Breaking Bad

7. Tuco's Lair

Albuquerque, NM

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Tuco Salamanca, the meth addicted, psychopathically violent drug distributor for the Juarez Cartel holds court in the upstairs of this two-story building. This is where Tuco beats Jesse ruthlessly, stealing his product and leaving Jesse in the hospital. When Walt catches wind of the affront on his business, he confronts Tuco. This is Heisenberg's first appearance. Disguising a bag of the highly explosive fulminated mercury as meth, Walt causes an explosion that gets Tuco's attention as well as his respect. Although some major moments in Breaking Bad happen in Tuco's Lair, like the first appearance of Heisenberg, we don't see a lot of Tuco's Lair as the Tuco character was killed off early at Raymond Cruz's request because the overly violent, unpredictable Tuco was too taxing for the actor to sustain for eight more episodes. Tuco's Lair is actually a cafe, located downtown at 906 Park Ave. SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102, named Java Joe's, making this a great stop in the morning. [Photo Credit: Steve Snowden]