Dining: Los Lunas

All in the Family

Embracing its rural roots and its present-day status as a bedroom community of nearby Albuquerque, the village of Los Lunas, population 14,328, is a day trip only 20 miles south of the Duke City. Growing up here and making it my home means searching for what’s best to eat and to do with family and friends.

Breakfast at T J’s New Mexican Family Restaurant is an anytime-of-day meal, says my 12-year-old son Alex, who regularly orders T J’s pancakes for dinner. Rustic wood paneling and paintings of rural life give the place a country feel. At T J ’s they make breakfast burritos the way I do, full of scrambled eggs and diced ham, covered with a layer of melted cheddar and with a side order of papitas. You can order it smothered, but I prefer a little of their tasty red chile on the side.

After breakfast, the Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts makes a nice stop for a local lesson on our town’s founders and the latest traveling exhibit.

For lunch, we choose the Green House Bistro and Bakery with its cozy enclosed patio of windows and corrugated tin. My seven-year-old son, Dominic, and I split a Cuban from the sandwich menu. The house-made French bread makes for a delicious sandwich. Add roasted pork loin and ham lightly grilled and topped with melted Swiss cheese, dill pickle, and red onion, and you’ve got a sammie to relish right down to the last bite of crust. I add a cup of fresh and flavorful roasted Italian vegetable soup, and Dominic saves me a couple of the crispy waffle-cut sweet potato fries. My daughter, Isabella, plays it safe with a grilled cheese—not on the menu but offered specifically to please a 10-year-old craving comfort food.

Energized, we drive to the southern foot of Tomé Hill. Without enough time to hike it today, we explore La Puerta del Sol, a steel sculpture depicting conquistadors, friars, and farmers who saw this landmark hill as they traveled El Camino Real—the historic trade route connecting Mexico City to Taos and dating back to 1598.

For dinner, my husband, Jerry, makes reservations at The Luna Mansion Landmark Steakhouse. Built in the 1880s as a private residence, the mansion is the only known structure blending Southern Colonial architecture with New Mexico’s adobe and terrón, or sod, building techniques. Today, the restaurant is draped in the Victorian feel of rich fabrics, flowered wallpapers, and chandeliers. Once our anniversary glasses of New Mexico’s Gruet Brut sparkling wine are ordered, we consider the menu’s prime rib, but in the end, both of us settle on the Mansion Steak, a six-ounce fillet topped with king crab and Bearnaise sauce. This melt-in-your-mouth steak is my all-time favorite. Tonight, we’re too full for dessert, but we’ll be back another time for the house-made Mansion Mud Pie.

T J’s New Mexican Family Restaurant, 235 Highway 314 SW, (505) 866-5123; Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts, 251 Main St., (505) 352-7720,www.loslunas.gov; Green House Bistro and Bakery, 5 Thomas Rd., (505) 866-1936, www.nmagelessliving.com; The Luna Mansion Landmark Steakhouse, 110 W. Main St., (505) 865-7333, www.lunamansion.com—Melissa W. Sais