NM Travel Guide

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Get Your Chile Kicks at Albuquerque's Jaunted-Approved Route 66 Malt Shop

Where: 3800 Central Ave SE [map], Albuquerque, NM, United States, 87108
January 11, 2012 at 4:47 PM | by | Comments (0)

Route 66: a thing so glorious that everyone wants a piece of it. Which means that for every amazing piece of memorabilia, stretch of Route 66 or piece of carry on luggage (don’t ask), there is a piece of tat or dirt track that’s beyond terrible. The only exception: food. You can pretty much guarantee that every diner trumpeting its Route 66 connections will be fun to eat in and great for photos, but purveying disgusting food.

Or so we thought till we found ourselves with time to spare in the Nob Hill part of Albuquerque, and asked to be pointed in the direction of somewhere to eat. And were recommended the Route 66 Malt Shop, at 3800 Central Avenue (ie Route 66).

At first glance, it looked like all the others. Bright colors and neon outside, retro stuff and juke box inside. Burgers and milkshakes on the menu. So far, so borrring. Slow service, too—we sat without anyone approaching us for a while (because we were alone?), so since we were in a hurry, we went up to the counter. A superfriendly man, who looked like he was in a rockband 20 years ago, asked us what we wanted.

We asked for something New Mexican. “Do you like blue cheese?” he said. “Because if you do, you need the Bleu Cheese Green Chile Burger.

He was right; it was the best burger we’d had for ages and easily the best burger of 2011. Blue cheese and green chile doesn’t sound like it should work, but omg it does. As for the meat: perfectly seasoned and magnificently juicy. Even the bun was delicious. We told the rockstar so, and he sat down at our table to tell us why.

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Foreign Grocery Friday: The Fried Ice Cream of Taos, New Mexico

Where: 822 Paseo del Norte [map], Taos, NM, United States, 87571
January 6, 2012 at 3:30 PM | by | Comments (0)

Fried ice cream was something we’d never considered until two weeks ago. In fact, it wasn’t something we were even aware of existing, what with being British. And then we were in the supercheap-but-superfabulous Guadalajara Grill in Taos, New Mexico, when we saw this huge thing looking like a deep fried brain, saying Fried Ice Cream $5.50. And we had to have it.

It didn’t look as brainy as it did in the display case, when it came. It was still huge, though – in a sweet taco shell, covered with a layer of cream, chocolate sauce and a cherry which we promptly scraped off. It looked a bit more brain-lumpy underneath.

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Win a Trip to New Mexico Plus a Walk-on Role in 'Breaking Bad'

January 3, 2012 at 1:25 PM | by | Comments (0)

Want to win a trip to Albuquerque, where you can hang out on the set of Breaking Bad?

Well, AMC is giving fans the chance with a recently launched sweepstakes. The winner will receive a walk-on role in the hit show, along with a four-day, three-night trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Breaking Bad will soon begin filming its fifth season.

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Billions of Balloons Hit The Skies Next Week In New Mexico

September 28, 2011 at 9:06 AM | by | Comments (2)

We’re sure you’ve seen plenty of pictures of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, so try to make this the year you finally make it out to New Mexico to check it out in person. We know it’s short notice—things run from October 1 through October 9—but where else can you see a SpongeBob SquarePants hot air balloon in person?

The hot air balloon party started back in the 1970s with just around a dozen or so balloons, but when the balloons hit the skies next week there will be more than 700. The launch field is almost 80-acres in size, so definitely remember to bring your sneakers if you’re planning to walk around before lift-off. This is one of the only festivals where visitors are allowed to walk between balloons so take advantage of the opportunity to meander about.

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Virgin Galactic's Spaceport America Opens to Public for Three-Hour Tours

May 12, 2011 at 11:08 AM | by | Comments (0)

Planning to hit happy hour tonight after work? We have something for toast to: the opening of Spaceport America, which represents yet another step closer to making space tourism a possibility. The Spaceport, located in the Mojave Desert in New Mexico—Albuquerque is 150 miles to the south—only just completed its runway in October and is already open for public tours.

This comes at the most opportune time; just as the sun is going down on the NASA space program and the space shuttles retired, Virgin Galactic's new wave spaceships enter the spotlight.

The AP has the news first, of course, that Virgin Galactic's facilities will host the first tour this Friday, a tour aimed at "giving guests an up close look at the spaceflight facilities before operations begin," which is later this year if all continues to go according to plan.

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Why Are Santa Fe Restaurants Posting No-Guns-Allowed Signs?

