New Mexico

A Street Fighter II cabinet waits in the back of a mall arcade, right behind a wall of…

By Miles Croft · Oct 28

One restaurant on this short drive keeps piranhas in a tank and parrots near the front door. Another…

By Miles Croft · Oct 28

A town where dinosaur tracks have survived for millions of years. Another where neon signs still light up…

By Cassie Holloway · Oct 28

A diner waitress is credited with coining the chile question New Mexico now asks at so many tables:…

By Cassie Holloway · Oct 28

One thrift store on this list rolls out more than 4,000 new items a day. That is not…

By Miles Croft · Oct 27

Green chile shows up in the strangest places in this mountain town, from breakfast burritos to mashed potatoes…

By Miles Croft · Oct 27

A tunnel of holiday lights is waiting for you, and this Christmas attraction returns in November. I think…

By Cassie Holloway · Oct 27

Housing costs in this New Mexico town are substantially below the national average. That number made me do…

By Cassie Holloway · Oct 27

Green chile chicken fried rice exists, and it lives in a small Route 66 town in New Mexico.…

By Miles Croft · Oct 26

One fabric shop on this list greets you with a Navajo hello and thanks you in Navajo on…

By Miles Croft · Oct 26

More than 170 booths share one roof here, and somehow VHS tapes, herbs, pottery, and knives all fit…

By Cassie Holloway · Oct 26

One Albuquerque diner sits inside a building shaped like a giant owl. It serves green chile, malts, and…

By Cassie Holloway · Oct 26

A woman couldn’t find decent fabric for her daughters’ clothes in 1962. So she opened her own store,…

By Miles Croft · Oct 25

Chicken fried bacon is a real menu item in one eastern New Mexico town, and I have so…

By Cassie Holloway · Oct 25

The meatballs in one sandwich here blend Chianina beef, heritage pork, and veal. Then they get spicy marinara,…

By Miles Croft · Oct 24

A national historic preservation group once gave a tiny family diner a grant just to fix up its…

By Miles Croft · Oct 24

Back in the 1960s, Lordsburg was a busy highway stop, with motels, cafes, and service stations serving travelers…

By Cassie Holloway · Oct 24

One kitchen on this list bakes Neapolitan-style pizza in an 800-degree oven, right in the middle of New…

By Cassie Holloway · Oct 24

Fun by day, fear by night. That’s the actual promise of a New Mexico amusement park that hands…

By Miles Croft · Oct 23

One meat shop in southern New Mexico processes wild game, sells dog bones, and helps brand-new food plants…

By Miles Croft · Oct 23

More than 4,000 new items hit the sales floor here every single day. That number stopped me cold.…

By Cassie Holloway · Oct 23

A volcanic caldera roughly 13 miles wide holds sprawling meadows, and elk wander its edges on cool fall…

By Cassie Holloway · Oct 23

The mineral water here flows straight from the ground at about 104 degrees, and nobody heats, filters, or…

By Miles Croft · Oct 22

A college with its own lightning research lab sits high in the mountains, where scientists chase storms on…

By Miles Croft · Oct 22

About 19,000 acres of slickrock, sandy washes, and winding trails sit open to the public with no entry…

By Cassie Holloway · Oct 22

One dessert here is a sopaipilla stuffed with ice cream, strawberries, and cream. It’s described as big enough…

By Cassie Holloway · Oct 22

Churro donuts. Green chile biscuits. A whole bakery case where not one crumb contains wheat, barley, or rye.…

By Miles Croft · Oct 20

The only kosher restaurant in New Mexico sits on the second floor of a Jewish center. To get…

By Miles Croft · Oct 20

Pilgrims scoop up dirt from a small room inside an old adobe church and carry it home, believing…

By Cassie Holloway · Oct 20

One burrito counter on my list opens its doors at 4 in the morning, five days a week.…

By Cassie Holloway · Oct 20

One New Mexico town traded its own name for a radio game show in 1950. The host even…

By Miles Croft · Oct 19

One restaurant on this list sits in a town named for dried-apple pies sold to travelers in the…

By Miles Croft · Oct 19

Somewhere in New Mexico, a secondhand sweater can help care for a wolf dog. Yes, the howling kind.…

By Cassie Holloway · Oct 19

One seafood platter here arrives in a three-legged volcanic stone bowl, loaded with three kinds of shrimp, fish…

By Cassie Holloway · Oct 19

A good steak has a way of changing your plans. You might stop for ground beef and leave…

By Miles Croft · Oct 18

Apple fritters aren’t exactly neat breakfast food. That’s part of the appeal. A good one leaves flakes of…

By Miles Croft · Oct 18

A plate of fresh pasta can make a long drive seem like a very reasonable idea. Especially when…

By Cassie Holloway · Oct 18

Retirement sounds a lot more appealing when your money stretches further and the weather gives you another reason…

By Cassie Holloway · Oct 18

A river runs straight through a rock dam north of Jemez Springs, and nobody built it. Mineral-rich spring…

By Miles Croft · Oct 17