06.16.08
Albuquerque
When I think of New Mexico, traditionally I thought of
- Carlsbad Caverns insane population of bats and the resulting guano
- falling down the mountain at Santa Fe
- endless stretches of flat highway between the endless stretches of flat west Texas highway and the endless stretches of flat Arizona highway.
Since I got married, I got a new association with New Mexico: Grandma Bertha of Albuquerque. I love Grandma Bertha; she’s spunky, cantankerous, opinionated, and generally everything a New Mexico grandma should be, even if she is originally from Long Island. This was only my second trip out to see GB (yes, we’re absolutely horrible grandchildren, but I’ll not attempt airing the whys of that laundry on a public forum – you know how THAT can go), and I had a wonderful time. We played dominoes, ate retirement food, and all took a nap together on various pieces of furniture in her living room (we’d left for the airport at 5:00 that morning; that’s my excuse, and I’m sticking to it).
But GB needs her space, and so we also had a mini-vacation in the mix. Now, last time I went to Albuquerque, I did what everybody else who goes to Albuquerque does when they’re not about their business. I went to Santa Fe. And Santa Fe is cool. But this time, we decided to stay and see if this town had anything to it worth visiting. Turns out, Albuquerque is actually pretty dern cool. So, here’s my new New Mexico list, and it’s all things I love about Albuquerque:
- Sandia Mountain – the outline of this gorgeous mountain dominates the northern skyline; you can see it from anywhere, and it’s a wrinkly bear. I said “Wow” every time we turned a corner and it came into view.
- Unknown Restaurant on Plaza San Luis (in Old Town) that Actually Serves Vegetables – It’s right by the tourist center where you sign up for ghost tours. Order the vegetables on fry bread with the red chile sauce (green if you have a fire-proof mouth). The proprietor is a hoot, and the food is absolutely delicious. And did I mention that they have vegetables? You’ll appreciate that after checking out the typical Old Town menu.
- Chapel of Our Lady of Guadelupe (again in Old Town) – a tiny little chapel where people bring candles and leave their prayers to the virgin handwritten on notebook paper.
- St. Clair Bistro – a wine bar just north of Old Town (they claim in OT, but that’s a liberal definition of “in”). They serve all kinds of New Mexico wine, including their own, along with a full menu. The bartenders were very cool and gave us advice about what to do around the city, including the faboo restaurant below. Six tastings for $6 of passable to quite good wine was more than reasonable, and then our bartender let us try two of the most hideous wines I’ve ever encountered for no charge. One was a chocolate port that tasted like Dimetapp, but the other was a real gem. Neon green in color and a taste that can only be described as “really really really funny”, it was green chile wine. Now, I see that some people make their own, and as long as you’re not getting out the green #7, fine – chile up that wine. This, however, was inexcusable crap – bad wine made worse with food coloring and rejected peppers – and I heartily appreciate our bartender for sharing.
- El Pinto Restaurant – No where near Old Town. Pinto was a beautiful location that may just have the finest ribs I’ve ever tasted. Wonderful nachos that would feed a small army started us off, and a complimentary basket of sopapillas ended the meal. Go there.
What I didn’t do that I need to go back to Albaquerque for:
- Reservation madness. With my broken toe, wandering the wilderness in flip-flops didn’t seem like the greatest idea, but I REALLY wanted to.
- Hot Air Ballooning. Enough said.
- Riding the tram up Sandia Peak – the longest tram line in the worlds, or so they claim
So, go to New Mexico, chicos, and don’t skip Albuquerque for an extra couple days in Santa Fe. Anybody else got any New Mexico recommendations for next time we make the trip?