Hole in the Wall
Chama River Brewing Co.
Two completely different locations serving the same excellent beer! Downtown has a casual, easy-going vibe (with food nearby). Up north is the huge, swanky brewery. Choose for location, mood, or who it is you intend to run into. Neither disappoints.
Charlie’s Back Door
A Burque classic! This dark Scottish-themed bar tends to the daytime-break needs of ever-present Heights construction workers. Boasts a wide variety of whiskeys and dark ales, as well as the full Front Door menu. Try the sheepdip, a bowl of just-tender meat in chile.
CLOSED M-SA 2–5
Christy Mae's
Churning with the requisite charm of a family-owned and –operated kitchen, Christy Mae’s pitches a piquant palatte of affordable dining options for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Ed’s Pub (inside Leisure Bowl)
While Leisure Bowl has its own Lebowskian merits, Ed’s brings it all together. An excellent karaoke DJ works every night of the week. The waitstaff are stern, but they’ll grow on you.
el madrid
Voted by Guide staff both Best Place to Get Shanked and Best Place to Get a Drink From a Dirty Glass. Those of you already grabbing your keys based on that description, vayan con Dios.
El Modelo
Real as it gets. It’s a tamale factory! After 80 years, there’s no real seating, but you can eat your burrito at a picnic table in the parking lot next to an old woman selling statues of La Virgen. The burritos here are cheap, huge and muy deliciosos.
El Rey Theater
An old school theater that’s seen better days. Designed by Luigi Puccini, cousin of the famous opera composer, and maintained (barely) by his granddaughter. The building also used to house a kick-ass smaller venue, The Golden West, but a 2008 fire burned it to the ground.
Exhale Night Club & Grill
If you’re looking for LGBTQ-anything, you’ll find it here–from cute bois to the ever-elusive half-naked Burqueño gogo.
Ezra's Place
The Funky, eclectic, quirky second of three amazing brainchildren of Dennis Apodaca (Sophia’s and Jo’s holding down the trifecta). A small regular menu and an ever-changing list of specials bring creative variations like enchiladas (duck!?!), tacos (fish, beef, or scallop), burgers (kobe, bison, poblano/mole), pancakes (lemon), and other unexpected treats.
Gecko’s
Amanda’s Bloody Mary shares company in our hearts with the Anodyne’s best, plus some delicious-but-pricey tapas. Tuesdays are 3-for-2 tapas; Sunday’s bartender’s drink of the day.
Grandma's K&I Diner
A certified Mom & Pop, and a strange mix between Cracker Barrel and Nuevo Mexicano. The guide gets the country fried steak with green chile on the side. Oh yes, there will be hash browns with that. Two words, and then some other words: The Travis: a 5 lb. burrito, free if you can swallow it in one sitting. Take your recycling to Wise and stay awhile on South Broadway for some breakfast.
Holy Cow
After his first lonely year in a crappy two bedroom apartment on Montgomery, Don moved to Walter, in Huning Highlands, about two blocks from Central and two blocks from Bob’s Fish & Chips (which was abandoned, and remained that way for the better part of 19 years). So when Holy Cow took over the spot on High Street and Central this year, Don knew he’d try it.