PREVIOUS EDITION

By the far the most frequent change I’m making in updating for the second edition (due spring ’11) is adjusting opening hours–90 percent of the time, places are just open less. I’m guessing this has to do with the recession–government-run places have had budget cuts, and tourism is down, so tourist-oriented businesses have scaled back. [...]

This diner in Roswell is closed.

As I noted before, the NM history museum is now open. Signage is not quite as detailed as I’d like, but otherwise it’s a nice introduction. The exhibits in the Palace of the Governors (now accessible via the history museum) are the same, fortunately–I find these more interesting. Walking tours run by the museum go [...]

Joseph’s Table is shut! Sad. Sabor de Antonio, a Mexican-style seafood and steak place, is now in the space–which is funny, because this is the second time Antonio has taken over Joseph’s Table’s old space. Dragonfly Cafe is no longer open for breakfast, except for Sunday brunch. Now it does lunch and dinner (and is [...]

The Pink Schoolhouse Gallery is shut. Which means…there appear to be no functioning businesses left in Tres Piedras.

Paloma Blanca coffeehouse has shut–it is now an all-purpose restaurant that doesn’t look particularly notable.

Consetta’s, the Green Restaurant, is shut. And sincere apologies–the area code here is 575, but I failed to update many of the businesses listed.

Evett’s, the old ice-cream parlor, is closed. This leaves only a couple of random places to eat in town, and both were shut when I passed, so I’m not sure what to recommend…

The Inn at the Post, by the turn to Chaco Canyon, is shut.

Pancake Alley is no longer open Sundays. I do not recommend the green chile stew, but everything else still looks decent. The Bluffs is no longer open for lunch (just dinner), and it has turned its package liquor store into a bar-lounge.

The restaurant has changed at the St. James Hotel–it’s basically one big mid-range restaurant, instead of a separate cafe and high-end operation. Food all looks decent. Johnson’s Cabins is shut.

Shrine of the Testaments is closed. The Eklund hotel and restaurant was “temporarily” closed–but there was no one around to ask how long this had been going on. There’s a new cafe just down the corner from the Luna movie theater. But in general, Clayton is really quiet on the weekends.

The Santa Fe Trail Interpretive Center in Springer is closed “until further notice.”

Pecos Paradise Inn is shut. La Risa hours have changed: 11am-8pm Thurs-Sat., 8am-6pm Sun.

In Tucumcari, El Toro restaurant is closed. In Portales, the Do Drop Inn has scaled way back–it’s just a coffee bar now, with some sandwiches. In Clovis, the Wholey Cow Deli is shut.

The town is pretty stable. NazzBar is closed. Kitchen Zink is no longer operating out of Blue House Cafe–but the cafe is in full swing. Driftwood Motel is now the Caverns Motel–I can’t vouch for its quality. The new Trinity Hotel is a great addition–good restaurant/wine bar as well–at Fox Street and Canal.

Alas, Pie Pantry is shut. Sunflower Cafe is closed. Weber’s is closed. Aaaand Le Bistro is closed. On the other hand…there is a Starbucks in town now.

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.

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

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!)

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!

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 [...]

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

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.

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 [...]

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.

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 [...]

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

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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

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 [...]

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, [...]

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 [...]