5 Best Restaurants in Farmington, Northwestern New Mexico

Right Downtown, Andrea Kristina's is a rare find for Farmington: the consummate cozy bookstore-cum-Internet café (free Wi-Fi) that serves fresh, creative, and tasty—food throughout the day. Coffee is available, too, of course, or an Oregon chai latte if you prefer. The veggie breakfast burrito is special (the version with chorizo is as well); the lunch-and-dinner menu covers territory like a hot Anaïs Nin sandwich (broiled chicken with pesto, on ciabatta), a range of custom pizzas, and a flock of substantial salads, from Mediterranean spinach to avocado and bacon. The book selection is strong on Southwest titles; fiction and nonfiction options tend to smart and literary. There's live entertainment Thursday through Saturday evenings.

The punched-tin ceiling and dark-wood furnishings feed the appeal of this clubby steak house. The steak-averse can make do with another house specialty, Shrimp Dillon, or a decent pasta, but really, the local grass-fed beef's the thing—and a cold one from the selection of over 30 local microbrews. There's live music on weekend nights.

St. Clair's wines are distilled from grapes grown in Deming, in southern New Mexico. Their labels, Blue Teal, Lescombes, and San Felipe, are well known throughout the state, and their strategically located bistros are pleasant spots for a wine tasting or a full meal—accompanied by live jazz Thursday through Sunday evenings. Dinner treats include crab-and-artichoke dip, garlic chicken slow-cooked in Chardonnay, and pork tenderloin with Nebbiolo and raspberry-chipotle sauce.

The decor here is nothing fancy—just plastic tablecloths over picnic tables—but the whole family can fill up on generous portions of delicious smoked pork and beef barbecue. Ribs and brisket are as tender as they come, all slow-cooked in house-made sauce.

In a 1912 onetime drugstore with a gorgeous pressed-tin ceiling, exposed air ducts, and walls lined with vintage photos, this microbrewery whips up more than 10 kinds of beer (also available to go) with names like Roustabout Stout and Chaco Nut Brown Ale. The brews go well with the enormous portions of tasty soups, salads, burgers, ribs, pizza, and other basic pub grub served here. Stroll down the block a bit to find a friendly local scene at its respectably dingy Tap Room and pool-hall outpost (some of the patina from its original incarnation as Fred Carson's Trading Post remains); occasional live music draws a diverse crowd there.