Walter White, the protagonist of AMC’s cult hit “Breaking Bad,” did a lot of “cooking” during the five seasons of the popular show that ends its stellar run this fall.

But that’s not the kind of cooking this article is about. Yet, it is for Breaking Bad fans, those rabid maniacs who make pilgrimages to Albuquerque from all over the globe to have an Indian taco at Los Pollos Hermanos (Twister’s, in its civilian life) or grab a chili dog at The Dog House. This Breaking Bad “cooking tour” has five foodie locations that have either played a starring role in one or more episodes or become a favorite of the cast. Let’s just hope they don’t get blown up before you can get there.

The Dog House. You can’t miss the vintage neon sign of the giant dachshund who has been eagerly wagging its tail at travelers on Route 66 for more than 60 years. Jesse Pinkman, Walter’s sidekick, made a few “transactions” at this tiny hot dog joint that serves a killer foot-long chili cheese dog, Frito pie and green chile cheeseburgers. It’s tiny (five tables and an old-fashioned counter), but why not try Jesse’s favorite table—outside in the waitress-attended parking lot. 1216 Central Avenue NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102, 505.243.1019.

Twister’s Grill. This Albuquerque burrito and burger joint wasn’t up for an Emmy for its role as Los Pollos Hermanos, the fast food chicken chain Gustavo Fring uses to launder his meth earnings. Don’t expect fried chicken (think Indian tacos and green breakfast chile) and know, whether you text “Pollos” to your friends or not, you’ll snapping photos (the Los Pollos Hermanos logo is painted the wall) and signing the guestbook (yes, there’s a guest book) with fans the world over. 4257 Isleta Blvd SW
Albuquerque, NM 87105, 505.877.2727.

Java Joe’s. Remember Tuco’s hideout? The one the former chemistry teacher blew up by throwing a piece of fulminated mercury on the floor, the daring ploy that convinced the psychopathic Mexican kingpin he wasn’t dealing with the wuss he thought? Well, that hide-out is Java Joe’s and it’s not in ruins, after all. Instead, it’s a quaint neighborhood café serving up breakfast platters, its own house-roasted coffee and a funky vibe complete with nightly live music. 906 Park Ave SW Albuquerque, NM 87102, 505.765.1514.

The Grove Café & Market. Walter and Skyler, the long-suffering wife for whom he’s amassing a fortune, have tiptoed a thin conversational line a time or two at this bustling cafe in the Huning Highland district that also (spoiler alert) plays a starring role in the next to last episode. Using locally-sourced breads, eggs, produce and meats, the Grove is creatively run by another husband and wife team, Jason and Lauren Greene, who pour their passion into such dishes as raspberry-coconut French toast, grilled cheese with pickled fennel, ricotta, gruyere, braised kale and roasted tomatoes and a goat cheese burrito with housemade green chile. 600 Central Ave SE, Albuquerque, NM 87102, 505.248.9800.

El Pinto. Famous, even before Walt and Jesse came to town, 1200-seat El Pinto is run by identical twin brothers who wouldn’t put anything artificial in their mouth if Krazy-8 Molina tried to slit their throats. They grow all their chiles to specification, fussing over them like a vintner fusses over his grapes. Jim and John Thomas, whose father started the restaurant and coined the term “New Mexican cuisine” have cooked on Air Force One and in the White House when George W. Bush decided to celebrate Cinco De Mayo with recipes the Thomas twins learned from their grandmother, Josephina Chavez-Griggs. Just about every actor with an agent has made it to this 12-acre property that serves 140 types of tequila and nothing that’s not organic and locally-grown. In case you’re wondering, Bryan Cranston likes a quiet spot by one of the fireplaces, Jeremiah Bitsui (Victor) keeps his own bottle of tequila in the private tequila cabinet and the Wrap Party for Season Three that was held there was one of the only times this Albuquerque institution was closed to the public. 10500 4th Street, Albuquerque, NM 87114, 505.898.1771.

The Candy Lady. Owner Debbie Ball didn’t consider selling blue ice candy at her three-decades-old candy store in Old Town until she saw Bryan Cranston offer up a bag to David Letterman. Since she’s the one who sold him that bag (the show hired her to make 100 pounds the first two seasons), she decided to capitalize, adding a whole line of Breaking Bad products, including Heisenberg’s famous porkpie hat. She even has exclusive rights to sell the “Breaking Bad” Pez containers made by local folk artist Steve White (no relation to Walter) who also make Elvis Pez-ley and American Pez-idents. 524 Romero St NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104, 505.243.6239.

