I'll say this about Albuquerque, they sure love their Breaking Bad. Also, their meth, apparently, but mostly, their Breaking Bad, one of the many TV shows and movies that have been shot in the New Mexico city over the past few years -- largely due to drool-worthy tax incentives and scenic locations -- but the only one that we, myself and photographer Nadia Chaudhury, were willing to travel across the country for. After all, Girls already films in my city.
Breaking Bad aside, I've been wanting to visit Albuquerque for years, but never bothered reclining up from my blogger chair until last week, when we flew from New York to the Land of Heisenberg. We saw as many notable as-seen-on-Breaking-Bad locales as possible, and yes, we were obviously even lucky enough to have an encounter with Bryan Cranston, a.k.a. a guy with the initials "W.W." who isn't named Walt Whitman.
Come join us, won't you, on a journey through time, space, Albuquerque, and photos of bathrooms.
Location: 9516 Snow Heights Circle NE
I hope Bogdan's doing well. Anyway, this is the totally legitimate car wash that Skyler and Walt own, for perfectly noble and car wash-y reasons. Octopus Car Washes are everywhere — they're like the McDonalds of the automobile cleanliness world — but they're not a laser tag facility, and thus, like Saul, I am very disappointed.
Location: 4915 Cumbre del Sur Ct
Hank and Marie's house, which is goddamn gorgeous. It's in the rich people, far-away Albuquerque hills, with nary a trace of purple. That's somehow even more of a let down than the car wash/laser tag thing.
Across the street from where we were staying is the abandoned Albuquerque rail yard, which hasn't hosted any Breaking Bad scenes, but did provide set locations for Terminator Salvation, Transformers, and, most non-crappily, The Avengers, which used the building for multiple scenes, including the one where Mark Ruffalo is discovered by a security guard in the nude. Sorry, ladies, but we didn't see any naked A-list actors, though I DID spot a homeless man nearby. Actually, maybe that was Ruffalo...
Location: 2010 Ridgecrest Dr. SE
Welcome to Casa de Vamonos Pest Control. All I thought about when I was there, "I miss Mike." Then, "If only Jesse had walked away from Walt for good after their Vamonos fight." Then, "I could really go for some tacos." Then, "I wonder if that adorable Vamonos Pest Control logo is still around here somewhere?"
It is not. (It used to be on that shredded billboard.)
I had never been more excited to see a door than I was this one, where Skyler stored Walt's ill-gotten money. And yes, it's the same one that's used in "Gliding Over All," as seen in this weird BB/Storage Wars mashup GIF.
#newmexico
If I could have any prop from Breaking Bad, it'd be Bryan Cranston's life. After that, the RV where Walt and Jesse did their cooking. It's parked in the lot where much of the show's interior scenes are shot, and it's...just kind of there. It ought to be in a museum, next to Archie Bunker's chair and Tony Soprano's breathing noises, but for now, it rests silently, without protection, in the parking lot of an Albuquerque studio.
Location: 2435 Wyoming Blvd NE
If you like your pastries like you do your women — covered in crunchy blue sugar — then go to Rebel Donut, which sells HEISENBERG donuts, as well as Pancake Bacon donuts, which we didn't eat because we didn't want to die.
Location: 3828 Piermont Dr NE
THE WHITE HOUSE. It's in a normal, totally residential part of town, and this was photo was taken the day after we saw the cast and crew filming an important, I'm-not-going-to-talk-about-it-in-specifics-because-it's-a-huge-HOLY-SH*T-spoiler scene. Apparently, the couple that own the house are very accommodating to Breaking Bad fans, and if you ring their doorbell and offer them $100 to throw a pizza on the roof, they won't say no. We didn't try, however, because we were too star struck from the day before by...
...this guy. (Not me.) Everything you've heard about Bryan Cranston — that he's the nicest, most charming guy in the world — is completely true. We were about 200 feet away from the White house, which is as close as fans can get after some asshole took photos and published frame-by-frame notes on the Internet about an important scene two weeks prior to our visit.
Now, gawkers have to stay back, but everyone is still very accommodating . Moira Walley-Beckett, who wrote "Fly" and "Bug," among others, came over to say hi to us, for no other reason than she wanted to. Anyway, Cranston's stand-in was chatting with us, too, and he said that once HEISENBERG was done being HEISENBERG, he'd bring him over. Which he did, and then we, and two other fans, spent the next five minutes shooting the sh*t with Cranston about the Oscars, Breaking Bad, and the time a member of KISS stole his girlfriend. He even signed an autograph as Walter White. Because he's the best.
OK, two more photos, if only so you can see how exaggerated Cranston gets in person.
This has nothing to do with Breaking Bad, but everything to do with Bob's Burgers.
