Heat and degraded air quality harming New Mexicans is projected to worsen in the coming years, as climate change fueled by burning and extracting fossil fuels cranks up the planet’s temperature.
State lawmakers heard that message from panels of experts from government and outside groups in an interim Water and Natural Resources Committee meeting Monday held in Albuquerque.
Extreme heat is the deadliest natural disaster, killing more people in the U.S. than flooding and hurricanes combined. Hotter, drier conditions also increase and intensify wildfires. It leads to arid conditions causing dust storms and increases air pollution.
The data shows the Southwestern U.S. is the fastest warming area in the lower 48 states, and New Mexicans are feeling the consequences, with 50 people going to emergency rooms between April and May.
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With extreme heat growing more frequent and intense, New Mexico has to transform its approach, said heat public health expert Nathaniel Matthews-Trigg, a co-founder of advocacy group Healthy Climate New Mexico.
“The stark reality is this: every summer, New Mexicans are dying preventable deaths,” Matthews-Trigg told lawmakers. “It’s time we shift our focus from individual actions to collective community efforts.”
Extreme heat is killing more people crossing the border
He said New Mexico’s current model treats extreme heat as a matter of personal responsibility, which ignores both science and experience from people who shoulder the brunt of heat exposure.
And while New Mexico has made more efforts to track data on heath injuries and deaths – which are difficult numbers to pin down – members of state agencies said they still required more funding and staffing.
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Requests for money by agencies and policy experts included adding six more staff to collect heat injury and death data for the New Mexico Department of Health.
Mann-Lev said that New Mexico’s application for federal funds for $2.5 million to track public health and environment was rejected because of a lack of staff at state agencies to spend it down.
Shelley Mann-Lev, the Executive Director of Healthy Climate New Mexico said the group has been working to establish a statewide public health and climate program.
Supporters said the program would deal with heat, wildfire smoke, drought, flooding, dust and severe storms.
Mann-Lev also supports establishing a $10 million fund to help towns and cities address climate needs.
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“That fund would be dedicated at least 50% to communities with populations of less than 100,000 (people),” Mann-Lev said. The proposal has failed the past three sessions.
Deadly heat
Emergency room visits due to heat stress have nearly doubled since 2010 in New Mexico, said Lauren Reichelt, New Mexico Environment Department’s director at the Environmental Health Division.
When temperatures rise above 90 degrees, so do visits in southern and northwestern NM, many of them outdoor workers, men between 18- and 44-years-old, Reichelt said.
Heat stroke and heat exhaustion in New Mexico emergency rooms rose from 200 visits to over 400 visits. Those are only for those specific conditions, Reichelt said, the real impacts are much larger since heat exacerbates heart and kidney conditions.
“If you wanted the real number, you’d have to add a zero at the end and either double or even quintuple it,” she said about estimates on heat-related injuries.
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The New Mexico Environment Department ascribed 900 emergency room visits to heat in 2023. This year, there have already been 600 visits due to heat, Reichelt said.
Matthews-Trigg said most existing interventions on extreme heat are ineffective and a waste of money.
“Telling someone to get somewhere cooler, if they don’t have access to transportation is pointless,” he said. “Setting up cooling centers that are not welcoming, that don’t allow pets or in inaccessible locations will mean the people that need them are unable to go to them.”
Facing the heat head on
Matthews-Trigg offered recommendations based on surveys with state agencies, community groups, local governments and research to better prevent deaths. Those include:
Tailoring messages for elderly, children, outdoor workers
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Getting better data; treating heat like a mass-casualty event for first responders
Ensuring governments have support, if a blackout happens during a heatwave
Establish a heat emergency hotline to take pressure off of 911 centers
Offer more water bottles, cooling towels to smaller communities
Give more funding and training to rural and tribal communities
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Another recommendation is to offer people help with energy bills, since some research shows people don’t use air conditioning or swamp coolers out of financial hardship.
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“People literally cook inside their homes because they can’t pay a few dollars to stay cool. This is an incredible injustice,” Matthews-Trigg said.
Gerilyn Antonio, the tribal liaison for the New Mexico Alliance of Health Councils, requested that the state work to consult with tribes, provide tribal-level data, rather than just county-specific data.
