Albuquerque

• Albuquerque ( I finally learned how to spell it without looking it up, while staying here!) is a town of many hidden charms. A lot of people we know dismiss it, and when compared with much smaller neighbor Santa Fe, they ask "why bother, there's not much to do there." Hidden charms! Sometimes you have to dig down a little, and in this case it's well worth it. Downtown is very active by day and night. Areas like the Old Town, the original settlement, which dates back hundreds of years, is filled with cool shops, galleries, eateries, and walking venues. The Central Avenue area is lined with theaters, more stores, and more interesting places to eat. A couple we have sampled are The Artichoke Cafe http://artichokecafe.com/ where they do a sort of Italian leaning menu, with some really unusual choices. Much more casual, and only open during the day is The Grove http://www.thegrovecafemarket.com/ where everything is fresh, local,and very delicious. The place has a very West Coast feel. Just look at their website...and you will get hungry! Oh, and I almost forgot their english muffins. So what..english muffins? These are the english muffins to measure all others by..forever. First, they weigh about a pound each. Second, they have the most amazing flavor. They're soft and fluffy and chewy...and ggghhhhh... hard to just write about. They're needing to be experienced...in your mouth. See the picture up there. It doesn't do them justice. Enough said. These places are on Central, which is Route 66, and, as mentioned, in the historic East Downtown area. Further east, on the other side of I-25, still on Central, you'll find a lot of old original Route 66 motels and diners. This is also the area where the main campus of The University of New Mexico is located, so it can have a little bit of a funky feel in spots too. Not a bad thing, for here is where The Frontier http://www.frontierrestaurant.com/ is located. A sprawling old building houses one of Albuquerque's true dining treasures. Funky? You betcha! Walk up to one of the many order stations and tell them you want a burger, enchiladas, breakfast all day...whatever, then wait 'till they call your number. Go pick up your tray, and wow!!! You're back in school again! The place is all ambiance. The food is ok, not fine dining by any stretch, but lots of fun for just being there. It kind of reminds us of a smaller version of The Varsity in Atlanta. For some serious food, keep going east on Central until you get to Zinc Wine Bar http://www.zincabq.com/ .We've been going here for years, and it never fails us. Kevin Roessler, the managing partner, welcomes us whenever we pop in and always makes us feel at home. They have a great open kitchen, use really fresh ingredients, and the chef, Chris Pope, is usually around supervising the crew. We normally sit at their food bar so we can watch the preparation. Amazing still, how just a few people, well organized, can produce so many beautiful plates of food...all at one time! Last time there, one of the specials was Wild Halibut with heirloom rice, fava beans, sugar snap peas & braised baby red artichokes, cool sweet cherry tomato chutney. Delicious. In addition to these, there are nothing but surprisingly terrific restaurants all over town. After eating our way through the city, we spent a couple of days doing some large market shopping and personal maintenance ( M A had a day at the Aveda Salon), and we headed over to the Smart Car Dealership to outfit Smarty for the ride. Other than some normal maintenance for him too, he had his new bike hitch installed! A Smart Car with two bicycles riding on the back end! What a sight!! The next stop, after leaving the Big A....Gallup, New Mexico, and more kicks..on Route 66. Why would anyone spend a week in Gallup, New Mexico? Stay tuned right here.