ON THE ROAD
CHILE
dreams
T
ITO GONZALEZ WAS a
fi refi ghter until he retired
in the 1960s. According to
his grandson Travis Knight
(above), Tito got bored about two
weeks later. “He was in charge of
cooking at the fi rehouse,” Travis says.
“His natural progression was a restau-
rant, I guess.” Tito opened Mary &
Tito’s Cafe soon thereafter. Today, his
daughter Antoinette Knight owns and
operates the restaurant; Travis and his
brother Jordan serve as acting manag-
ers. “My grandparents never advertised.
Text by Bryan Roof;
photos by Steve KlisePatricio Arguello (top right) has been on staff at Mary &
Tito’s Cafe for more than 40 years. According to Travis
Knight (top left), Arguello is “as close as family can be
without being actual blood. We regard [our staff ] as un-
cles and aunts. We keep it real close to the heart here.”The whole idea was: You do something
right and people will fi nd out. It was a
word of mouth thing.”
Mary & Tito’s Cafe is housed in a
simple building in an industrial area of
Albuquerque, New Mexico. Outside,
the gravel parking lot kicks up dust. In-
side, you’re greeted with warm smiles:
It feels like a home kitchen. The vinyl
booths spring back like a trampoline
when you sit, and picture windows let
you watch the traffi c hum by.
Tito was the cook during the early
years, and he was meticulous about
the food—especially the green and
red chile sauces that are staples of
New Mexican cuisine. He personally
sourced the raw chiles from Hatch,
New Mexico, 200 miles to the south,meeting with farmers until he found a
product he liked. Those relationships
have endured throughout the years.
“The biggest compliment we get is,
‘Man, I haven’t had chile like that since
my grandma died,’” Travis says.
I ask Travis if the recipes have
changed at all over the years. “Well,
there technically aren’t recipes. It’s all
done by eye and feel. Nothing is writ-
ten down. The amount of garlic that
goes in is based on the size of the pot.”
Tito passed away when Travis was
7 or 8. “Mom quit her day job andcame in to help Grandma. Everyone
helped the family business.” As a result,
Travis and his brothers grew up in the
restaurant. “We have customers who’ve
been eating here longer than I’ve been
alive,” he says. “We literally had a
playpen in the corner. Customers come
in and tell me, ‘I remember when your
mom was changing your diapers here.’”
Over the years, the restaurant
expanded to the building next door.
“What the kitchen could muster,” as
Travis puts it, but the atmosphere,
food, and sense of family remain un-
changed. “We lucked out,” Travis says.
“My grandpa put in the hard work.
I don’t know if I could do what he did.”