A Tale of Las Cruces, Visiting The City Twice on a Road Trip From Vegas to Houston and Back

A Tale of Las Cruces, Visiting The City Twice on a Road Trip From Vegas to Houston and Back

By Kat Thomas 

“Elsewhere the sky is the roof of the world; but in New Mexico the earth was the floor of the sky.” 
― Willa Cather

About a month ago Edible Skinny was lucky enough to visit the city of Las Cruces in New Mexico.  The city, on the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert, is located at the junction of Interstate Highways 10 (which is how I ended up there on the way from Las Vegas to Houston and back..) and 25 (of which it is the southern terminus).  Las Cruces is the state's second largest city, with a population of approximately 101,047 (2012 Census estimate in case you were wondering), and is the site of New Mexico State University.  Oh and the city’s name means "the crosses" in Spanish! ;-)

La Nueva Casita Cafe
On a lark, while driving through Las Cruces on the way to Houston, I decided to forsake favorite Fast Casual restaurant Chipotle for the local Mexican joint with the best Yelp reviews in town. What I walked into was the best Fucking tacos of my life in Las Cruces at La Nueva Casita Cafe!!!

Fresh, fresh, fresh is all I can say. I started with homemade salsa that’s actually spicy (which usually never happens as most restaurants dumb down their spiciness levels for the lowest common denominator when it comes to HEAT...).  The chips, also made in house, had all the nooks and crannies in all the right places.

This was an intro to the main dish: chicken tacos That BLEW MY MIND!  The chicken, marinated in local New Mexico spices, was moist beyond compare.  The guacamole balanced it perfectly with a creaminess interrupted by jalapeño and other spices of heat!  So if you’re looking for Mexican food the way God intended it (sorry Chipotle), this is your place!

Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces 
Ironically 4 days later I once again found myself in Las Cruces, NM. This time to spend a night at the FABULOUS (And Fabulously inexpensive) Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces.

Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces (also known as Hotel Las Cruces) is the premier Heritage Hotel & Resort in Southern New Mexico.  A welcoming oasis, the hotel was recently named one of the best hotels to book in 2019 by Travel + Leisure.  “The hotel’s earthy color palette, arched doorways, and tiled floors are quintessentially southwestern, while a lounge and outdoor pool offers visitors a place to wind down after a long day in the desert.”

The outside pool is absolutely stunning. I keep telling people it my hotel room would have been four times as much if it had been in LA and not the desert of New Mexico.  Plus the hotel is located in downtown, but the outside vistas overlook the striking Mesilla Valley allowing you to get the best of both worlds.

And for you space nerds, this Las Cruces hotel is honored to be selected by Virgin Galactic as the official preferred hotel and resort in Doña Ana County to service the astronauts and their families who will be traveling to Spaceport America.

So here’s  to life being delicious, all your moments being postcard worthy, and the best Fucking tacos of my life in Las Cruces!!!

Kat Thomas is the Editor in Chief of Edible Skinny, a site dedicated to making your life postcard worthy. She is also the CEO of the creative media company This Way Adventures. You can find more about both brands at http://www.thiswayadventures.com