Exploring life in “The Duke City,” otherwise known as the historic city of Albuquerque.
8am, Pinon coffee
Popular all over northern New Mexico is piñon coffee, a regional specialty of Arabica beans flavored with roasted high-altitude pine nuts, or piñon. A local roaster saturates the area with this southwestern flavor blend.
9am, Petroglyphs
The western edge of the city is bordered by a volcanic valley that makes up the Petroglyph National Monument. Although there are no authentic artifacts at the public visitors center, trailheads not far away lead to 24,000 petroglyphs left by indigenous tribes dating back thousands of years.
12n, Brewpub lunch and museum
Crossing to the newer part of Albuquerque, lunch was at the soul-food and Star-Trek themed Nexus Brewery & Restaurant before an afternoon spent at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History. This history of the atomic age is ingrained in the State of New Mexico, from the original Trinity test site to ongoing military operations, and this government-sponsored museum is the official historic and educational caretaker of our nation’s nuclear story.
The museum itself includes both genuine items and reproductions of critical pieces of nuclear weapons, power generation and technical applications from World War II to the present. Outside the museum are decommissioned nuclear vehicles from the Cold War, such as various aircraft, missiles and submarine components.
4pm, Rattlesnakes in Old Town
Most of my time was spent in Old Town, the historic original part of the city. It includes a walkable cultural district full of small shops, restaurants, small vendors and attractions like the small but very underrated American International Rattlesnake Museum.
7pm, Dinner at the Ponderosa
At the center of Old Town is San Felipe de Neri, the oldest Jesuit church in Albuquerque (1705). With so many modern establishments and sites (like dinner at the nearby Ponderosa Brewing), one forgets that Albuquerque shares a Mexican and Native American heritage as historically and culturally rich as any international city.
9pm, Drinks at the Sawmill
At the far north end of Old Town is the Sawmill Market, a modern food hall with dozens of stalls filled with upscale food and beverages. While I only enjoyed a drink or two at Paxton’s Taproom, it is very much worth a more substantial visit.
8am, Coffee with tart
Staying overnight at the beautiful Casas de Suenos bed and breakfast, the next day began again in Old Town with another piñon coffee and a blueberry tart at the Flying Roadrunner Bakery.
9am, Local dinosaurs
Although probably not as large or as well funded as other metropolitan museums, the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science has an impressive state paleontological collection.
12n, Stacked enchiladas
In New Mexico, the enchiladas are served stacked instead of rolled, like these at Little Anita’s (with huge sopapillas for dessert).
1pm, Daytime pub crawl
Adjacent and surrounding the Old Town historic and commercial district are many blocks of the old Downtown and Wells Park residential and industrial neighborhoods, all very walkable with no major highways dividing the area. With at least a dozen breweries within only a couple of miles, the warm clear weather was perfect for a daytime pub crawl.
At the north end of Wells Park are Rio Bravo Brewing and Tractor Brewing, a local taproom for their main Nob Hill location. Bow & Arrow Brewing has an especially beautiful taproom and serves their beers in unique, perfectly weighted glassware (unfortunately, unavailable for purchase). Overall, the New Mexico beers that I’ve had here have been as good as any in other states, mostly solid traditional styles compared to the newer experimental beers.
7pm, Pozole and panadiera
At the tip of Old Downtown and Plaza Vieja was possibly the best meal of this trip: authentic posole verde with a splash of fresh salsa roja at Cocina Azul (ignore the American fare on the menu). For afters, the Golden Crown Panaderia is just across the street for New Mexico green chile bread and a delicious pumpkin empanada dusted in cinnamon sugar.
9pm, Nighttime pub crawl
Night fell while at JUNO, an eclectic brewpub and art café with only mediocre beers but an impressive garden courtyard between buildings. The Downtown location of Marble Brewing (second largest brewery in the state) was the final stop for a nightcap, and worth a second visit to explore their regional tap list more fully. C48
City Forty-Eight 