Some Things Never Get Old

It’s not just age that makes a restaurant a “classic,” though that’s definitely one of the ingredients.

The staying power required to last for twenty years, fifty years, a century—that only happens when people love it enough to continue coming back, to tell their friends about it, and to help make sure it sticks around that long.

This week, we’ve rounded up a few stories about spots in New Mexico that have stood that test of time and ingrained themselves in local histories and communities.
All it takes to keep ’em around is to keep showing up hungry.

La Mesa, New Mexico

Inside the La Mesa Kitchen

Maybe you’ve just driven past, or maybe you’ve stopped at

Chope’s

for a meal or two—or, quite possibly, you’ve been going there your whole life.
The historic bar and New Mexican restaurant in La Mesa has been open for over a hundred years, operated by the Benavides family the whole time.

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Fifty Years of Lucky Boy

There’s a quaint little spot in Albuquerque where you can go for a burger and a malt, served at last century’s prices.
Would you imagine that you can also go there for egg fu young and veggie lo mein?

At

Lucky Boy
,
you’ll find American fast food alongside Chinese American fare, cooked to order by the same couple who’ve been running the place since the 1970s.

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Phở #1 Earns Its Name

Some albums are such classics that you don’t tire of putting them on over and over again.

For Julianne Peterman,

Phở #1

—serving phở and vermicelli and avocado shakes for over twenty years—is like that classic album: comforting, solid, and there for you when you need it.

And when else might she need it more than for her last meal in Albuquerque before moving away for good?
Whether it’s bò 7 món or the steaming hot vegetarian noodle soup, you’ll likely find something worthy of heavy rotation yourself.

New Mexico’s classic restaurants don’t survive on history alone.
They survive because generations of hungry people keep walking through the door.