Moving to NM--Thanks so much

To all who populate this forum,
I'm moving to Las Cruces, New Mexico for grad school in creative writing (yes, i'm going to school for something you can't learn), and I would just like to thank everyone for their opinions, thoughts, advice, and general ruminations over the course of my time here on LTH.
I will be leaving the best food city in the country for a desert barren of anything resembling food.
But, if you ever come through and need advice on where to eat, just drop a line on this forum and I'll reply accordingly. (read: "Stay in Chicago.")
Thanks again, and hopefully I'll be back soon.
-Parker Staley

I cannot say I have ever been in Las Cruces, so what you say may be completely true, but I have always eaten quite well when visiting and living in Gallup, Albuquerque and Santa Fe at various times.

Thanks for your posts, and please share what you find in NM. No need to wait for someone to ask.

Hi,

If there is any concilation, I have friends who dreamed most of their working lives to move to beautiful Las Cruces. With the skill sets you have learned here, I am sure you will find chow treasure wherever you go. I am sure you will reliably find Indian Tacos, something I can only dream about here!

Soon you'll sport a tan, you'll pine over turquoise, count the armadillos on the road like we count deer, check out fields of cotton (at least I saw some near Phoenix) but do keep us informed what Las Cruces and environs are like.

Best of luck,

My one visit to Albuquerque (sp?) led me to a great restaurant, so I hope that Las Cruces offers you some better options than you currently forsee. Certainly the NM environment is breathtaking ("Land of Enchantment" is one of the few license plates that is accurate) so you will at least have that going for you, not to mention easy access to good chile peppers. Best of luck.

Over the years I have visited New Mexico many times, though admittedly not in the past few years but every time not only did I eat well but for weeks after returning I pined for the food on NM.

The basics - all throughout New Mexico you will find southwestern cuisine which is a cuisine unto itself, lots of Mexican influences, but also some native american and some other influences into the mix. Of particular note are the green chilis (in many dishes) and the soppapillas (sp?) which are both very simple and very adictive especially when served with honey.

Given how many people move from elsewhere in the country to retire to the southwest, as well as the closeness to Mexico and Texas I would also also anticipate that you will be able to find some great Mexican and perhaps even some Texas bbq.

In any case every time I have visited I ate well and greatly enjoyed myself - sure a bit dustier than Chicago, but much less humid and starkly beautiful.

Shannon

You must be attending NMSU ... for creative writing ... that's something different. I have been there a few times in my travels. Decent campus, fairly spread out but not real exciting.

On my last trip, I noticed that the Las Cruces area is the center of Texas/NM pecan industries. If you take the non-interstate connector between El Paso and Las Cruces, you will see any number of pecan groves and a lot of small stands and shops that sell them. Some of them have great product. There is also a small fledgeling wine industry with perhaps two to three small wineries in the area.

I saw a few farmers' stands along the roads and a number of roadside flea markets where you could get a variety of dried peppers.

In addition, Las Cruces is about 50 miles away from the El Paso/Cuidad Juarez metropolitan area. There are any number of interesting restaurants on both sides of the border. I particularly like Cattleman's Ranch in Barens, TX and Stateline BBQ which has some good Texas BBQ.

Good luck.

I spent the majority of my childhood in New Mexico, as well as a portion of my adult years - twenty-one years total. My prediction is that you will love the state. Restaurants and people are much more spread out - as I am sure you are aware. My high school in Farmington (450 miles northwest) played football with Las Cruces High. Everyone in my acquaintance, who has lived in Las Cruces or attended New Mexico State, has spoken positively of the area.