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If you don't dine in at least one or two Mexican restaurants when visiting Albuquerque well, then you haven't been to Albuquerque. The real question is how to narrow the many excellent choices down. Here are a few to start with and on your next trip you can try some more.

El Pinto, 10500 4th NW, Ph. 505.898.1771. Started in 1962, El Pinto has long been described as "being the flavor of New Mexico." Their red and green chile cuisine features everything from carne adovada to enchiladas. Each meal starts with award-winning salsa. El Pinto's reputation has spread so far that even President Bush and Mick Jagger have dined there (not together). Dining is available in the shaded patio (considered the best patio dining in the city), in private romantic nooks, or in the main dining room. Mon-Thurs 11am-9pm; Fri-Sat 11am-10pm; Sunday 10:30am-9pm (Sunday brunch 10:30a.m-2pm.

Cervantes Restaurant & Lounge, 5801 Gibson Blvd SE, Ph. 505.262.2253. Consistently ranked as a favorite by visitors, Cervantes is known as being a family restaurant with great homemade cuisine. The green chile stew with cheese and onions, soppas, chile rellenos, very hot red chile sauce, margaritas by the pitcher, and the jukebox all rate high marks. The only negative is that the parking lot can be dangerous after dark, so be careful.

Padilla's Mexican Kitchen, 1510 Girard Blvd NE. Ph. 505.262. 0115. Padilla's is so good and its reputation so wide-spread that customers line up at door at 11 to be the first in for lunch. Listed as one of the top 50 Hispanic restaurants in America in Hispanic Magazine, Padilla's is one of the most popular restaurants in Albuquerque. It's not the dcor that brings people in; in fact it's rather sparsely decorated. It's not the location as patrons often have to park on side streets. It's the Food! Patrons will tell you that this is not Mexican food, but New Mexican cuisine there is a difference. Starting with the homemade salsa and gigantic fresh corn chips, every meal is a delight.

Choose from daily specials such as Carne Adovada, Carnitas, or Papas and Quelites. Upgrade a la carte specials to dinners and you'll receive two of the lightest sopaipillas anywhere. The freshly-made tacos are so delicious that you need to order at least two to last long enough to make a memory. The blue corn cheese enchiladas are another raved about item. Padilla's has a rather small dining room but loyal fans like it that way they're afraid expansion may diminish the excellence of this favorite

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