Home Care In Bernalillo, NM

Despite its small size, Bernalillo (just north of Albuquerque) isn’t short on great places to eat. Most of its restaurants specialise in New Mexican cuisine and are best known for their burgers, burritos, tacos and hot dogs, all of which are made with fresh local produce. Read on for recommendations in and around Bernalillo to savor the vibrant, spicy flavors of New Mexico.

is a family-owned restaurant on the northern side of Bernalillo. It’s a cozy place with an American diner style and colorful decorations. The menu revolves around classic Mexican dishes including tacos, burritos, and enchiladas served in a variety of ways, Mexican-style soups, and some seafood options. Be sure to try their barbacoa de borrego, a rich lamb stew, and wash it down with horchata, a traditional plant milk drink.

Kaktus Brewing Co. is the only brewery in Bernalillo that produces craft nano-beer. Dining options attached to the brewery include a restaurant and bar decorated in a funky retro style, and a cozy backyard terrace. The chefs here use the best local ingredients to produce an innovative mix of American, Italian, Mexican, and German cuisine, featuring homemade pizzas with unusual toppings like elk, duck, and wild boar. Their menu of artisan craft beers includes lager, imperial stout, amber ale, and German pilsner. We recommend you try them all.

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Halfway between Bernalillo and Placitas this friendly little cafe has a pretty extensive menu. Centring on typical New Mexican fare, it offers a huge amount of choice (especially for breakfast) with options ranging from homemade scones and pancakes to bagels and omelettes. If you’re visiting for lunch choose from one of the many kinds of burrito and burger, or go for something a bit different such as the grilled salmon salad. Several evenings a month, for a treat, a live band serenades you during dinner.

On Bernaillo’s main drag, Abuelita’s has been serving up the best Mexican food in the area for years. The recently modernized interior features a bright eating area with traditional artwork and tapestry hanging on the walls. The menu is mostly traditional Mexican dishes paired with hot green and red chillies. Top-rated dishes include the burgers, the Enchiladas Abuelitas and the Chile Rellenos. Abuelita’s legendary Huevos Rancheros have also made this a popular breakfast spot amongst Bernalillo residents.

Twisters serves its New Mexican chain restaurant fare at locations throughout New Mexico and Colorado. One of the most popular items on the menu here is the generously-sized breakfast burrito which comes in many varieties, loaded with bell peppers, potatoes or sausages. Other popular items include huevos rancheros, enchiladas, and tacos, and all-American classics such as burgers, grilled chicken sandwiches and chicken wings. For a quick fix, you’ll find Bernalillo’s branch of Twisters on Highway 550, north of the town’s centre.

Blake’s opened in 1952 and is now arguably the state’s most popular chain eatery. Its signature dish blends the all-American classic burger with a quintessentially New Mexican ingredient: the green chile. The unique result is their fiery cheeseburger. At the start of the day the menu offers New Mexico’s classic breakfast burrito, with fillings like bacon and chorizo. Blake’s also loves the humble jalapeño, and adds the spicy little pepper to many of its plates for a hotter-than-most culinary experience.

This Hawaiian establishment doesn’t just brew one of Bernalillo’s best cups of coffee (although it certainly does do that) – it’s also a great choice for breakfast or lunch. Start the day with a bacon or sausage burrito (or the vegetarian ‘no-meat’ option) and accompany it with coffee or a freshly blended smoothie. If you’re calling in for lunch, choose from a wide selection of wraps or gourmet deli-style sandwiches. Bad Ass can be found on Highway 550, between Bosque Brewing and Blake’s.

Bosque Brewing Co. started out in 2010, and is now a popular bar-restaurant in Bernalillo. Like many other places, the menu centres around Mexican-American classics, with standouts including street tacos, and burgers you put together by selecting your own toppings and sauces. Be sure to try their homemade IPA – also used in the batter for their fish and chips – and German pilsner-inspired lager. You’ll love the spacious outside seating area, and the friendly and efficient waiting staff.

Santa Ana Cafe is another eatery in the Hyatt Tamaya Resort, a few miles outside of Bernalillo. The breakfast buffet, lunch, and dinner offerings consist of a mixture of American and New Mexican cuisine, with plenty of options for vegetarians or gluten-free diners. Star dishes include tamales and homemade pizzas, especially those with a cauliflower crust. Take your pick from a sumptuous wine list and enjoy the views of the sacred Tuyuna Mesa landmark, with the Sandia mountains beyond.

