Well, we're a bunch of science geeks and a philosopher somewhat associated with NMSU but this page is neither an official page of any department nor representative of the university as a whole. Who goes out varies week-to-week, but most recently 'the group' is me, my husband Tom, The Other Tom, Elena, Jackie, Larry, Bob, and a bunch of people who may prefer to remain nameless. Others chime in on occasion. Keep in mind that we're a picky bunch but it takes very little to keep us happy. (See Important Stuff below).

Because it is very hard to find out about bars in this town and what they're like. The phone book listings are almost non-existent and, while The Las Cruces Bulletin and the Pulse section of the Sun-News are useful for bars that have live music, there's not much information about the Important Stuff.

A bar that brings us back should have all or most of the following:
Good beer. Not necessarily all microbrews, but something beyond Bud and Miller. Bud and Miller have their place (i.e. down one's throat after mowing the lawn in the summer) but we want quality beer for our money.
Food, preferably free during Happy Hour, and hopefully including masses of hot green chiles.
Darts and/or pool tables.
A good jukebox. Our tastes are diverse, but tend towards metal, "alternative" (I hate that word because it conjures up nasty MTV images but you know what I mean), and classic rock.
A relaxed happy atmosphere, not too formal, but also without fear of getting beaten up. Actually, the only bar we ever were worried about was The Welcome Inn and even that turned out to be not so bad. Though ask us about El Palacio sometime.

For beer: High Desert Brewery is our favorite by a long shot..
For pool: My Brother's Place.
For convenience: Hurricane Alley.

We sometimes get asked what restaurants we recommend in town (generally via e-mail from people planning visits to town). The following are ones we like in particular, though there are many others that are also very enjoyable:

Mexican/New Mexican food: Nellie's (1226 W. Hadley, right across from High Desert) and El Comedor (2190 Avenida de Mesilla is very good. Nellie's is more truly New Mexican and is a must-go-to place during chile harvest season. El Comedor is somewhat more traditional Mexican with nice selection of items. My personal favorite is the tacos al pastor.
Asian: The Mix (1001 E. University) is very good. It has Pacific Rim cuisine, so it has a variety of dishes. However, our favorite by far is The Lemongrass (2540 El Paseo, just off University). It's Thai food, very well done (though it could be hotter for most of us), with an excellent wine list. The owner has a nice selection of wines that pair well with her food. They do Mongolian BBQ on Saturday nights, too.

Mediterranean: Both Tiffany's (755 S. Telshor) and International Delights (1245 El Paseo) do a fine job, with Tiffany's being more Greek and International Delights being more generally Middle Eastern. We like International Delights slightly better, mostly because the atmosphere is more comfortable, but both are very tasty.
Italian: Really only one choice, though in 3 locations, namely Lorenzo's. Located at 1750 Calle de Mercado (the new shopping area on Avenida de Mesilla), 1753 E. University (just off I-25), and 741 N. Alameda Blvd. (this is a cafe, which we haven't yet been to, since they're only open for lunch, we think).

Miscellaneous: Mesilla Valley Kitchen (2001 E. Lohman) is THE place for brunch on the weekends.

For different reasons, I eventually got to making a restaurant guide, with most of our favorites covered.

Return to the main page and enjoy!