“There’s not a comprehensive picture of how tribal communities in our state are affected,” Antonio said about heat.
She said the legislature needs to increase funding for state agencies and work to improve communications to Pueblos.
Sen. Liz Stefanics (D-Cerillos) said the legislature might consider combining the state agencies with climate bureaus or divisions under one office.
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“If we could bring together the entities that are working in this, we might be able to better fund something as a whole, rather than piecemeal,” Stefanics said.
Pollution, wildfire smoke and dust
Extreme heat and drought are worsening New Mexico’s air quality said JoAnna Strother, who directs advocacy for the American Lung Association in the Southwest.
Ozone, also known as smog, worsens in high heat, causing a “sunburn” effect on the lungs and worsening or causing lung diseases.
Particle pollution means very tiny amounts of solids and liquids inhaled into the lungs. The pollution is sometimes due to wildfire, but also just emissions from gasoline, diesel or wood fuels.
“Particle pollution can be very dangerous to breathe, especially at higher concentrations. It can trigger illness, hospitalization, and premature death and can even cause lung cancer,” Strother said.
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The Atkore United Poly Systems fire in southeast Albuquerque on Aug. 6, 2023. (Photo courtesy of Albuquerque Fire and Rescue)
Just over half of New Mexicans live in a county with at least one failing air grade and 32% of New Mexicans live in counties with three failing grades for air quality, she said.
Las Cruces is the 15th most polluted city for ozone, and Albuquerque the 21st in national rankings. But it isn’t just urban areas affected, Eddy County ranked as the 17th most polluted county for ozone in the U.S.
Particle pollution has also worsened in both Albuquerque and Las Cruces, she said.
Maxine Paul, the former chair of the Albuquerque Air Quality Control Board said the legislature’s passage of a bill to reduce pollution from cars and trucks is still being implemented, but that it will work to reduce pollution.
The New Mexico Environment Department only has seven staff to travel around the state, measure, and collect data on air pollution, said Dana Bahar, the deputy director of the Environmental Protection Division.
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‘There’s no future where our landscapes are not flammable’
Wildfires and smoke are inevitable in New Mexico, said Matthew Hurteau, a professor studying fire ecology at the University of New Mexico, but the state can do more to limit smoke exposure.
Climate change’s drying effect has made New Mexico’s forests more flammable, meaning the devastating 2022 fire season is projected to become “fairly normal,” as the atmosphere warms and dries, he said.
His research shows forest management is key to reducing pollution from these fires.
“If we restore frequent fire to these forests, through mechanical thinning, and prescribed burning, we can significantly reduce the amount of emissions that are happening, particularly in large doses,” he said.
Elimination of wildfire isn’t an option.
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“There’s no future where our landscapes are not flammable in New Mexico,” Hurteau said. “Anyone who tells you that we can manage smoke impacts by putting out wildfire is delusional.”
He said the state needs to do more to clean people’s air, such as offering air purifiers in rural communities.
In addition to air purifiers, wearing properly fitted N95 masks filters out harmful particles and works to protect peoples’ lungs from wildfire smoke and other pollution, said Strother.
How you can protect your community from wildfire smoke
‘Albatross around our neck’
One top lawmaker expressed frustrations at New Mexico Environment Department Secretary James Kenney, saying the administration and agency is failing to display a sense of urgency.
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Senate Pro Tem Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque) invoked 18th century poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” saying New Mexico had an inescapable burden in relying on fossil fuels.
“We all have this albatross around our neck, thanking oil and gas for giving us funding, at the same time trying desperately to keep them from destroying the Earth.”
She asked Kenney what is preventing the environment department from being at full staffing, asking if the governor requested the agency to keep its budget flat, if it can’t pay enough for staff, or a combination of issues.
Kenney said he feels Stewart’s sense of urgency, but the environment department lacks an office for 167 of its staff, and said state hiring remains slow.
“We have no shortage of people wanting to work there. We just need quicker processing to get them in the door,” Kenney said.
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Stewart said she wants New Mexico to be seen by the rest of the country as a model for addressing climate change, boldly addressing public health and economic impacts.
