The New Mexico Fast Food Spot With A Nationally-Known Cheeseburger

You can tell where an American grew up by what fast food burger they rep for the most. California natives will tell you In-N-Out Burger or Fatburger is the best. If you were raised in the South, it's all about Whataburger; people even claim Whataburger's ketchup is superior. Midwesterners sing the praises of Culver's burgers and frozen custard. Those raised in New Mexico have a spicy secret weapon in the regional fast food burger wars: a statewide fast food chain called Blake's Lotaburger. In fact, Blake's is so ingrained in New Mexico culture that Skyler White is seen chowing down on Blake's food in multiple episodes of famously NM-based "Breaking Bad".

The first Blake's Lotaburger opened in 1952 in Albuquerque, NM. Over the years, the store footprint spread across the state and now includes locations in Arizona and Texas. The chain prides itself on cooking your order from scratch, from locally-sourced ingredients; everything that goes into a Blake's burger, save the bun, arrives from within Albuquerque. This means diners get a fresh cheeseburger every time.

The original menu didn't even offer drinks; your options were the namesake Lotaburger, smaller Itsaburger, and chips. The most popular and acclaimed item on Blake's menus today is the "New Mexico Style" cheeseburger — a Lotaburger or Itsaburger topped with a generous helping of Hatch green chiles.

Hatch is a town and a valley in southern New Mexico known as the "Chile Capital of the World." The soil found in the Hatch valley, combined with the typical weather, are ideal elements for growing Hatch chiles. The Hatch chile is a product of agricultural breeding; with an influx of transplants to New Mexico in the 1910s, the tastes of the public changed to want a milder pepper that could be preserved. A team of horticulturists at a university in Las Cruces, NM developed a chile pepper with a smokier flavor that still packs a subtle punch of heat.

The story goes that Blake Chanslor, founder of Blake's Lotaburger, noticed an interesting trend among his customers. Patrons would bring their own Hatch green chiles, a staple New Mexico crop, to Blake's to top their burgers. An enterprising Chanslor officially added a green chile cheeseburger to the Blake's menu, which according to company lore made the restaurant the first anywhere to offer such a fast food burger.

Should you not find yourself near a Blake's Lotaburger anytime soon, you can attempt to recreate the flavors of Hatch chiles at home. Anaheim peppers are a good substitute for the classic Hatch chile; roast until the skin blisters, let it cool, peel and chop and pile it up on your favorite cheeseburger.