Anyone got any Albuquerque advice? I'm...

...here for a few days, never been, no one to show me around, needing a margarita. And a bike shop.

 

Old Town - Santa Fe if you have the time - the tram to the top of Sandia Peak - cruise or walk the old 66 at night when the hotels have their neons going full bore - try and score some meth.

 

If you run into Steve Alford, kick him in the balls for me.

Freaking hack.

 

If you ride on trails have cholla cactus, be prepared for flats. Think about using tire liners and Slime.

Folks will tell you that The Owl Cafe that's in Albuquerque isn't as good as one somewhere else, but they do have a fairly tasty green chile cheeseburger.

 

Eat at Frontier, on Central across from UNM. Open 24/7. I get the bacon breakfast burrito smothered in green chile, no matter what time of day.

Catch an Isotopes game if they're home.

 

They are; going tomorrow night. Finishing a suspended game, then playing a second. Against New Orleans. The only bummer is I'm leaving Saturday and that's when the team I grew up watching, YOUR NASHVILLE SOUNDS, home of Geeeeeeeno Meeeeeeeeeeneeeeeeeeees and Steve Bye-Bye Balbonnnnnnnnnnnnniiiiiiiiii, come in for a four-game visit.

 

Went to the ABQ NCAA games this year and hit Frontier twice for that exact breakfast burrito. One of the best I've had and darn economical, too. Even found myself craving it from time to time since.

 

Be sure to take that left turn.

 

nice... especially because I think TV has been to the Coachella Valley and the big Carrot Festival therein.

 

I spent some vacations in New Mexico about 10 years ago, so who knows if half of this information is still valid:

- the Albuquerque Aquarium is surprisingly nice: it mainly deals with the marine life of the Rio Grande area. There's also a nice Botanical Garden there attached to the Aquarium that's a pleasant way to relax and waste an hour. I'm an aquarium guy and it's one of my favorite ones I've been to.

- the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History is worth a visit as well. They've got a lot of information and artifacts about the Spanish colonial exploits in America including conquistador helmets, swords, armor, etc. It's in Old Town, so you can walk around there and do some shopping after you're done.

- another good museum is the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, which has a lot of Pueblo folk art, pottery and other crafts ranging from prehistoric times to today.

- the Rattlesnake Museum in Old Town is completely ridiculous but also a lot of fun. I remember the owner being really friendly and easy to talk to. It's very touristy, but they do have 30 different species of rattlesnakes there and it's just a couple of bucks.

- if you get a chance, head over to the Jackalope International store. It's just a massive collection of knickknacks, brickabrack, tchotchkes and God knows what else. Need a blanket? Pottery? Indian puppets? Cacti? They've got it here. I also had just about the best breakfast burrito I've ever had at the truck outside one morning.

- a lot of the restaurants kind of blend together and several of the ones I went to probably aren't there anymore (and to be fair, we found more restaurants in Santa Fe). I do remember that the Duran Pharmacy in Old Town had some of the best Indian Fry Bread that I've ever had. Cheap and old-timey, it's definitely worth checking out.

 

http://albuquerque.about.com/od/fooddrink/tp/Albuquerque-Restaurants-On-Diners-Drive-Ins-And-Dives.htm


http://www.tvfoodmaps.com/loc_NM_Albuquerque.html

 

Want good Mexican try Sadie's on Fourth St. Do not eat at Gardunos, it's overrated crap.

Try a green chile cheeseburger from Blake's Lotaburger. It's fast food but damn it's good and it's a New Mexico institution.

I echo the tram suggestion. That's damn cool. The Plaza in Santa Fe and The Governors Mansion are pretty impressive if you do go up there.