“You can’t say that about us right now. Little tiny steps,” she said pantomiming footprints with her hands. “Little tiny steps while the Earth is burning.”
The state judge overseeing New Mexico’s attempt to force a safety overhaul of Instagram and Facebook said Monday that he’s worried some of the proposed changes would amount to “overreach.”
New Mexico attorney general Raúl Torrez is pushing for extensive changes and up to $3.7 billion in penalties after a state jury ruled last month that Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta had failed to protect kids from sexual predators. Judge Bryan Biedscheid is presiding over a second trial to determine which of those requested remedies are appropriate.
“I am a judge, I am not a legislator, I am not a regulator,” Biedscheid said as the second phase began on Monday.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez is pushing for a major safety overhaul of Instagram and Facebook. AP
Biedscheid added that his goal was to ensure any court-ordered fixes would address the proven harms of Instagram and Facebook without him becoming a “one-person legislature.”
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The judge will rule on whether Meta’s failings constitute a “public nuisance” under state law, which would allow him to order remedies. The jury previously ordered Meta to pay $375 million in damages.
“The changes we’re seeking are reasonable, achievable, and supported by child safety and technology experts,” Torrez said in a statement ahead of the trial. “There is no credible argument against them, only a company that has decided its bottom line matters more than the safety of kids.”
As The Post reported, Meta has already threatened to cut off access to Instagram and Faceook entirely if the judge orders “impractical” safety features to be implemented. The social media giant claims Torrez’s “requests for relief are so broad and so burdensome” that no one could realistically comply with them.
Meta says the state’s proposals are impossible to implement. REUTERSMeta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives outside court to take the stand at trial in a key test case. REUTERS
Torrez fired back, asserting that Meta’s threats were little more than a PR stunt and that the company was “showing the world how little it cares about child safety.”
New Mexico’s proposed fixes include implementing an effective age verification process for accounts; recommendation algorithms that prioritize user safety over boosting how much time they spend on the apps; and limits on end-to-end encrypted messaging for minors.
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State officials also want Meta to display warning labels about the risks of using its apps and an independent oversight committee to ensure the company’s compliance. Meta “would be held to a 99% detection rate for new child sexual abuse material,” according to the state.
A Meta spokesperson said the state’s demands are “technically impractical, impossible for any company to meet and disregard the realities of the internet.”
Judge Bryan Biedscheid appears skeptical of the state’s proposed fixes. AP
Experts previously told the Post that Meta’s threat to cut off the apps entirely, while technically feasible, would make the situation even messier for the company.
“I think a blackout in one state would be comically easy to circumvent – for example, with a VPN,” Ryan Calo, a professor at the University of Washington focused on the intersection of law and technology, said last week. “Who is responsible when, invariably, New Mexico residents continue to access Facebook? And of course, they would still have to pay for prior behavior in the state.”
Santa Fe residents’ desire for cleaner, better-maintained parks was on display during a recent meeting about this year’s Fourth of July fireworks show at Franklin Miles Park.
Several people asked if the city would make improvements to the park ahead of the celebration. One man didn’t mince words: “Right now, it’s pretty awful,” he said.
Mayor Michael Garcia’s administration is set to present this week the proposed city spending plan for fiscal year 2027, which he has said will shift work away from contractors to in-house city staff, including in the Parks and Open Space Division.
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Garcia said he believes the transition — which won’t happen overnight — should allow the city to ultimately receive a higher level of service for less money.
Paige Grant, right, takes one for the team as she teaches fifth and sixth graders from Aspen Community School about the watershed by getting doused during a gardening event at Alto Park.
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Jim Weber/The New Mexican
He noted, however, requirements baked into the city’s land use code have expanded the number of city parks with new developments — without increases to the parks division’s budget. With 77 parks, Santa Fe has roughly one park for every 864 residents, based on recent population estimates. That’s more than double the rate in Rio Rancho, which has one park for every 1,753 residents, and much higher than Rio Rancho, which has one park for every 2,359 residents.
The heavier demand on Santa Fe park maintenance crews comes this year as the Garcia administration strives to balance a laundry list of priorities with a flat budget.