November 2, 2010 at 10:54 AM | by | Comments (4)

In Santa Fe, we visited James Beard Award-winning Cafe Pasqual for breakfast. As we waited outside for the restaurant to open, we saw the above sign, which read "Notice: No Guns Allowed."

We weren't packing heat, but we were curious as to why there was a need to put up such a sign, especially in a nice spot in the historic plaza. We also then were left wondering if we'd have to duck and cover if we ate elsewhere.

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Inside the Albuquerque Balloon Museum

Where: 9201 Balloon Museum Drive N.E. [map], Albuquerque, NM, United States, 87113
October 28, 2010 at 11:45 AM | by | Comments (0)

New Mexico's most famous festival is the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. We just missed the colorful hot-air balloon fest during our trip, so we opted for the next best thing: a visit to the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum.

While the museum isn't big enough to hold as many hot-air balloons as the Fiesta, it holds a couple of smaller ones. But it is big enough to contain some gondolas; the centerpiece of 'em is the original gondola from the Double Eagle V, the first manned balloon to cross the Pacific Ocean. It held balloonists Ben Abruzzo, Larry Newman and Ron Clark and, uh, Benihana steakhouse founder Rocky Aoki.

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Santa Fe's Canyon Road is Like a Free Outdoor Art Museum

October 26, 2010 at 12:02 PM | by | Comments (0)

The Edge showcases contemporary works from mid-career artists.

In museum-filled Santa Fe, there are an abundance of great spots offering looks at interesting art. But one of the top places to go for art is Canyon Road, a mile-long narrow street lined with adobe-houses-turned-galleries, in the heart of the city's arts district.

Along Canyon Road, you'll find a range of works, including American Indian pieces, 19th century art, abstract art, handmade jewelry and sculptures. And best of all, it's free to do your own art walk. That is, unless something catches your eye and you want to splurge a little.

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The Top Three Green Chile Cheeseburgers in Albuquerque

October 22, 2010 at 10:30 AM | by | Comments (2)

Southwestern Burger from ABQ Brewpub

New Mexico's unofficial state food is the green chile cheeseburger. Any respectable burger joint tops its patties with the spicy, flavorful chiles. You'll even find the hot chiles in burgers at McDonald's.

There's actually a Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail that plots out all of the good places to grab the signature sandwich throughout the state, but we decided to blaze our epicurean trail in Albuquerque. Taking cues from the Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail and suggestions from locals, we hit up three restaurants in search of the best green chile cheeseburger.

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How Scenic Is the Turquoise Trail from Albuquerque to Santa Fe?

October 21, 2010 at 2:00 PM | by | Comments (0)

We flew into Albuquerque and had to drive to Santa Fe, and found we had two options: the highway or the Turquoise Trail. Both routes take about an hour, with the highway a bit quicker. What got us was a trail brochure promising great scenery and 74 stop-off points. We love checking out little towns, so we decided to hop on the Turquoise Trail.

The historic trail encompasses 15,000 square miles. Prehistoric people lived there back in the day and Kit Carson marched through it with the Navajo during the Long Walk to Fort Sumner and supposedly outlaws camped out there as well.

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A Santa Fe Must: Eat a Frito Pie at Five & Dime. Seriously

Where: 58 E. San Francisco St. [map], Santa Fe, NM, United States, 87501
October 20, 2010 at 11:35 AM | by | Comments (0)

When Santa Fe locals and in-the-know travelers want a delicious lunch, they get Frito pie at a convenience store. We aren't joking.

The generic-looking Five & Dime General Store, which sits on the historic Santa Fe Plaza, sells everything from cold medicine to schlocky shot glasses. Head to the back of the store, there's a small snack bar that you'd easily overlook because of the unappetizing hot dogs and pizza under heat lamps.

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Pelvises and Nekkid Pictures: Inside the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum

Where: 217 Johnson St. [map], Santa Fe, NM, United States, 87501
October 19, 2010 at 8:30 AM | by | Comments (0)

If there's any artist who is synonymous with New Mexico, it's modernist painter Georgia O'Keeffe. The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum is the most-visited museum in the state, with more than 2 million people coming each year to see her famous desert landscapes.

The museum is pretty small, but it holds the biggest collection of O'Keeffe works. When you enter, there’s a screening room to the right that plays a short film on the artist's life. It reveals, for example, how just before O'Keeffe's first exhibition, another artist (who later became her husband) showcased nekkid photos of her. That led critics to read her art as sexual for the rest of her career, which she hated.

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