The Land of Enchantment’s largest city is rich in Native American and Mexican cultures, though there are plenty of reminders that it remains Walter White’s territory.
“Breaking Bad” put Albuquerque on the fandom map. While visitors won’t meet Walter White, the New Mexico high school teacher who dabbled in the meth business, they can see his likeness all around town — on T-shirts, coffee mugs and Pez dispensers. At the Candy Lady, a confectionery in Old Town, you can even buy a baggie of the blue and white rock candy the shop created for the first two seasons of the TV drama. However, I must confess that “Say my name” has no meaning for me. I have never watched the series, and my pop culture reference for Albuquerque is Doogie Howser. On my first outing to the Land of Enchantment’s largest city more than a dozen years ago, I stopped by the restaurant owned by the parents of actor Neil Patrick Harris. Ron, Sheila and I spent the whole time gabbing. Unfortunately, I will never be able to taste their food now; the establishment closed years ago. My next visit was a drive-through on Route 66 in 2017. The city claims the largest intact urban section of the Mother Road. I stretched my legs on a section in the Nob Hill neighborhood, then high-tailed it to Santa Fe. I still feel guilty for the slight. So for my most recent trip in November, I was going to do Albuquerque right, and do right by Albuquerque.
The city, which celebrated its tricentennial in 2006, holds tight to traditions steeped in the Native American, Spanish and Mexican cultures. “Breaking Bad” lasted only five seasons, but the rock carvings at Petroglyph National Monument have been around for seven centuries. Day of the Dead figurines, sugar skulls and Catrina are omnipresent, as are street tacos and huevos rancheros. The debate over red vs. green chile is not as divisive as, say, red vs. blue states. Restaurants always offer a third way called Christmas, a spoonful of both.
Exploring the city under a sky that seemingly has only two colors in its crayon box — blue and black — I met characters worthy of their own shows. There was Chile Traditions owner Ken DeWees, who stocks the most unlikely chile-infused products, such as ketchup, olive oil and caramel popcorn. His decades-long purchase of fresh chiles from a farmer in Hatch, N.M., has helped put two of his colleague’s kids through college. (Food Network meets Hallmark Channel.) And Pratt Morales, who treats his bakery, Golden Crown Panaderia, like a CrossFit gym: Instead of lifting medicine balls, he hoists bread shaped like a turkey. (“The Great New Mexican Bake Off” featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger as guest judge.) And while the roadrunner and coyote have appeared on the small screen, maybe it’s time for a remake. Albuquerque can hold casting calls in the Sandia Mountains or Rio Grande Nature Center State Park. Seeing the archenemies in the wild is better than any Loony Tunes episode. It’s a “wow” moment, for sure, or as the Burqueños say, “Eeee!”
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Local Faves
At Golden Crown Panaderia, if you give a customer a free cookie — specifically, a biscochito — she will most likely order several more in different flavors (chocolate, cappuccino), plus a loaf of bread or two. The legendary bakery and its equally illustrious owner, Morales, have been doling out baked goods since 1972. When I visited on a weekday afternoon, Morales, an age-defying octogenarian, was kneading a mound of blackstrap molasses dough for a batch of marranitos, or pig-shaped Mexican cookies. “We make a lot of cookies shaped like pigs, shells, coyotes, rocks, trees and horse hoofs,” he said. He handed me a blue corn biscochito, the state cookie, which I chewed on during his presentation of green chile bread. He lifted the loaf head-high and traced the edible coyote and moon on top. (The green threads are cilantro; the red comes from tomatoes.) For a holiday or special meal requiring a bird, Morales will bake a turkey-shaped bread that you can stuff with any fixing of your choice, including Tom. About 90 percent of his recipes have local origins, including the empanadas, which skew fruity. If you have a savory tooth, order a pizza made with a blue corn or green chile crust, a solid foundation for the five-protein Golden Crown Big Meat.
Christopher Morales does prep work at Golden Crown Panaderia, which has doled out baked goods since 1972.
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