Last year’s mayoral election came in a political environment dominated by dissatisfaction with the status quo. Park maintenance was a top priority for many Santa Fe residents, along with hard-hitting topics such as crime, homelessness services and housing.
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Without an influx of new revenue, Garcia said, additional park maintenance would likely mean less money for investments in other areas.
The mayor hopes to have a communitywide conversation after the budget is finalized about whether the city could find ways to “reenvision” some parks to make upkeep of the public spaces less labor-intensive or rethink how properties are used.
“These are going to be hard conversations, but I want to ensure that we are setting up the city to successfully meet the needs of the residents,” Garcia said.
For example, he said, the city should ask if residents believe every park needs to have grass.
“If the answer to that is ‘yes,’ residents have to understand that is going to require more maintenance,” he said. “It’s going to cost more, and the city ultimately has to figure out where those resources are going to come from.”
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Councilors are expected to receive the budget proposal Wednesday. It is scheduled for introduction at the May 13 council meeting, followed by two days of budget hearings.
Ongoing conversation
Santa Feans have long been frustrated about the condition of city parks. In 2008, city voters approved a $30.3 million bond for parks and trail upgrades. But a 2015 report found the money was seriously mismanaged, and at least one project on the list never materialized.
The New Mexican created a “report card” of city parks in 2017, assigning grades based on appearance, cleanliness and the quality and condition of amenities. The newspaper surveyed 29 parks and gave more than half a C or D grade.
In an interview the following year, then newly elected Mayor Alan Webber included improved park maintenance as part of a broader “family-friendly” agenda at City Hall. But his two-term administration continued to face criticism about park conditions, including complaints from families about trash, needles and poorly-maintained play equipment.
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The City Council discussed parks at length in spring 2025 while preparing the spending plan for the current fiscal year, and councilors added $633,900 into the $479 million budget to hire an additional contract crew for median maintenance, so city staff could focus more heavily on parks.
City residents “expect a higher level of service than we are providing at this moment,” Councilor Jamie Cassutt said at the time.
Parks and Open Space Division Director Melissa McDonald said the proposed budget for fiscal year 2027 includes funding for the contract crew.
“We’ve now brought all of our parks up to a little higher standard, and this is going to help us continue to stay at a good level,” she said.
McDonald said the budget proposal also includes funds for more park workers. If the funding is approved, the division could start hiring when the new fiscal year begins in July.
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The national average of park maintenance employees for a city of Santa Fe’s size is 71, McDonald said. Santa Fe has fewer; the budget proposal would get the city up to 58.
Fifth and sixth graders from Aspen Community School paint rocks to decorate the pollinator gardens at Alto Park during an event last month.
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Jim Weber/The New Mexican
Many employees in the division have worked with the city for close to 20 or 30 years and are nearing retirement age, she said, creating opportunities for others interested in building a career at the city.
The ideal parks employee? Someone who likes being outside and wants to give back to their community.
“For somebody who really wants to have an immediate impact, this is a great place to work,” McDonald said.
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Meeting service goals
Over the past year, McDonald said the parks division has improved its output, using a methodology called “level of service goals,” which ranks all parks and medians based on certain criteria.
On a scale of 1 to 5, with a score of 5 being the poorest, McDonald said the average level of service at parks citywide was a 3, comparable to a C grade. Since then, she said, the parks division has achieved its goal of raising 50% of its parks to a 2.5 level of service in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.
As part of the assessment process, maintenance crews evaluate criteria including equipment, weeds, graffiti, turf aeration, trash, restrooms and benches.
Some parks have seen significant improvement, McDonald said, including Fort Marcy park, Alto Park, Ragle Park, Salvador Perez and Amelia White Park on Old Santa Fe Trail, which has undergone a major renovation in partnership with volunteers from the Santa Fe Garden Club.
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But the division continues to wrangle with a growing number of parks as new housing developments lead to more green spaces being dedicated to the city.
Several developments underway will come with additional park land, including the long-planned Los Prados housing complex on South Meadows Road, as well as additions to the Las Soleras and Tierra Contenta subdivisions on Santa Fe’s south side.
Fifth and sixth graders from Aspen Community School painted rocks to decorate the pollinator gardens at Alto Park.
