Abhinav & Kristen

May 26, 2024 • Bernalillo, NM

Abhinav & Kristen

May 26, 2024 • Bernalillo, NM

Traveling in New Mexico: Restaurants and Things To Do!

Places in Sante Fe (50 minutes or less)

Sweetwater Harvest Kitchen

Our beloved friend and officiant, Greg Durham, recommended this restaurant to us and we absolutely love it. Everything is fresh and made daily. The mousse is our favorite dessert.

Meow Wolf

This is…an experience. I can’t say much more than that. Tickets can be expensive, but this is the ORIGINAL. Weirdness and mystery await.

Santa Fe National Forest

During the winter, Ski Santa Fe is a fun place to visit. In the spring or any other time of year, it will be an absolutely gorgeous hike.

Santa Fe Downtown Square

It’s easy to make a day trip to Santa Fe and walk around the square, grab lunch, tour all the turquoise shops and eat at a delicious restaurant. We went to the history museum which is interesting, and there are several art museums as well. We’ve never made it to the Frida Kahlo museum but that’s certainly another highlight.

The local spas!

We’ve never been - but supposedly they’re some of the best in the country! These will be inside resorts. Our friend also recommends San Antonio Hot Springs, Spence Hot Springs and Jemez which are natural springs.

Other Sante Fe Restaurants

Santa Fe Restaurants:

1. Paper Dosa (South Indian, which not everyone knows is different than North Indian, they have really good chutney as well, get the pappadums) (For those coming from India- skip to options below)

2. La choza (a solid go to for New Mexican food, sometimes there’s a wait but hopefully not too long)

3. Tune up (they have food from all over, the owner is from El Salvador and they have good pupusas, they have my favorite dessert in town, I’m not gluten free but their gluten free pie is amazing)

4. Jambo (the owner is from Kenya, everything there is good)

5. Counter culture (this is more of a breakfast/lunch place, they have all types of food but I really like their spring rolls, on the weekends they make really big cinnamon roles, they also have really good dessert)

6. Opuntia (tea house with great ambiance)

7. Clafoutis (also lunch/breakfast French bakery, they have amazing baked goods)

8. Cafe Fina— in Eldorado, really good baked goods. Also their salad is really good.

Other Albuquerque Restaurants

1. The Taj Mahal: Somehow we don’t have a picture of us at our favorite nearby Indian restaurant, but this is where we got LOTS of takeout during the pandemic and went on several dates. This was also a sigh of relief when Abhinav learned that I LOVE Indian food (but not Thai food). Please note, this is not the best Indian food you will ever have - it is simply our local place 5 minutes from where we live.

2. The Range Cafe: This is on the historic Route 66. We celebrated Easter in Placitas in 2021 and went here for some delicious banana cream pie. We keep coming back to this local diner with a wide menu.

3. The Artichoke Cafe [seen below with Abhinav wearing a nice dinner outfit]: This is one of the first places that Kristen’s parents, Kristen, and Abhinav went to dinner. It’s a bit more upscale, but the food was good and it’s also along the historic Route 66.

4. The Grove (Brunch) [seen below with the food finished]: Farm-to-table restaurant with the best French toast ever. Get there right when it opens because otherwise, the line is out the door!!!

5. Flying Star Cafe [seen below with all of the family]: This is our absolute favorite brunch place in ABQ. Everything on the menu is a winner and it’s in the cute little UNM area of ABQ near Nob Hill.

Local Bars / Breweries

The Apothecary

This used to be a psychiatric hospital and still has pictures on the upstairs bar area. It is a rooftop bar that opens at 5 p.m. and has some very creative and colorful drinks with appetizers. Highly recommend it!!!

Marble Brewery

If you’re looking for an excellent brewery in town, this is THE place to go. Ask Abhinav to share his “double white” voice with you. [it is not as funny as Kristen thinks ;p]

Activities in the 505 (Abq)

The National Museum of Nuclear Science and History

Kristen’s grandfather was a nuclear physicist and inspired her greatly in all aspects of life. She would always ask him “science questions” growing up and he was a big inspiration for eventually pursuing a career that constantly asks the “why” question. If you go, in the very first room of the museum they have a replica of an office - on the wall you will see a picture of her grandfather’s office at Battelle in the 1960’s! [Kristen’s grandparents almost moved to Los Alamos where the most PhD’s per capita live in the country]. A fascinating exhibit for all ages!

The Tramway / Hiking or Driving up to the Sandias

There are three ways to get up to the beautiful Sandia mountains. I would recommend taking the Tramway. It is relatively cheap and will give you GORGEOUS views. At the top there is a restaurant and several family friendly hiking trails that are not arduous. You can also take a scenic drive up to the top which will shoot you out at a different area - beautiful nonetheless. The third and most daring way is to hike up - we’ve never done this yet and it could take you 5 hours, but by all means!

The Turquoise Museum

Support local! This gives such a fascinating history of why there is so much turquoise everywhere in Albuquerque.

The Balloon Festival - first two weeks of October

Just means you’ll have to come back! :)

The Native American Museum

We enjoyed this thoroughly. The exhibits are enlightening and educational, revealing much about the evolution and history of Albuquerque from the Native American perspective.

Truth or Consequences: 2 hours and 15 minutes away

TrC

This was the halfway point for Kristen and Abhinav. It’s a tiny little Western town with a bunch of local hot springs.

Ruidoso / Cloudcroft (2h 51 minutes)

#engagement

This is where Abhinav spent a month-long rural rotation and stayed at The Inn of the Mountain Gods. Explore the local Native American-owned hotel/casino and the lake behind (where Kristen and Abhinav got engaged!) Try out the local Cafe Rio pizza place (dinner of champions on the night of engagement). Nearby is the grindstone lake. Cloudcroft is less than an hour away and is full of hiking trails. Cute little small town worth visiting. (And in the winter, great skiing! This is where Kristen and Abhinav went after Abhi’s match day to celebrate).

White Sands National Park (3h 24 minutes)

Kristen and her mom were driving along the road from Ruidoso when they all of a sudden spotted a glistening white line out in the distance. “Is that…white sands?” they remarked. Why yes it was. Randomly, in the middle of the desert, stands a gypsum sand beach which you can sled upon.

Taos (2h 20 minutes)

The drive is stunning! It weaves along the river the entire way and when you round the final bend and the Taos mountains come into view it’s absolutely breathtaking (especially if at sunset). We stayed in a shipping container Air bnB which was delightful. We went up to the Taos Ski Resort and hiked to the Crater Lake and back (quite a story). We got to explore the Hanuman Temple (highly recommend!) which was beautiful. Sunday services are probably the best time to go. For eating, we recommend Orlando’s New Mexican Cafe.

Durango (3h 30 minutes) or Pagosa Springs (3h 30 minutes)

Please note these places are great places to go skiing in the winter, so we don’t have spring/summer recommendations. However, the drive is very beautiful and it’s a great way to visit Colorado. The hot springs are free in Pagosa Springs across from the resort that advertises the expensive hot springs. Try to find the route that passes through Ghost Ranch! Incredibly beautiful desert landscape.

Gila Mountain National Forest (2h 47 minutes)

Kristen had the opportunity to do a wilderness medicine elective with some med school friends / professor and got to camp and hike there (so fun!) If you’re serious about outdoor camping and backpacking, then this is the place to go.

The Center for Contemplation and Action

Our officiant, Greg, suggested we go here as a wonderful place "that is worth the visit".