Chefs making breakfast at Los Poblanos. Photo courtesy of Sergio Salvador Photo.
When you think of farm country, Albuquerque, New Mexico, probably isn’t the first place that comes to mind. The truth is, however, the city’s North Valley area has a vibrant farm community that allows visitors to tour working farms as well as sample their fresh foods.
The most historic farm experience one can have in Albuquerque is staying at Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm. While in the 1800s the Armijo family used the land to grow corn, wheat, alfalfa and wine grapes, Ruth and Albert Simms acquired the ranch house in 1932 when it became a model experimental farm, which it still is today. For the full experience, stay in one of their Farm Suites housed in historic 1930s dairy buildings with pitched tin roofs, white stuccoed walls and garden views; tour their organic gardens and lavender fields; partake in a cooking, gardening or farming class; peruse their artisanal farm shop with its local treats and lavender body products. Both guests and non-guests (reservation only) can sample their Rio Grande Valley Cuisine, which blends French cooking techniques like braising, roasting and confit with the use of organic, local ingredients sourced onsite and within 200 miles (322 kilometers).
Other farm experiences in Albuquerque include touring the chile fields and picking your own chile — a regional staple in New Mexico — at Wagner’s Farmland Experience; cycling to Old Town Farm for coffee, conversation and farm-fresh lunches for their Bike-In Coffee event on Saturdays and Sundays from 8am to 2pm; and perusing the many local grower’s markets for fresh produce and local specialties.
Jessica Festa is the editor of the travel sites Jessie on a Journey (http://jessieonajourney.com) and Epicure & Culture (http://epicureandculture.com). Along with blogging at We Blog The World, her byline has appeared in publications like Huffington Post, Gadling, Fodor’s, Travel + Escape, Matador, Viator, The Culture-Ist and many others. After getting her BA/MA in Communication from the State University of New York at Albany, she realized she wasn’t really to stop backpacking and made travel her full time job. Some of her most memorable experiences include studying abroad in Sydney, teaching English in Thailand, doing orphanage work in Ghana, hiking her way through South America and traveling solo through Europe. She has a passion for backpacking, adventure, hiking, wine and getting off the beaten path.