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Jim Weber/The New Mexican
A report prepared by Garcia’s transition team said the city will need to increase its maintenance crews to keep up with the level of demand without service levels dropping.
Garcia said he believes the open space requirements in the land use code need to be overhauled.
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“As these parks are developed, the city has to then take on maintenance,” he said, straining its capacity.
How Santa Fe compares
Garcia said it is no surprise the city is struggling to keep up with maintenance needs, given its number of parks, in comparison with those in other cities.
The New Mexican examined the number of parks in five other municipalities in the Land of Enchantment: Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Las Cruces, Roswell and Farmington. While several other cities have more total parks than the 77 in Santa Fe, the City Different’s number per capita is significantly higher.
What counts as a city park also differs from city to city.
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A spokesperson for the city of Farmington said that city has 58 “park properties,” which include trails and sports fields, while a spokesperson for Roswell said it has 26 official parks, “plus numerous sports fields and recreational trails.”
Las Cruces spokesperson Maddy Leatherwood wrote in an email the city has 99 park sites, but the total rose to 152 with the inclusion of sports fields, trails, medians and landscaped buildings.
Santa Fe’s 77 parks do not include trails and other open spaces the parks division oversees or properties like the Marty Sanchez Links de Santa Fe golf course and Municipal Recreation Complex.
City budgets and staffing also vary dramatically, with Albuquerque’s parks budget for the current fiscal year at $52 million and Rio Rancho’s at just $2.6 million, while Santa Fe’s is $16.2 million.
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Employees also vary, with cities providing different breakdowns of seasonal and full-time workers.
Employee numbers for the Santa Fe Parks and Open Space Division have fluctuated over the past 10 years, according to city data, but a 1-to-1 comparison is difficult because of changes over time to how positions have been classified internally.
The Public Works Department, which includes the parks division, has struggled in past years with high vacancy rates, but McDonald said more recently it has seen successful recruiting efforts, including attracting younger workers.
The workers’ level of expertise also makes a big difference in the quality of parks, she said, noting the division is putting more focus on training supervisors and rank-and-file staff.
Despite the heavy workload, she was optimistic about the division’s future: “We’re continuing to constantly improve and create really great spaces for our community.”
New Mexico is blessed with rich culinary traditions connected to the many cultures that have settled there, from the First Peoples to the Spaniards, miners, railway builders, and Route 66 migrants. I’m a repeat visitor to The Land of Enchantment who is lucky to have friends living in Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Las Cruces. With every meal I eat in New Mexico, I’m deeply impressed by the complexity of the state’s cuisine and the centuries-old traditions that have shaped and defined it.
My friends and I make it our quest to eat at places that offer not just fabulous food but also a taste of New Mexico’s history. Some are housed in buildings dating back almost 400 years. Others are 19th-century saloons on the National Register of Historic Places or vintage diners that fed thousands of 20th-century road-trippers. Many are heritage eateries operated by the third and fourth generations of New Mexican families. Dine at any of these spots, and you’ll come away with an authentic taste of the state and a deeper appreciation of its enchanting history.
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1. The Mine Shaft Tavern in Madrid
Ann Marie Brown/Chowhound
Few dishes are more cherished by New Mexicans than the green chile cheeseburger. So, it makes sense to order one at The Mine Shaft Tavern, which is located in a town that oozes Land of Enchantment history. Today, the Madrid-based restaurant still holds its 1940s-era role as a social hub, eatery, and boot-stomping music venue, and it’s famous in ghost-hunting circles for being one of the historic taverns across the U.S. with a haunted history. Patrons vie for standing room at the 40-foot-long wooden bar that’s also oddly tall – built high enough so a miner could stand and stretch his aching back while knocking back a whiskey.
The tavern’s best bite is the massive Mad Chile Burger made with Wagyu beef, buffalo, or a veggie patty. Topped with velvety cheese, chopped green chiles, and a whole, fried Hatch chile, the burger is big enough for two. If you aren’t driving, ask the bartender to whip up a Mad Chile Margarita, a sweet-hot concoction of tequila, lime, and jalapeño. Sip it slowly so you remember to pronounce “Madrid” properly, with the accent on the first syllable (not like the Spanish city).
