If you’re an avid shopper in the Albuquerque area, Cottonwood Mall is the perfect spot to spend an afternoon. This spacious, light-filled mall features open hallways that can accommodate even the largest weekend shopping crowds, and it’s filled with stores for just about any shopper’s interest.

Clothing retailers like American Eagle Outfitters and Express are situated between large department stores like Dillards, J.C. Penney and Sears. Bath and Body Works, Shoe Department, the As Seen On TV store and other specialty stores sell just about all of the home goods and clothing accessories that you can imagine, while eateries like Johnny Rockets and T.G.I. Friday’s will satisfy any food craving. Cottonwood Mall also offers ample parking, a large movie theater and small play areas for the little ones to make your visit to the mall as fun and convenient as possible.

Cottonwood Mall
10000 Coors Boulevard Bypass NW
Albuquerque, NM 87114
(505) 897-6571
www.cottonwoodmall.com
www.yelp.com/biz/cottonwood-mall-albuquerque

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/Pink Sherbet Photography

Kokoro brings authentic Japanese cuisine to Albuquerque. Founder and chef Takako Kimura grew up in Niigata, Japan, a coastal city known for its fresh produce and high quality rice. After attending culinary school and training under great chefs in Tokyo, Kimura came to New Mexico and opened her restaurant to bring the “heart of Japanese cuisine” to Albuquerque.

Yelp reviewers who have lived in Japan claim that Kokoro’s dishes taste just like food they enjoyed in Kyoto or Tokyo. The menu lists traditional Japanese fare made with organic vegetables. Expect everything from tempuras, chicken teriyaki, and gyoza to egg rolls, edamame, and ten-don. Don’t leave without trying the curry, a favorite of many of Kokoro's regular diners.

Kokoro is open 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily.

Kokoro
5614 Menaul Boulevard NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110
505-830-2061
kokoroabq.com
yelp.com/biz/kokoro-albuquerque

CC-BY-SA-2.0/Flickr/Takashi Hososhima

Whether baseball is your passion or you’re a NASCAR devotee, reading up on your favorite sports is a popular pastime for many fans. These top sports news websites offer the latest stats, real time game footage, amazing photos and player profiles for just about every major sport in the country today.

ESPN.com
A good choice for sports news, ESPN’s website is jam packed full of the latest information about the sports world. You’ll find scores and stats for both college and NFL football, soccer news from all around the world, NBA power rankings and draft news, and the latest transactions from the world of MLB. ESPN.com also features long-form articles from Bill Simmons’s Grantland and is also home to Nate Silver's new site.

Sports Illustrated
The popular sports magazine has just as much informative news on its website, as well as high-quality images, exciting video and much more. Sports Illustrated’s online site offers information about tennis, soccer, football, golf and just about every other professional sport, as well as fantasy football tools to manage your team.

Yahoo! Sports
Yahoo! Sports pulls the top sports headlines from all around the web to give you a diverse, timely news source. Search by your favorite sport, check the constantly updated scoreboard, manage your fantasy team and even keep up with games in real time all on one convenient website.

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/Ryan_Fung