Moon New Mexico UPDATE

I’m out on the road now, researching for the next edition. It’s been a long time–so I’ve come across a lot of closures, I think exacerbated by the recession. Apologies to everyone who has been frustrated while using the guide–I hope this new info helps some people.

Truth or Consequences

The Red Haven motel is shut.

Las Cruces/Mesilla

Meson de Mesilla, the B&B and restaurant, is closed.
The Mesilla visitors center has moved across the street, into the new town hall.

Alamogordo

Nature’s Pantry has moved to 2909 N White Sands Blvd–north side of town.
Old Montreal Cafe is closed.
Plateau Espresso is oddly marked on the map–it’s a bit farther north on Scenic Dr.

Deming

Patio Cafe is closed. (The one in Columbus is still there, fortunately.)
Deming Truck Terminal is closed.
Joe Perk is closed.
Teapot Dome is closed.
…which makes you worry you can’t get coffee in Deming! Not so–there’s a new place called @thebrew, around the corner from where Joe Perk was.

Silver City

Vicki’s Eatery has moved to Market St between Arizona and Texas.
Dos Baristas has changed to a different coffee joint. Can’t vouch for coffee quality.
Spaghetti Western has changed, and is now 1zero6, under same ownership–I ate there one night, and it was excellent. Menu all over the globe, and limited to a few choices each night. BYOB.
Silver Brewing Co. is closed.
Miko’s Tacos is closed.
The Twisted Vine is closed.
…all these closures in Silver might make you think the place is dead. Not so! There are in fact many new and tasty and interesting developments, to be mentioned in the next edition.

Capitan

The Greenhouse Cafe is shut. It’s now called Cafe Z–have to get back and check it out on a day it’s open.

Roswell

A Taste of Europe is closed.
The visitors center has moved, just a few blocks north on the same side of the street. It’s part of a larger convention center.

Portales

Desert Bloom Inn is closed.

I’m still on the road, so more news to come…

American Eagle (the American Airlines subsidiary) has finally started direct flights between Dallas and Santa Fe. Response has been enthusiastic, so it looks like the flights will be a permanent thing, beyond the 60-day trial.

Direct flights from Los Angeles to Santa Fe are set to start in November.

Taos is jumping on the successful Rail Runner link between ABQ and Santa Fe: Starting June 4, Taos Express will run a shuttle bus will between Taos and the Santa Fe Rail Runner depot, timed with the train’s arrival, on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Round-trip price is $10, and you can transfer to the Taos Chile Line town bus for free.

The New Mexico History Museum, an extension of the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe, opens this weekend.

This hotel in Albuquerque–the renovated La Posada/former Hilton–will finally be opening in September of this year, and the website is taking reservations.

Per a reader comment, it looks like this restaurant in Chimayo will reopen in July, after the fire that had shut it for a stretch.

(Thanks, Terry!)

This museum in Albuquerque has moved to its new, bigger location at 601 Eubank SE.

It has also changed its name to the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History. More info here.

Ha–a greater error than I could ever grasp: it turns out that the official Four Corners point is actually 2.5 miles off. Sorry about that!

Major oversight–someone was kind enough to email me with this news months and months ago, but it got lost in the shuffle: Coffee T or C in Truth or Consequences is closed. So is White Coyote.

But there were a number of new businesses in town when I visited last summer for a piece in Budget Travel. (Not mentioned: great pastries, I think by the ex-White Coyote owner, and coffee at Black Cat Books.)

The big news in the area is twofold:

1) As I mentioned earlier, the RailRunner commuter train now connects Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Schedules are here.

Note that, as a side effect, as far as I can tell, there is no longer a regular city bus linking the ABQ airport to downtown–there is now a free shuttle. Which would be nice, except it runs less frequently and is timed to coordinate with the RailRunner’s departures to Santa Fe. Still, if the times work in your favor, you could easily enjoy a car-free visit to Santa Fe (and Albuquerque).

2) Allegedly, daily direct flights to Santa Fe will be starting June 11. They’ll be operated by American Eagle (American Airlines) out of Dallas-Ft. Worth.

This has been on the table before, and very close to starting, so I’ll believe it when I see it.

The Rail Runner commuter-rail service between Albuquerque and Santa Fe has officially started. This is just about the coolest thing to happen in New Mexico in decades!

For visitors, this means you could take the dedicated shuttle from the ABQ airport to the Rail Runner, and hop on the train direct to Santa Fe. No rental car, no hassle–ideal especially for a weekend getaway.

I say “could” and not “can” because a lot depends on the train schedule–it doesn’t run super-frequently (about once an hour during rush hours, with nothing in between). The last train to SF departs the ABQ Sunport stop at 6:09pm. But hopefully service will increase due to demand.

