Tijeras!

TIJERAS  It's a town. It's a canyon. It's an avenue. It is pronounced tee-HAIR-us and literally means scissors in Spanish. I think the naming of the canyon came first because of the sharp angles in the cut between the Sandia and Manzano Mountains east of Albuquerque. The town of Tijeras is located in Tijeras Canyon. Tijeras Avenue runs east to west with a segment west of UNM to I-25 and a segment west of Broadway to 14 St. Downtown. This photo is Tijeras Ave. at 5th St. headed south.

Best breakfast food every invented---huevos rancheros. WHEY-vos ranch-AIR-os. Literally, ranch eggs. Fried eggs on a corn tortilla smothered with chile (red or green or both) topped with cheese (melted) and served with pinto beans (no, not black beans) and hash browned potatoes. I strongly recommend scrambled eggs and green chile.

Speak New Mexican! Placitas is pronounced pla-SEE-tus.The sign in the photo below is located on Highway 165 east of I-25. Take exit 242 between Albuquerque and Santa Fe and head up the hill.
The sign reads: The Sandia Mountain have been occupied by human beings for thousands of years. This area was settled by 1767, when Governor Pedro Fermin de Mendinueta made the land grant known as La Merced de San Antonio de las Huertas. The area is called "las placitas" because it contains several villages, also know as "plazas." Descendants of the stockmen and farmers who first settled the grant still live in the vicinity.