Don’t be put off by the fact that Chili’s is a countrywide chain – it’s a great spot for inexpensive Mexican-American dishes, whether you’re eating in or on the move. Bernalillo’s branch (three miles north of the centre) offers a vast range of steaks, burgers, fajitas, tacos, soups and sandwiches to choose from. A popular combo is the ‘3 for $10’ deal, which includes a non-alcoholic drink, starter, and main at a hard-to-beat price. There’s also a great selection of beers, wines, and cocktails.

Dion’s is another quality chain restaurant, with diners throughout New Mexico, Colorado and Texas. Its specialties are pizzas and sub sandwiches, served with speed and flair. Must-tries include the meatball and provolone sub and the gourmet pizzas – especially the Duke City’with cheddar, turkey, green chile and parmesan – and the Napoli which comes heaped with Italian sausage, roasted red peppers and pepperoni. Bernalillo’s nearest branch of Dion’s is a ten-minute drive from the centre, on the Pat D’Arco Highway, so there’s really no excuse not to swing by.

Despite the unloved exterior and dated interior, Guang Dong serves up the best Chinese food for miles around. It’s a great option if you’re craving something other than burgers or burritos, and it offers all the classics like egg fried rice, noodles, spicy Mongolian beef, and curries served with sticky white rice. It’s great value for money, especially when you consider the substantial portions, and there’s a decent choice of beers and wines to wash it down. When you’ve finally had your fill of burritos and tacos, you’ll find it on the northern edge of town, just up the road from Twisters.

Additional reporting by Mark Nayler

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BERNALILLO COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) – They’re some of the most important and formative parts of the middle Rio Grande Valley. Now, Bernalillo County is getting ready to spend nearly a million dollars to preserve some of Albuquerque’s acequia history. “It’s a good idea. It’s a great idea. It’s about time they start doing something on this part of town,” said Bessie Romero, Owner of Bessie’s, a craft shop near the Acequia Madre.

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The county said the area off Central near the Rio Grande has major historical relevance. They now hope to make the area into an educational experience and open space site for the public. “This is one of the oldest irrigation canals in the U.S. Acequias are essentially irrigation canals and in our region these are hand dug and maintained for hundreds maybe even thousands of years in some locations,” said Mari Simbaña, the Open Space Manager for Bernalillo County.

Hoping to share that history with more people, the county along with their partners including the city of Albuquerque and the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, are entering into a three-phase project to preserve the site. The first phase includes clean-up, rebuilding the parking area, and posting new educational signs.

The second phase includes trail connections to the Bosque, landscaping, and bathrooms. Finally, the third phase will add art and lighting. “I think one of the big opportunities that we have here is to connect the community to open spaces in a way that people can appreciate the culture and history as well as be outdoors,” said Simbaña.

The overall idea is to share a slice of New Mexico’s history of irrigation networks. Simbaña added, “We want it to be an outdoor recreation and education site that uplifts acequias and our agricultural traditions.”

Work will start on the project in February. The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2026 and will cost around $900,000. Part of the funding is coming from Bernalillo County money and legislative appropriations.

BERNALILLO COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) – The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office is taking a new approach to working with people living on the street, specifically around the Central corridor

BCSO is now months into a new partnership where deputies are sent with social workers to help some of the metro area’s homeless individuals.

The goal is to not only help those who are homeless, but also build trust with the community. “How can we help out those in the community and help break that stigma with law enforcement and what the community might think of law enforcement,” said Diane Dosal, BCSO behavioral health manager.

Dosal’s position was created by first-year Sheriff John Allen. “It’s something that I have done before in my previous employment, so I brought that here to the sheriff’s office,” said Dosal. She also helped put together BCSO’s street outreach team “We have our unit, which is the behavioral health unit for the sheriff’s office. So that’s me, our mobile crisis team, we have two social workers,” said Dosal.

The team meets with people who may need water, a blanket or somewhere to sleep at night. “We’re not there to clear encampments or to cite anyone we’re there to show a different side to law enforcement and how we work with community based programs,” said Dosal.

Dosal also finds partnerships with other local entities like First Nations, which offers medical care to Native Americans. “When we have a nurse with us from First Nations, who is [they are] able to help out someone who is injured that wouldn’t normally probably go to a hospital or doesn’t have the means to or health care to do that,” said Dosal.

