Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces are the only cities large enough to have significant night life. However, several of the American Indian pueblos operate casinos that bring in name-brand entertainment. The casinos themselves are controversial locally because of problems with patrons with gambling addictions, but the entertainment can be reasonably good.
There are a surprising number of acceptable wineries in New Mexico, concentrated mainly in the north central region, but there are several others in the middle Rio Grande valley, between Albuquerque and Socorro.
The wine- and fruit-based beverage known as sangrÃa, more commonly associated with Spain, is also widespread in New Mexico. Most restaurants with a liquor license that serve New Mexican cuisine will also serve sangrÃa.
One warning: small-town bars here, particularly in the northern part of the state, are not always good places for the out-of-state visitor to hang out. For one thing, northern New Mexico has significant problems with drunk driving, and the concentration of intoxicated drivers is high close to small-town bars. For another, there have been ethnic tensions intermittently in this part of the state that have led to serious bar fights, some of which have involved visitors. Tread carefully.