One of my life’s missions is to celebrate the extraordinary. As a travel writer, I sniff out the rare and unique, the truly special things that give a town, a country or a region its one-of-a-kind fingerprint.

Bill Gates, who started that little company of his in a garage in Albuquerque, abandoned this city with 310 yearly days of sunshine for Seattle that’s lucky to get 60 days of blue skies, but as Apple has proven, he doesn’t know everything.

Here are the top five things you can only find in Albuquerque:

1. Businesses who ask, “What would Walter White do?” New Mexico was the first state in the country to offer a film tax rebate. Consequently, its biggest city has played a starring role in many of the last decade’s films, including 2012’s $1.5 billion-grossing Avengers and the about to-be-released Lone Ranger. But the production that has brought the most fame to Albuquerque is the AMC hit, Breaking Bad, which has spawned dozens of profitable Albuquerque businesses. I was lucky enough to visit Great Face & Body that makes “Bathing Bad” bath salts, lotions and scrubs. Urban eco-shamans Keith and Andre West-Harrison, who count the show’s Giancarlo Esposito as a friend, cook up red cabbage for the organic blue meth bath salts that are selling faster than you can say Heisenberg.

Debbie Ball, owner of The Candy Lady, didn’t consider selling blue ice candy at her store until she saw Bryan Cranston offer up a bag to David Letterman. Since she’s the one who sold him that bag (the show hired her to make 100 pounds per season), she decided to capitalize, adding a whole line of Breaking Bad products, including Heisenberg’s famous porkpie hat. There’s even an Albuquerque artist who turned his struggling career around by making Pez dispensers of the show’s characters.

2. A trolley tour on an adobe trolley: Hard to find a city these days without a trolley tour, but ABQ Trolley is the only open-air trolley made from adobe. And, yes, the two Burquenos (an affectionate term for local) who own it give all the tours themselves, including a three-and-a-half hour tour of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman’s haunts. Guests on this popular, always sold-out tour see the Crossroad Motel, Saul Goodman’s law office, Tuco’s hideout and are even offered a drink at Los Pollos Hermanos which, in its civilian life, doubles as Twister’s Grill.

3. A movie theater with hundreds of lit-up buffalo skulls and swastikas. Albuquerque’s Kimo Theatre is the only theater in the world designed in the Pueblo Deco style. Built in 1927, its adobe architecture, log ceiling beams, chandeliers shaped like war drums and indigenous motifs like funeral canoes and wrought iron birds separate it from other palatial theaters of its time that tended to be decorated in Egyptian and Chinese motif. Needless to say, it’s on the National Historic Register so when it was renovated in 2001 just in time for Route 66’s 75th anniversary, the fact that the swastikas meant peace and prosperity to Hopi and Navaho cultures long before Nazi Germany adopted them gave city planners reason enough to leave them be. The interior of the Kimo (it’s an Indian word that means, “King of its Kind”) looks like the inside of a kiva, has murals depicting the Seven Cities of Cibola and is allegedly haunted by the ghost of a six-year-old boy who was killed when a lobby water heater exploded in 1951. Either way, it’s a great place to catch a Hitchcock flick, a series the Kimo happens to be running this summer.

4. A restaurant that makes salsa with the faces of Hillary Clinton, Katy Perry, Lil Wayne and Joe Biden on their labels. El Pinto, the famous 1200-seat restaurant that first coined the term “New Mexican cuisine” is run by a couple identical twin brothers who wouldn’t put anything artificial in their mouth if Breaking Bad‘s Gus Fring tried to slit their throats. They grow all their chiles to specification, fussing over them like a vintner fusses over his grapes. Jim and John Thomas have cooked on Air Force One and in the White House when George W. Bush decided to celebrate Cinco De Mayo with recipes the Thomas twins learned from their grandmother, Josephina Chavez-Griggs. Just about every actor with an agent has made it to this 12-acre property that serves 140 types of tequila and nothing that’s not organic and locally-grown.

5. Horses parked next to cars and bikes. Josh and Heather Arnold, a cute young couple who own Routes Bicycle Rentals & Tours, give brewery tours, movie tours and general Albuquerque tours on cruiser bikes. They also rent bikes to the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger who took them up on their offer five or six times during the filming of The Last Stand, his “I’ll be back” film after politics. And while bike-riding is cruiser friendly through the flat streets of Old Town and along the Paseo del Bosque trail, Josh says they occasionally encounter traffic jams with horses who are still ridden to local coffee shops from time to time. Thanks to the city’s acequias — communal irrigation systems — it’s still possible to own and ride a horse in the center of a sprawling city.

Horse photo by Bob Tilley.