A lot of balloonists go there, & not everyone likes Tex-Mex for a week solid.
It can be freezing (literally 32°) in the morning on the field at Fiesta park & then double in temp during the day; exactly how does one dress for a 30+° temp swing? Also, remember your ChapStik!
In terms of how much time you spend in each place, I might recommend this order: Santa Fe, Taos, Albuquerque. You could do your first night and last night in Albuquerque. That would work well with your flights and give you some time there, but then most of your time could be in the more picturesque Santa Fe and Taos.
Keep in mind that these cities are at elevations of 5-7000 feet and the air is very dry. You should be proactive about hydration to deal with both the elevation and low humidity. Be sure to bring some lip balm as chapped lips are very common. If you forget your balm, a great place to get some in Albuquerque is the Los Poblanos lavender farm. They have lots of amazing skin care products made with lavender grown on site. It’s also an amazing inn. If it’s within your budget, it would be a great place to stay.
Tex-Mex!? Bite your tongue!
Exactly. We are limiting ourselves to that area so we don’t spend more time driving around than seeing things. We’re planning on 7-8 days, so that area will be plenty.
No worries there - I am a ChapStick addict as it is, and travel with plenty of it.
We were there in October, 2024 as part of a multi-state (CO, UT, AZ, NM) road trip. We didn’t hit Albuquerque. Nothing much happening in Taos, but Santa Fe with a side trip to Los Alamos was fun. My restaurant recommendation is Tomasita’s in Santa Fe. There will probably be a wait for a table, but it’s worth it. If you do go to Taos, seriously consider a visit to the hot springs in Pagosa Springs, CO two hours away. Not only are the springs an awesome place to unwind, the views on the drive from Taos are magnificent.
Just like your mother said, layers.
Yeah, it’s called what… New-Mex?
Anyway, it’s Tex-Mex adjacent, but definitely not the same. I actually grew up eating my family’s “Mexican food” that they’d learned how to make in SW New Mexico, and while I noted that it was different than what we got at restaurants in Houston, I always assumed it was basically the home/restaurant divide added to stylistic differences. Nope, it was a fair bit more New Mexico than it was Texas, it turns out, and less Mexican and more Anglo. Still good though!
Put enough green chilies on something and it’s New Mexican cuisine. Cheeseburgers are elevated to the sublime thanks to that addition.
Agreed. Though I’m apparently required by law now to eat Pueblo chile as a Coloradan for 25+ years now.
A few other general differences between New Mexican cuisine and Tex-Mex. First, be ready for the “red or green” question. IE Green Chile sauce vs Red Chile Sauce (or both as “Christmas”). While locations and providers vary immensely, in the broadest terms, green sauces tend to be fruitier, and more chile forward, and red is often more complex, using more mature chiles and often have richer, smokier notes. Second, you’ll see a lot more chile/meat dishes based on pork than on beef: so a green chile sauce on a smothered burrito (or better yet stacked enchiladas with a fried egg!) is likely to be chile heavy, light on pork, and with no beef or beans.
I haven’t lived in Albuquerque for said 25+ years, and before I was living in Las Cruces mostly, so I’ll defer to the current locals, and the latest batch of visitors on most spots.
A personal favorite for good, cheaper eats is the Owl Cafe (Albuquerque).
A later spin off of the classic greasy den in San Antonio NM, they have really good burgers, a retro-diner theme, and pretty good pie. Oh, and I personally like the Pinon coffee, but not everyone does. Still, it’s reasonable priced, just off I-10 making it easy to get too, and perfect for an easy, more affordable lunch where you’ll see a huge slice of locals and tourists of all sorts.
Tomasita’s in Santa Fe is very good but as Elmer J Fudd mentioned, there will probably be a wait. For a smaller quieter place (with good food) I like Los Amigos on the south side of town. A good place to grab a bite near the Plaza is Del Charro.
A cool place near Taos is the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, about 10 miles west of town. It’s 600 feet above the river with great views.
In Taos, Michael’s Kitchen & Bakery is a very good place for breakfast or lunch (and some awesome baked goods). If you go to Taos from Santa Fe you will probably take Highway 68 to the northeast. If you take Highway 64 to the northwest out of Espanola you can visit Abiquiu Reservoir, surrounded by beautiful red rock cliffs. You can also visit Ghost Ranch (Georgia O’Keeffe’s old stomping grounds) and visit Echo Amphitheater, a cool natural feature in the red rock cliffs.
This has all been super helpful! We’ve decided to fly in to Albuquerque, spend 2 full days there, then move on up to Santa Fe and depart from there.
Open question as to how open it’ll be. The state is trying yet again to figure how to keep people from jumping.
That’s true, there are several suicides every year, including one as recently as April I believe…
Tomasita’s has a location in Albuquerque but I haven’t eaten there, I’ve only visited the original location in Santa Fe. Church Street Cafe is a good place for a meal in Old Town (ABQ).
The Nuclear Museum isn’t the only unusual museum in Albuquerque. In Old Town we have the Rattlesnake Museum. Many species of rattlers and other cool creepy crawlies.
Red, Green, or Christmas?
I like 'em both, with a slight preference for green.
Red, only red
(to get past minimum chara limits)
Difficult decision. If you get red, you will wonder if you should have tried the green. If you get the green, you will wonder if you should have tried the red. So Christmas anytime when at a new restaurant.
Always order a fried egg with your enchiladas. Over easy so the warm yolk runs over everything. The shredded iceberg lettuce and diced tomato is not there for decoration, they add texture to every bite. Give it a try.
You will be well north of the tortilla/sopapilla line, so you will get sopapillas. Eat them while they are still hot. They will be served with honey. Don’t make the mistake of putting honey on the sopapilla, picking it up, and then eating it. Rather, pour some honey on a plate, tear off a piece of the sopapilla, dip it in the honey, and pop it in your mouth. Otherwise you will have sticky fingers like a damn fool. I don’t have this problem as I live south in tortilla territory.