Almost 30 Years Later, an Upper West Side Burrito Shop Grows Into a Full-Blown Restaurant | Eater NY

"When Nina’s Great Burrito Bar threw open its doors on the Upper West Side at 522 Columbus Avenue, near West 85th Street, in mid-January, the debut marked a culmination of decades of work for Oaxaca-born Nina Flores and her family. The Floreses, who ran a shoebox Great Burrito shop for nearly 30 years, pivoted to takeout and delivery in 2020 with neighborhood restaurateur Jeremy Wladis and sustained the operation for nearly two years; that success has now morphed into a full-scale, sit-down restaurant owned by Beatriz Flores and run by the family while Wladis operates the bar. The menu expands well beyond burritos to regional Mexican dishes: huaraches (thick, sandal-shaped tortillas stuffed with refried beans and topped with queso fresco, crema, and a subtly spiced mole that Nina perfected), jalapeno-laced aquachiles from Veracruz, Yucatán-style slow-roasted cochinita pibil, and old favorites including chicken mole and ground beef burritos. Beatriz says they’re trying to let everybody have a taste of everything that’s from Mexico, drawing on family connections and the foods she grew up eating; Nina, who is not in the kitchen as much because of health complications, keeps a watchful eye over the menu. The restaurant seats 70 indoors and 54 outdoors and is open for dine-in, takeout, and delivery Monday–Thursday 12 p.m. to 12 a.m., Friday–Saturday 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 12 a.m." - Erika Adams