Location: 4257 Isleta Blvd. SW
The interior of Twisters, or as its known to fans of buckets of chicken batter everywhere, Los Pollos Hermanos. It's your typical Southwest burritos/huevos rancheros/burgers joint, except for the fact that it was co-founded by a now-dead drug kingpin (the line between reality and fiction doesn't exist for me anymore). The location that was used on the show even keeps the Los Pollos logo on the wall, which must confuse 99% of the population.
See.
By the register, there's a notebook that doubles as a guestbook for Breaking Bad fans to sign. You're supposed to write down your name, where you're from, and, what kind of drug you're looking for, probably. I like to imagine that one day, someone will write, "Looking for a good time, call 555-NOT-FAKE," then another BB enthusiast will call the number, hoping for a sexual good time, but end up chatting about Gale Boetticher for hours, then they'll eventually meet up and get married. All because of a notebook in a restaurant. Paradise by the four egg omelette light.
Location: 524 Romero St. NW
"METH," courtesy of the Candy Lady, who makes blue rock candy for when you want to worry about bringing a suspicious-looking object on a plane to New York, and wonder if it'll make it through security, especially when you have 10 packages, and if you do get caught, will that be the coolest or lamest story ever? The point of this tale is, I didn't get a cavity search because I bought candy in New Mexico.
You can also purchase a HEISENBERG hat.
Location: 322 16th St. SW
Jesse Pinkman's house, volume one. So much history: it's where Krazy 8 was held in a basement, where acid destroyed a ceiling, where Jesse's parents lived until he made Saul blackmail them, where Jesse threw a days-long party with copious amounts of booze, pills, pizza, and Xbox games. An Albuquerque landmark.
Location: 1216 Central Ave SW
The Dog House is where certain scenes were filmed — OMG LOOK AT THAT DOG.
Location: 325 Terrace St SE
Jesse's house, volume two. This is where he lived next to and shacked up with Jane (poor, poor Jane). It's for rent in real life, if anyone needs a place to asphyxiate on their own vomit.
Location: 2608 Central Ave. SE
Hey, that's me! I'm drinking tea (CLASSIC me) at the Denny's where "Live Free or Die" was filmed (haha, take that, New Hampshire), but what you should be focused on are the seats at the counter, where Walter had a conversation with a waitress on his 52nd birthday. I think everything's going to turn out OOOOOOOOOOOOK for that guy.
Here's an absolutely riveting iPhone near-selfie of the Denny's bathroom where Walt purchased an M60. This bathroom has seen some terrible things. Grand Slam breakfasts...actually, that's about it. *shudder*
Lovingly recreated, though when I asked for extra bacon so I could "redo what Walt did on Breaking Bad," the waitress looked at me like I was a crazy person. Like I was Walt, basically.
Crystal Blue persuasion, anyone? 'Til next time, Albuquerque.
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I want to hear about the member of KISS stealing his girlfriend! Was it Peter Criss? I bet it was Peter Criss.
Damn you Josh, copycat.
We did the same last year for my destination bachelor party (+10 for me).
But never got to meet Cranston. (-1000 for me).
Oh god, oh god, slides 12 and 13. That’s blood on your hands, Walter! Or tomato paste, hopefully.
I kind of hate that you pointed that out. Now I’ll be obsessing over WHAT COULD IT MEAN for the next few hundred hours.
I’m with Cajun on this one. Didn’t notice it, now I can’t stop thinking about it.
not cool bro. i went through the slide show without noticing it and thought heeyyy lemme just briefly check these comments out.
Very cool!
Personally, I think I’d lose my shit to see “The Krystal Ship” in person that anything else.
I hate you*, Kurp. Just kidnap Cranston next time, I’m sure he won’t mind.
*I don’t actually hate you.
I’m just glad people are shooting good shows outside of NYC and LA. Also, that town is pretty darn boring.
WOW! Thanks for showing / rubbing in our face your awesome photos. All this does is encourage the youngins to become bloggers. THANKS, OBAMA.
But really, did you try the donuts?
Okay, that’s actually pretty cool. I’m never sure about pilgrimages that delirious fans take but this was one of the good ones for posterity. You get to say you went to the locations where probably the greatest show in TV history was filmed AND met its star. I definitely consider that time well spent.
Has anyone had both Rebel Donuts and Voodoo Donuts?
I’m asking inane questions because I’m full of envy.
Voodoo Donuts kick ass. I try to get some whenever I’m out that way. I’d like to try some of those blue meth donuts though.
