When I was reading up things to do in ABQ (short for Albuquerque), one thing that looked really interesting was their Breaking Bad RV tours! Basically, this tour company would drive you and a bunch of other people around in a similar RV that Walter and Jesse use, and take you to all the landmark spots around town that was used in the show. The cost of this tour was more than what we wanted to spend, so Joseph and I just went around the city ourselves, and it was easy finding out locations via Google Search.
What we noticed about New Mexico, specifically ABQ and Santa Fe, was that they were very welcoming to the Breaking Bad franchise and its fans. Immediately from exiting the airplane, gift shops spotlight merchandise from the show. You can also see a lot of merchandise in various stores in ABQ and Santa Fe.
FIRST STOP: LOS POLLOS HERMANOS!
Address:
4257 Isleta Blvd SW
Albuquerque, NM 87105
This location was what we were both really looking forward to the most. Los Pollos Hermanos in the series is a chicken joint. But irl, it’s a local chain restaurant called Twisters that specializes in burritos. The place looks the same inside, haha, but I don’t know what I was expecting. Joseph felt a little weird just barging in the restaurant as fans, so we left as soon as I ordered an ice tea and took some photos.
SECOND STOP: A1-1 CAR WASH
Address: 9516 Snowheights Cir NE
Albuquerque, NM 87112
Walter and Skye’s A1 car wash is a real working car wash that is now owned by Mister. We walked awkwardly inside, with employees eyeing us like the typical tourists we are. As we headed back to our car, we saw fellow fans also visiting the car wash, and gave them a nerdy nod that said ‘whattup, cool peeps’.
FINALLY: WALTER WHITE’S HOUSE
Their house is actually a real residential house, so I don’t feel comfortable including the address here, but you can easily do a Google search on it. Anyway, it’s hilarious that you can actually just search ‘Walter’s house’ on the iPhone Maps app, and that there’s even a Yelp page for it! In case you were wondering why it has 2.5 star review, it’s because the owner of the house isn’t very fond of the fans, and a lot of fans end up having a horrible experience while visiting.
Knowing this, Joseph and I ended up just doing a drive-by of the house, thinking a photo from the outside would be good enough. And waddaya know, as soon as we drove in front of it, the owner was hanging out right on her lawn!!!
In a quick panic, we quickly drove forward, and then back again, while taking a drive-by shot like some sort of gang-banger, all the while they were staring at us like we were lunatics! Haha.
It’s been a fun ride being a Breaking Bad fan, and visiting some of the filming locations has been the icing on the cake.