New Mexico has plenty of old saloons, but only a handful have the historic cred to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Legal Tender Saloon holds that honor. Being one of New Mexico’s oldest operating bars, it was built in 1881 and served passengers on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway. Legend has it that in the saloon’s first year, Billy the Kid visited after he escaped from the Lincoln County Jail.
The adobe and stone structure wears an Old West facade that looks straight out of a Hollywood movie set. During a major renovation in 2023, the saloon’s Victorian relics were polished and pampered. Now, the wood-and-brass Brunswick bar, ornate chandeliers, and gold-framed mirrors shine like an Instagram dream.
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Even with its storied past on full display, the Legal Tender’s biggest draw is its short-but-thoughtful menu. Serious carnivores should start right in on something like the green chile burger, but I prefer to linger over the cocktail menu. My favorite drink is the Manhattan Project, a smoky rye-whisky cocktail served in a chemistry flask, which is a cheeky nod to New Mexico’s nuclear bomb history. Then, I move on to the House Smoked Pork Quesadilla with asadero cheese, chipotle sauce, and guacamole. My Santa Fe friend orders green chile stew (and that’s “chile” spelled the New Mexican way – always with an “e”).
https://legaltenderlamy.com (505) 466-1650 151 Old Lamy Trail, Lamy, NM 87540
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3. La Plazuela in Santa Fe
Ann Marie Brown/Chowhound
A mainstay of downtown Santa Fe, La Plazuela’s dining room dates back to 1922, and the clock seems to have stopped right then. This airy, light-filled atrium in the heart of La Fonda on the Plaza is decorated with folk art-painted glass windows, ficus trees, a wrought-iron chandelier, and a Spanish-style fountain. The space has such a timeless elegance that it seems like blasphemy to pull out your cell phone.
La Plazuela’s menu is an encyclopedia of New Mexico’s most iconic dishes. Although you can’t go wrong with almost any order, a few dishes stand out. The tortilla soup has a flavorful broth brimming with chicken, avocado, cheese, and tortilla strips, while the carne asada tampiqueña is remarkably tender. Chile rellenos made with Hatch green chiles are dunked in a smoky red sauce with just the right amount of heat.
I can never resist ordering the tableside guacamole, either. I know my way around an avocado, but La Plazuela’s servers perform a riveting sleight-of-hand with the knobby green fruit. Seconds after wheeling out their cart, they cut, mash, and mix in roasted garlic, diced tomato, diced jalapeño, lime, cilantro, onion, and salt. The guacamole show is accomplished with photo-worthy flair, and the result tastes better than anything I can make at home.
https://lafondasantafe.com/la-plazuela/ (505) 995-2334 100 E San Francisco St, Santa Fe, NM 87501
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4. The Shed in Santa Fe
Stepping into The Shed feels like visiting your cool aunt’s house (if your cool aunt lived in Santa Fe). With its warren of small rooms, vibrantly colored rafters, low doorways, and a courtyard lit by twinkling lights, every aspect of this café — especially its cherished family recipes — oozes with Southwestern vibes.
Located steps from Santa Fe Plaza, The Shed’s adobe hacienda in Prince Patio dates to 1692, when Spanish colonists reclaimed Santa Fe as their own. The Carswell family has owned the restaurant since 1953, and the third generation upholds their grandparents’ hallowed culinary wisdom: They buy their chiles straight from the farm and grind them on the premises.
Garlic bread is served with every meal, which is convenient for dunking into sauces and stews. My favorite order is the richly satisfying green chile stew, loaded with tender pork and potatoes, but the posole is a close second. The pueblo-style soup is made with hunks of nixtamal (corn that is soaked in lime until it becomes what Americans call hominy), lean pork, and coarse red chile. My New Mexican friends order any dish made with soft, blue corn tortillas, but their hands-down favorite is tacos loaded rim to rim with green chile turkey sausage, cheddar, and onion. We always share an order or two of calabacitas, a zesty mix of squash, zucchini, onion, and chile.
https://sfshed.com (505) 982-9030 113 ½ E Palace Ave, Santa Fe, NM 87501
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5. Rancho de Chimayó in Chimayó
Ann Marie Brown/Chowhound
Every year on Good Friday, the hamlet of Chimayó fills with 30,000 faithful pilgrims who arrive on foot after a long, dusty walk from towns far afield. Their finish line? A small plot of dirt at the El Santuario de Chimayó, which is said to have miraculous healing properties. The rest of the year, the small rural village is mostly empty except for shoppers seeking the colorful blankets made by Chimayó weavers.