As a native Buerqueño, I spent most of my teenage years in profound agreement with you that New Mexico is a very boring state (usually accompanied by that amazing sigh of entitled disappointment at which teenagers excel, to whit: ‘gaaaaaah this place is so boring…’ etc.). ABQ was, in fact, chosen by Vince Gilligan for its anonymity, and the show never intended to make Albuquerque a character in the series in the way that Baltimore was in Homicide and The Wire, for example. So, you fetched up in ABQ, tracked the locations of a show in which the makers deliberately did not intend to engage with the town’s more colorful elements, and projected out from this that New Mexico, as a whole, is a boring state. That is reductive and pretty damn weak tea, and you’re better than that.
You entirely missed the point. The state is boring as shit obviously, and if not for Breaking Bad, no one would ever go there or care about anything to do with it. Now, there is ONE reason to visit Albuquerque, and see TV history. It’s like going to Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon, if you like Breaking Bad. And if you don’t, fuck you (in general).
Nice to see someone willing to play the ‘deliberately obtuse’ card. Interesting choice. Truth is that New Mexico is actually a pretty cool place, though much of its virtue is derived from its geography, for which we can’t really claim credit. Albuquerque as a city isn’t the best example of what New Mexico has to offer, but it has its fun parts, most of which BB has avoided because they aren’t germane to the show. That being the case, Josh missed those parts, which skewed his perception and led him to an unfair judgment.
I think it goes without saying that he meant the parts of it he saw. Which are parts of Breaking Bad. And this isn’t a tourism article about the whole of New Mexico. He also didn’t teleport to all of the locations. He must have seen more.
If that goes without saying, why is one of the pictures captioned ‘New Mexico is a very boring state’?
By the by, in the event Josh is actually reading this great meeting of the minds, I’d like to say that the tone of my initial comment was unnecessarily sharp, for which I am sorry.
Boring as shit? My home this is! I normally don’t lose much sleep if somebody wants to dig at my state, but at least bring some evidence to back it up. You’ve got some pretty low-hanging fruit available: literacy rate, poverty rate, teen birth rate, infant mortality rate, low salaries… C’mon, haters, you barely have to try.
I would love the opportunity to convince you that your reasoning (which seems to distill down to “NM is teh sux0rz”) is spurious, but successfully doing so would undermine my goal of keeping the state as free of blindly opinionated whiners as possible. Instead, I cordially invite you to stay the f away from my 300 days of sunshine, my beautiful landscapes, my high-desert climate, and my fiery cuisine.
You obviously convinced him to at least do an Uproxx 20 if not a Q and A, right? RIGHT? RIGHT?!!!!!
My exact thought.
Two things.
1. Albuquerque is nice. Some parts of New Mexico are boring, but as medium-sized cities go, Albuquerque isn’t particularly boring or as dumpy as it appears in Breaking Bad.
2. I can’t fathom a trip to see Breaking Bad sites that doesn’t include Crossroads Hotel – where all the meth addicts stay. And it’s right off the freeway. Boo on you, Josh.
Agreed, Crossroads is like the easiest BB-related location to visit.
We did drive by it (it’s right by the Dog House), but didn’t stop and take a photo when we saw one junkie blowing another meth-head. (OK, that didn’t actually happen, but it did.)
I spent a week in Red River, which is up in the Rockies, and it was pretty fucking awesome.
the rail yard looks like the set for the laundromat
Did you get to have breakfast with Walt Jr?
t-t-t-this
I also met Bryan Cranston once, and can confirm that he is in fact a pretty swell guy.
I will say this about that second sentence: it’s 59 words in length.
That’s not the only thing that’s 59-something in length.
I finally get to see what Josh Kurp looks like and he is as beautiful as his words
Is he behind the virgin IT guy?
Haha, Josh, I kid. You’re not an IT guy.
Hey now, this comment would have been topical last week. Not no more.
Are you saying you lost your virginity to Bryan Cranston? I guess if i can’t have you he is a worthy alternative
I visited ABQ three weeks ago and, if anything, Breaking Bad undersells what a shithole that place is. What a dump.
Wait, didn’t Walt and Jesse kill what’s his name in the basement of Jesse’s grandparents house or something, a different house than his parents house? Or am I just confused because of the whole “the owners of that house decided to rebuild it” thing?
The house did belong to Jesse’s aunt, and then she died, leaving it to Jesse but not technically in her will. After Hank comes around looking for Walt they decide to kick Jesse out. Then later he buys it back from them.
The laundromat which is filmed as being way the hell in the middle of nowhere is actually right off the freeway not more than a few minutes from downtown.
I’ve played laser tag at Saul’s favorite place. It has Go Karts and putt-putt, too. And four-way air hockey.
The Dog House is good.
Twister’s is good, too. The Disaster is just that. It’s delicious.
Unrelated ABQ note from an LA transplant… if you like microbrews, this area is phenomenal.
New Mexico has the best state motto.
A thoroughly enjoyable (and jealousy-inspiring) read. I actually want to blow my Paris vacation money on Albuquerque now.
Where can you find the spoilers he mentioned?