But the trip takes a little less than an hour, and you arrive in style in central Santa Fe–suave! Roundtrip is $8.

For schedules and other info, see the Rail Runner website: www.nmrailrunner.com.

A little slow on this, but the restaurant Rancho de Chimayo had a fire this summer. It’s closed until at least April 2009.

This doesn’t refer to anything specific in the book–I just thought it was a big step forward: You can now bike all the way to the Balloon Fiesta grounds (thanks, Duke City Fix).

Balloon Fiesta traffic is the single biggest mental deterrent for going, I’d say. The park-and-ride bus system works, but if you can get there under your own power–so much cooler! And a pre-dawn bike ride would be great.

In other news, there’s now an actual flushing public toilet in Madrid! (Previously, porta-potties were all that was available.)

I just got a helpful email from the Mesilla visitor center (adjacent to Las Cruces):

On page 254 under the Mesilla listing, please change the visitor center information to the following (as it has moved): 2231 Avenida de Mesilla, 575/524-3262 ext. 117. Instead of “small” visitor center, it is now located inside Mesilla Town Hall.

Again, I spoke too soon: the CCA in Santa Fe (p. 83) hasn’t in fact reopened the James Turrell SkySpace–too bad!

On p. 66, I describe the Jemez State Monument as being south of Jemez Springs. In fact, it’s just north of the town. Also, the parking area for Spence Springs is more like 1.6 miles north of Battleship Rock.

This isn’t news, obviously–it’s just plain wrong. I have no idea how it happened, and I’m embarrassed it took me so long to realize it. Apologies!

Mountain Treasures (p. 157) is shut. In fact, the building it was in is completely gone–always disorienting. Also, The Hole Thing is for sale, so might not be reliable for much longer.

This has been moving around a lot due to the construction on Railyard Park. Short-term: check the website (www.santafefarmersmarket.com) for locations. Long-term: there will be a permanent year-round market hall in Railyard Park, which will open sometime in late summer/early fall.

Just FYI, ABQ’s transit system is now called ABQ Ride, not SunTran (p. 70).

Chef du Jour (p. 54) has expanded, and chef Jennifer James (formerly of Graze) is now cooking here. The dinner menu (yes, there’s dinner now too) changes monthly, and is a great deal.

Ambrozia (p. 55) is closed.

The Standard Diner (p. 56) has abandoned its high-low concept—all the same menu, and most of it under $20.

The Green Light Bistro (p. 56) is closed.

The Frontier (p. 57) is no longer open 24 hours—tragedy! It’s open 21 hours: 8am to 5am.

Nizhoni Moses (p. 49) no longer exists. There are now two Nizhoni galleries, with jewelry and RC Gorman work—one’s on Church St., one block behind the church.

Gulp (p. 46) is closed. The whole Gulp/Graze compound is now the Nob Hill Bar & Grill, run by the chef from Ambrozia.

Hiway House (p. 52) has redone its rooms—not so retro, but the carpeting is fresher. Ownership is a little cagey about prices, however, which can be annoying. Feel free to bargain.

La Posada (p. 53) will be reopening as Andaluz—not sure when yet, however.

Dragonfly Café (p. 147) does only lunch and dinner now, not breakfast—plus Sunday brunch.

Joe’s Main Street Bakery (p. 147) is shut.

Gypsy 360 (p. 147) is now the Maverick County Café—totally different menu, but very good. Open only for long lunch (11am–4pm or so).

Antonio’s (p. 148) is closed; fortunately, Rellenos Café is still open.

The pastry chef at De la Tierra (p. 148) is gone; unfortunately I can’t vouch for the pastry quality any longer.

The Burrito Wagon (p. 148) is gone. (I saw it parked in someone’s yard a few blocks away—so sad!)

Blue Rain Gallery (p. 140) has moved to Santa Fe.

FX/18 (p. 141) has moved to Bent St, east end, closer to Taos Inn.

Winter hours from the Blumenschein Museum (p. 131) are 10am to 4pm Tues through Sat, and noon to 4pm on Sun. (I’m remiss in posting this—someone alerted me to this months ago!)

The address of Gearing Up bike shop (p. 143) is 129 Paseo del Pueblo _Sur_–it’s just south of the intersection with Kit Carson Rd.

LeMoyne’s Landing (p. 99) is now a French café called Clafoutis, serving breakfast and lunch till 4pm. Tasty and fresh, and good pastries.

