Albuquerque vs Vegas vs Phoenix vs Tucson

[Tiger Beer]

what are the ingredients in NM cuisine? more veggies?

i´m in cancun now.. and love the mexican food.. but its totally different than the US-mexican food.. not as much veggies..

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by Towanda

I find that the cuisine in ABQ is largely NEW Mexican, not Mexican.

And I am one of the biggest (not physically LOL) New Mexican food fans there is.....

While it is true that there is a plethora of New Mexican cuisine here in ABQ (which is tremendous), there is also equally a huge amount of authentic Mexican as well (especially Northern Mexican or El Paso style cuisine)...I love them both, although am partial to the Mexican food!

[designer]

I lived in Phoenix for several years and now live close to Albuquerque. I have
spent time in Tucson and Vegas while working. I am retired now and find
that all the cities you are comparing have many similarities but yet many
differences. I found all of them to not be very cosmopolitan at all and Phoenix seems like the worlds largest suburb with lots of housing and not much of a downtown for it's size. Tucson is also similar but maybe a little
larger downtown presence for a town of it's size. Also all of the cities mentioned are really weak in culture or at least from my viewpoint. I have
lived in the west most of my adult life but I think my favorite cities are Portland, Or, San Francisco, Seattle and now I'm starting to like parts of
Denver. They all seem to promote the arts and other cultural events where
I find the southwest cities to be somewhat lacking. I think though of the
southwest cities I like Tucson the best but I havn't lived there. Albuquerque
has a very high crime rate but Phoenix does as well. Good luck on your choice.

[Towanda]

The features of New Mexico cuisine I like are the choice of "red" or "green" or Christmas" chile on your entrées; the choice of posole instead of rice; green chile stew (yummmm); and everything not totally smothered in cheese.

Most of the "Mexican" food here in Kansas is Tex-Mex .... and I greatly prefer the taste of New Mexican cuisine.

[NorthCarolina9778]

I am happy to know that ABQ finally made it big enough to be compared to Vegas, and Phoenix. Tucson sucks i dont even know why Albuquerque would ever be compared to that stink hole. Now as far as the other two A L B U Q U E R Q U E ALL THE WAY!

[AZLiam]

Originally Posted by NorthCarolina9778

I am happy to know that ABQ finally made it big enough to be compared to Vegas, and Phoenix. Tucson sucks i dont even know why Albuquerque would ever be compared to that stink hole. Now as far as the other two A L B U Q U E R Q U E ALL THE WAY!

You didn't even realize that Tucson is larger than ABQ (in another thread), so I take your thoughts with a grain of salt.

[jr75]

1. Tucson
2. Las Vegas
3. Phoenix
4. ABQ

[tijlover]

No matter what city you move to, invariably, unavoidably, at times, you're going to get bored with it, no matter what the city has to offer. Then you must consider: where can I go from here for a long weekend?

Albuquerque, to me, suffers from too much isolation. East? Long haul to anywhere east. North? Long, long drive to Denver or Colorado Springs?
South? El Paso/Juarez, connections to Chihuaua, Mexico. West? Long drive to Phoenix or the coast. I wouldn't pick Albuquerque for its isolation factor.

With Las Vegas, you have a 4 hour drive to the L.A. area, a 5 hour drive to Salt Lake City, a 5+ hour drive to Phoenix, 9+ hours to Reno. Not the best location unless you love the L.A. area for an escape. Not my choice, by a long shot.

I'm impartial to Tucson because I'm looking at the offerings of Mexico for an escape. A 60 mile drive south to Nogales for an evening of bar hopping, perhaps have some medical care, dental work. From Nogales, you can travel south to Hermosillo, Guaymas or Puerto Penasco. Also doable trips to the coast, San Diego. And 120 miles north to Phoenix.