Pilgrims, browsers, and foodies find common ground at Rancho de Chimayó, a pastoral hacienda owned by the Jaramillo family since the early 1700s. Diners sit in one of several small rooms or on the back patio and savor the Jaramillo family’s prized recipes, including sopaipilla relleno, a puffed-up, fried bread that’s stuffed with beef or chicken, beans, and Spanish rice and then smothered in red or green chile sauce.
Entrées come in epic proportions, so if you aren’t famished, order an unstuffed sopaipilla and pair it with green chile stew or carne adovada (tender pork marinated in red chile). I prefer the sopaipilla as a sweet side dish; it’s served with locally grown honey to pour on top. When you’re finished eating, browse the take-home treats in the hacienda’s gift shop. In December, you’ll find bags of cinnamon-dusted biscochitos, New Mexico’s state cookie, alongside shelves full of red chile sauce, piñon coffee beans, and blue corn pancake mix.
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https://www.ranchodechimayo.com (505) 351-4444 300 Juan Medina Rd, Chimayó, NM 87522
6. The Original Owl Bar and Café in San Antonio
The Original Owl Bar and Café holds an unusual place in American history. In 1945, it was a hangout for the scientists who detonated the first atom bomb at New Mexico’s Trinity Site. Now run by fourth-generation owner Janice Argabright, the Owl Bar takes green chile very seriously, simmering its saucy concoction of chile, beef, and garlic for several hours each morning. Sometimes the chef uses Hatch chiles, sometimes Lemitar chiles (it’s worth noting that New Mexico is the only U.S. state where farmers can grow and sell Hatch chiles). New Mexicans have strong opinions about which type is hotter, smokier, or better, but to my palate, both are glorious.
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With The Original Owl Bar and Café being considered among the best hole-in-the-wall burger spots in the state, customers often order the signature Owl Burger, which is a cheeseburger that’s jam-packed with roasted green chile. Still, I’m occasionally willing to forego it so I can eat an entire serving of green chile cheese fries. They’re the ideal comfort food: gooey, melty cheese atop freshly fried potatoes, with a ladle of green chile sauce and a zippy touch of salt.
When you visit, ask Argabright to tell you about her owl knick-knacks, and walk around and examine the dollar bills and business cards pinned to the walls. At the end of each year, she donates all the cash to charity.
https://sanantonioowl.com (575) 835-9946 77 US Hwy 380, San Antonio, NM 87832
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7. Duran Central Pharmacy in Albuquerque
Only a few generations ago, the local pharmacy was the place where you could buy almost any sundries you needed and finish your shopping trip with lunch or a milkshake at the on-site diner counter. These hybrid drugstore-cafés aren’t as common anymore, but you’ll find a popular one in Albuquerque. The tradition lives on at Duran Central Pharmacy, where customers gaily nosh on chile-soaked enchiladas, carne adovada, and other Land of Enchantment favorites.
Pick up your prescriptions if you wish, but plenty of people come here just to sit on a barstool and watch the cooks prepare thick, hand-rolled tortillas. They’re made the traditional way on a comal (a griddle), handled by people who know how to wield a rolling pin. Walk within 50 feet of the kitchen, and the aroma of hot-off-the-griddle tortillas nearly bowls you over.