Coyote Café (p. 99) is no longer owned by Mark Miller, and has been taken over by the same restaurateur who owns Geronimo. I enjoyed my meal there, but the menu is completely different and the cooking—while ambitious on the surface—is actually pretty standard stuff. It’s certainly the place to schmooze in Santa Fe right now.

Kasasoba (p. 100) is shut. It’s now another high-end Asian place.

Tiny’s (p. 101) is incorrectly placed on the map. It’s actually off the east side of St. Francis Dr., south of Cerrillos—Pen Rd. here is not really a street, but a big parking lot.

Dave’s Not Here (p. 102) is shut.

Blue Window Bistro (p. 107) changed hands, but it’s still good. The menu is a bit different now, though—none of the chile relleno crepes.

El Rey Inn (p. 94) is incorrectly placed on the map—it’s actually about midway between Llano St and 2nd St, so closer to the plaza than on the map.

Chapelle Street Casitas (p. 94) has changed its name to Adelante Casitas.

And I didn’t include the Santa Fe Sage Inn (www.santafesageinn.com) in this book, but it has since gotten a complete overhaul and is now excellent value—free wi-fi, pool, big breakfast, really comfortable beds and clean rooms. It’s only a little farther out of the center than Santa Fe Motel & Inn.

Addison Arts (p. 89) is shut.

Meyer-Munson Gallery (p. 90) is now called Meyer East. Little has changed, though.

Victoria Price (p. 90) is shut.

Mellow Velo (p. 92) has moved to 638 Old Santa Fe Trail—that’s just a couple of blocks south of Paseo de Peralta. It’s also phasing in a new phone number: 505/995-VELO. But it no longer rents cruisers for in-town riding—just mountain bikes and road bikes.

More roads have been paved en route to Diablo Canyon (p. 51, driving directions on p. 52), so you have to look out for the dirt road 4.6 miles in—it heads uphill and bears slightly right, while the main paved road turns left. If you miss the turn, you’ll find yourself on a giant subdivision loop, soon heading south and then back east toward the city.

Poeh Museum (p. 104) is open 9am–4pm Sat (not 4–9pm).

I’m in NM, and I have a lot of changes to post for Santa Fe and Taos (and probably more for ABQ to come), but I won’t get to it for a few more days. If you’re just about to leave for a trip, email me and I can tell you–otherwise, check back in another week to freshen up your book.

A big fire gutted neighboring club Golden West, in Albuquerque, so Launchpad (p. 46) is at least temporarily shut from damage as well.

The Roswell visitors center (p302) is now at 912 N. Main St., in the convention center, and the new phone number is 575/624-6860.

Taste of Europe restaurant (p301) is closed.

Thanks to a reader for letting me know about these changes, as well as the corrections in the previous post.

Rates at Fire Water Lodge (p246) do _not_ include breakfast. I’m not sure if this is something that has changed since I did the research, or just some confusion on my part. Either way–apologies!

Same goes for the location of Pacific Grill (p247)–I listed its old address, when in fact it is located at 800 N. Date St. (I guess I sensed something was wrong when I was doing the map, because I placed it on the map at 304 _North_ Pershing–closer to where I remembered it being. A lesson to always mark up maps before I leave town!)

A helpful reader reports that this restaurant in Ruidoso (p323) has changed hands, and it no longer has a liquor license–that means no beer with your pizza, alas.

Due to an editing error, Kranberry’s restaurant (p267) in Lordsburg has a spiffy little extra-recommended “moon” symbol next to it. In fact, Kranberry’s is nothing remarkable–the “moon” was meant for a great restaurant in Lordsburg that unfortunately closed just before the book was going to press. At least I can say that as of mid-December, Kranberry’s was open and perfectly serviceable.

Taos Ski Valley will start allowing snowboarders on its slopes as of March 19, 2008. Truly a major change.

If Moon Santa Fe, Taos & Albuquerque isn’t enough for you, get ready for Moon New Mexico, with many pages devoted to the farthest corners of the state. It comes out September 28. And there’s an update page set up for the book, just waiting for news!

I talk about New Mexico on this fun podcast, the Amateur Traveler. As you might imagine, there’s a lot of discussion of New Mexican food, and a very rambling outline of all the various places you can visit in the state, including Pie Town and Truth or Consequences.

You can download the podcast at the Amateur Traveler website, or go via iTunes–I definitely recommend the iTunes-enhanced version, which includes some great photos.

Many of those photos happen to be mine–I just uploaded a bunch of the pics I used for the book to my Flickr stream.  Easiest to see them in the New Mexico set.

From time to time, I will post updates to Moon New Mexico (due out September 28, 2007), as I learn about them. Please email me changes you know of–it makes for a better guidebook for all!