BCSO hopes the face-to-face interaction might help plant the seed that could prevent future crises.”I don’t know that I can say that we are definitely preventing a call for service. But, how can we not also say that we aren’t because when we’re meeting with people, we’re building rapport and trying to find out what their need is,” said Dosal.

Right now, the team operates once a week, running seven different outreach operations.

“Welcome to the Spartan Learning Academy Fabrication Lab.” That is the greeting you will receive from Pepper the Robot the moment you walk into the Fab Lab at the Spartan Learning Academy in Bernalillo.

Formerly Bernalillo Middle School, the new redesign of the school into the Spartan Learning Academy is geared toward changing the middle school experience. “So, the redesign of the middle school to a project-based learning academy is intended to really innovate and create change in thinking for our students,” says Assistant Principal Anthony Jaramillo.

Adding the fabrication lab to the school is just one of the ways that the Spartan Learning Academy is making that shift, and it is a state-of-the-art classroom. “What this space is, is it’s basically a revolution of education,” says teacher Greg Polanco.

The Fab Lab has Z-Space computers, active floor mats, drones, vex robotics, a Glowforge printer, a CNC Milling machine, and programming equipment that allows the students to send information to tools like 3D printers. Polanco says all of this technology is needed for the space to be considered a fabrication lab.

Many students at the Spartan Learning Academy say they are looking forward to working in the Fab Lab. They say having it as a part of their school makes learning more enjoyable. “The experience in the Fab Lab, it’s very fun. And it’s interesting with all of the different equipment around and all of the different creativity that can be put into this room,” says student Brianna Jaramillo.

“You get to move around, basically, and you get to have fun with your friends. You can do anything in here with your friends,” says another student, Keon Garcia. The assistant principal, Anthony Jaramillo, says the overall goal for the Fab Lab is to prepare students for their future careers.

“Our students will be in an innovative area, using innovative practices to kind of expand their knowledge of digital responsiveness. That way, when they are in the workplace, and they see some of these technologies that we are using in this Fab Lab here, they will be familiar with it,” says Jaramillo.

Overall, the mission of the Fab Lab is to create an environment that can help the next generation of leaders flourish. Anthony Jaramillo sums it up nicely by saying, “The sky is the limit for our students here at the Spartan Learning Academy.”

The grand opening of the Fabrication Lab at the Spartan Learning Academy is Thursday, Feb. 22, at 1 p.m. The community is invited to come out for that ribbon-cutting ceremony. To learn more about the Spartan Learning Academy, click here.

BERNALILLO COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) – The city and the county are stepping in with what could be a financial boost for landlords who face pricey bills from some tenants that leave a mess at rental properties. “We really want to make sure the landlords know that they’re not alone and we’re here to partner with them,” said Shatriece Lewis, the Landlord Liaison for a new Bernalillo County program aimed at helping landlords who’ve been left with costly repairs from certain renters.

The goal of the Landlord Incentive Pilot Program is to also help ensure those landlords, keep renting to people using housing vouchers in Bernalillo County.

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“I’ve heard from some landlords, and I keep hearing the same thing: you’re a blessing, you’re a Godsend, those words exactly,” said Lewis.

The program, which launched on Tuesday, comes after the city and county passed ordinances blocking landlords from discriminating against tenants based on income. Meanwhile, some landlords have shared concerns about the damages they’ve faced from people using housing vouchers.

Under the pilot, the county will pay for up to $7,500 in tenant-caused damages that landlords may face. “I think what’s most important is that I am able to build relationships with these landlords so they can talk to me to tell me, ‘hey this is what’s going on, this is what we need, this is the support we have to have in order to provide this vital service of housing,’” added Lewis.

The City of Albuquerque also has a similar program which they said could go live this month. “Ours is operating slightly differently. I believe we’re looking at up to $2,500 in damages,” said the Public Affairs Specialist for the City of Albuquerque’s Health, Housing & Homelessness Department, Katie Simon.

They hope it helps ease the minds of landlords who may have reservations about housing voucher programs. “The city and the county are both working on the problem of people who are receiving housing support, not being able to find places to live or landlords being hesitant to rent to folks on some kind of housing assistance,” said Simon.

According to Bernalillo County, they have $750,000 for the pilot program through June 2024. All inquiries regarding the program can be sent to [email protected]