The pharmacy has been serving food since the 1960s, so you can expect mastery of almost every classic New Mexican dish. My Albuquerque friends always order a Frito pie. This old-timey classic is exactly what it sounds like: Fritos corn chips, beef or chicken, beans, chile, and cheese. I get the huevos rancheros (which are different from chilaquiles, by the way), consisting of two over-easy eggs perched atop cheesy potatoes and beans, swimming in a divine chile sauce. Unlike in most huevos rancheros recipes, the tortillas are not buried underneath; rather, they’re served alongside so you can fully appreciate their brilliance.
https://duransrx.com (505) 247-4141 1815 Central Ave NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104
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8. La Cita in Tucumcari
During Route 66’s mid-20th-century heyday, the town of Tucumcari had 2,000 motels and plenty of eateries. When La Cita opened in 1940, south-of-the-border cuisine was not common across the United States. Thousands of drivers got their first taste of Mexican food right under La Cita’s kitschy neon sign.
Like other towns along Route 66, Tucumcari faced hard times after the interstate highways were completed in the 1980s. Motorists preferred the faster, more efficient roads, and traffic along Route 66 dropped off. Motels and diners were suddenly empty and forced to close. La Cita was one of the few that survived, and now there’s absolutely no way to miss it. The bright yellow building is topped with a giant sombrero.
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The kitchen serves dependable, friendly New Mexican food, choosing to forego the fancy stuff and cook the basics with integrity. Sizzling fajitas, saucy enchiladas, and stuffed chile rellenos are the front-line players here. Carne adovada (marinated pork in red chile with potatoes and beans) may be the best order, but you can’t go wrong with the stuffed sopaipillas, either.
https://www.lacitanm.com (575) 461-7866 820 S 1st St, Tucumcari, NM 88401
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9. The Buckhorn Saloon and Opera House in Pinos Altos
Seven miles from Silver City, The Buckhorn Saloon and Opera House is an 1863 structure that opened near the end of the Civil War and served the booming mining town of Pinos Altos. Workers built walls 18 inches thick to help protect patrons in case Apache warriors attacked. Conflicts occurred frequently because the tribe saw the miners as destroyers of their homeland.
During the boom years, the area’s mines yielded $8 million worth of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc, but after the boom turned to bust, most residents moved away. The Buckhorn survived, and today it’s a storied watering hole and hotspot for buffalo burgers, prime rib, and hand-cut ribeye steaks. The saloon’s green chile stew is as good as you’ll find anywhere. In true Southwestern style, it goes down like a smooth whiskey after a hard day in the saddle.
If you love Wild West Americana, you’ll love this saloon. Its humble exterior is slowly fading under the New Mexican sun, but the interior is a visual banquet of vintage Western décor. There’s an antique cash register, solid-wood bar, ornate cast-iron stove, stone-hearth fireplace, taxidermy animal heads, mannequin “madam,” and best of all, a quirky opera room decked out with second-floor boxes and dangling chandeliers. Show up on a weekend and you’ll probably hear a guitarist strumming tunes on the red-velvet-curtained stage.
https://www.buckhornpinosaltos.com (575) 538-9911 32 Main St, Pinos Altos, NM 88053
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10. Chope’s Bar and Café in La Mesa
Midway between Las Cruces and El Paso, the rural farming community of La Mesa has only about 500 residents and a cult-favorite gastronomic landmark. Housed for more than a century in the Benavides’ family home, Chope’s Bar and Cafe has garnered legions of fans and a nod from the James Beard Foundation. In 2024, chef Josefina Garcilazo was named a James Beard semi-finalist for “Best Chef: Southwest.” Garcilazo has cooked at Chope’s for more than 40 years.
The Benavides family settled in La Mesa long before New Mexico became a state. In the early 1900s, they converted their home’s front room into a dining area where local farmers could enjoy a meal of enchiladas. The third and fourth generations have kept the tradition going with mouthwatering red and green enchiladas. The tortillas are rolled, not stacked, and filled with cheese instead of meat.
When my friends and I learned that Chope’s serves about 800 chiles rellenos every week, we made a pilgrimage. The green chiles grown in the Mesilla Valley are harvested in the fall, but Chope’s roasts them to store and use year-round. The chiles are stuffed with cheese, dipped in flour and egg whites, and crisply fried to accent their glory. On the plate, they’re delicately brushed with cheese and sauce, but they’re never drowning in it. Every plate is served like a love letter to family and community.
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https://www.facebook.com/chopesbar/ (575) 233-3420 16145 S Hwy 28, La Mesa, NM 88044
