June 19, 2012

White Dog said, “Wow! A blog friend is moving to Albuquerque! How exciting is that?” “AND she wants our advice about the best of our city,” Quinn added. “We have LOTS of favorites to share,” Nuka and YoYoMa said simultaneously. Puff was shyly concerned, “I hope they like the same things we do.”  “Maybe when they get here we can show them around,” finished Oso optimistically.

As a comment in yesterday’s post, SwimFlyAway asked the White Dog Army for a list of some of our favorite things to do and places to visit around our town. They have two Schnauzers and want to be sure that they have an insider’s scoop when they arrive.  The rest of our readers are welcome to come along on a virtual tour of the WDA’s Albuquerque. We are going to attempt to share our world in a series of posts starting with today’s’ Eats and Walks.

Nuka window shopping on Route 66

We live two short blocks off of the World Famous Route 66 in a historic area (called Nob Hill) that was once considered the “suburbs” of ABQ, even though we are less than 2 miles from downtown. It is the heart of The University of New Mexico. Our location makes our community diverse in restaurants, social life, and dog friendliness. By most counts, ours is the “hippest” part of town.

The WDA loves to sit on the patio the Route 66 Malt Shoppe, where the staff brings out big bowls of water and real butcher bones…and moves the patio umbrellas to guarantee the pups have shade. They make their own root beer (like Guiness, wonderful and potato chips that should come in a bucket size not a basket). It is a great people watching spot. Just a bit down the road is the Talien World Market where Steve buys fresh mackerel that is the protein basis of the WDA chow. In the opposite direction, the Army can stroll along the boutiques and window shop along Route 66, stopping for cappuccino and gelato or Asian Street Food or Tapas or steamed mussels with truffle oil—depending on one’s mood and the temperature. And we are STILL just in our neighborhood!

Ranging wider, we love the “Taco Lady” at Rincon del Pollo who always makes the WDA something a little special. Sophie’s is a Sunday post-bike ride brunch favorite. They have a huge covered outside area, an incredible eclectic menu (they were featured on Diners Drive-Ins and Dives), always have fresh water in bowls for the pups, AND bring out bacon for them. There is The Kasbah Tunisian Restaurant where Ridah, the owner, always sends home very meaty lamb shank bones for the WDA. We love ordering from Sonic and eating to the 60’s tunes blasting through the parking lot; spicy hot chile dogs from The Dog House eaten across the street at the Farmer’s Market…and shopping at the Farmer’s Market for a car picnic and then heading to the mountains or the Bosque for a pig out treat and hike.

“Home” Park to the WDA is Roosevelt Park with rolling hills and huge shade trees just 5 minutes from home. This park is off-leash (though not fenced) in the morning hours and is always filled with joggers and pups with families. There is also a Frisbee golf course that draws the college crowd. There are 13 dog parks in town and most are fenced with security gates. Mariposa Park on the Westside of the city is the “Duck Park” that the WDA loves to visit to watch the development of the resident “jerky on the web” and to briskly walk the park trails.

At the Nature Center, bike riding launch 

In addition to Parks, Albuquerque is rich in wilderness areas set aside along the river and in the Cottonwood Bosque, and in the foothills. Perfect for getting out of the mainstream a bit, these areas offer more rugged hiking and incredibly beautiful settings. We hope you have enjoyed exploring a bit of The Land of Enchantment’s Duke City with us. Should we do this again?