopaipillas for dessert seal the deal.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. I heard somebody say they thought Anita's might've closed down but if they had you wouldn't be saying you had lunch there yesterday. Unless it was the Ghost of Anita's you were eating at. Anyways, yes, it's high time for me to go back . . . and with a better camera this time.
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I have been going to Anita's in Fullerton for several years now and love it! They had a second location in either Santa Ana or Fountain Valley that closed about a year or so ago. There is also another restaurant named Little Anita's, located in Albuquerque, NM that belongs to the same family.
ReplyDeleteYou failed to mention that since they feature "Southwestern" style food, that they have a meat called Carne Adovada, that's marinated in chile for about 24 hours and is very nice, and spicy! The entre's can be ordered with this meat. They also have a very good Posole, a hominy dish that is also spicy and very tasty!
Thanks for the comment. The pozole is pictured in this review. I've seen the adovada on the menu but just haven't tried it yet.
ReplyDeleteI have been to Little Anita's in Albuquerque, and I can tell you the California Little Anita's need to visit the Albuquerque restaurant. Apparently they forgot the recipes. But to be fair it's better than other California Mexican Restaurants ... I much prefer "New Mexican Food". When In Santa Fe, N.M. try "The Shed", or Tomasita's. Duran's Pharmacy in Albuquerque has the best tortillas anywhere and the foods not to shabby either. Every region has their unique flavors. When in Texas, try Chewy's, in Austin, San Antonio, or Houston, also Pappasito's Cantina is a great place. I’m still looking for my favorite spot here in California, and now that I found this fantastic blog that ChristianZ has put together I’m optimistic I’ll find some great places to eat "California Mexican Food".
ReplyDeleteThere's all different kinds of Mexican food that you'll find in Orange County. Including California-Mex, Tex-Mex, New Mex-Mex, and food from different regions in Mexico itself. I'm just about to put up a review of a place that serves food from the Mexican state of Oaxaca. Not like we haven't covered Oaxacan food here before though . . .
ReplyDeleteI've been going here for a few years with my girlfriend and my parents have been going here for nearly 20 years. Their Carne Asada burrito, wet with red chile is one of my favorite things to eat, period. I also love their Carne Adovada burrito, wet as well. I know other people that really love their chicken burrito wet with greeen chile(I'd go for a few things before I'd get this, though). I've had several things on the menu but Anitas is for the Burritos! Always get it wet!
ReplyDeleteWe are regulars at Anita's. They have the best carne adovada and their chile verde is very tasty. They are a family owned business now run by the son, Ryan. The family owns locations in several states including New Mexico where we have property. So even when away we can get Anita's great food.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. I didn't know they had other locations.
ReplyDeleteI love this place going there tonight
ReplyDeleteChristina, sorry to report it but Anita's has closed.
ReplyDelete