A Better Call Saul Tour of New Mexico

It was inevitable that when visiting friends in New Mexico (especially those who love the Breaking Bad world as much as I do) that we would end up visiting locations from the show. Better Call Saul brought us back to some familiar locations (Loyola’s, Mike’s house) and plenty of new ones.

There are plenty of guides online to where these locations are (especially my friend Marc Valdez’s blog), but this is more of a whistle-stop tour of me standing in random places grinning a lot.

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Jimmy’s legal offices!
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We couldn’t resist going in and getting ready for the evening’s festivities…
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Jimmy’s office isn’t really out back but I pretended it was
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Pamper time with Mary

That night some friends of mine, mega fans Ed and Marq, were throwing a bash for Breaking Bad / Better Call Saul fans. Hundreds of people from all over the US and beyond would be there so this was the perfect place to get ourselves looking good for the evening.

Chuck house (3)
Chuck McGill’s house – ground yourself!
Chuck house (4)
Chuck’s place – it’s near to Jesse Pinkman’s place
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The bench where Jimmy and Chuck had their talk (S1 E9, Pimento), and where Jimmy sits after hearing the news about Chuck (S4 E1, Smoke)
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Couldn’t go in, but that’s the legal offices of Hamlin Hamlin & McGill…
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With Marq & Ed at HHM!

Patrick Fabian (Howard Hamlin on Better Call Saul) sent me that shirt – seemed fitting that I wore it to his offices.

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Mike’s booth

Who doesn’t love Mike? Found his booth near the Albuquerque Convention Centre (where the Breaking Bad Fan Fest was held).

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Cinnabon – not in Omaha

The Cinnabon used as Gene’s workplace is in the Cottonwood Mall near where I usually stay in Corrales. I’ve recently learned that it’s closed since my last visit, which makes me wonder how they’ll incorporate that into the show.

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Jimmy to Saul to Gene
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Coffee with Mary at Loyola’s, at the table where Jimmy met with the Kettlemans in Season 1 (S1 Ep 1, Uno and S1 Ep 7, Bingo)
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Loyola’s Cafe

Loyola’s features in Breaking Bad as Mike’s go-to coffee place, and I met up with some friends here to start our day of location hunting.

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Skate Park 
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Season 1 throwback

The skate park where Jimmy went to find the two guys who tried to scam him in the pilot episode, S1 Ep 1, Uno.

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Davis & Main

The law offices of Davis & Main, who eventually hire Jimmy, are based in Santa Fe, but this building is located in Albuquerque – architecturally it’s similar to a lot of buildings in Santa Fe.

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Mike’s house
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The copy shop where Jimmy tries to discredit Chuck, featured in S2 Ep 8, Fifi and S2 Ep 10, Klick)

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El Griego Guiñador, which specialises in Mexican-style ice cream, first seen in S2 Ep 6, Bali Ha’i…and waiting for Mike in the car park from Pimento S1 Ep 9)
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One of Jimmy’s scams took him to Lubbock, Texas (but it was really Albuquerque) in S4 Ep 9, Wiedersehen.

And to finish, some side-by-side shots to show how some of these locations appeared in Better Call Saul. I have friends who have really taken their time lining up the correct shots but I’m usually way too excitable to do that.

As much as I love visiting these locations there’s so much more to New Mexico than these shows. I’ve had some wonderful times in Santa Fe, Taos, Magdalena, and especially Abiquiu and I hope to explore some new parts of the state in my next visit.