Coda Bakery – Albuquerque, New Mexico

JP, my former boss at Intel used to pride himself on consistently working “half days.” If you’re thinking you’d like a job where you work only four hours a day, you’ve misinterpreted his definition of “half days.” To him, half days is a literal term meaning twelve hours a day. When most of us are done for after only nine or ten hours, he was just starting what he called his “second shift.” Very few of us have the stamina, initiative and especially the passion for what we do to work “half days.” I know restaurateurs for whom half days (or longer) are standard six or seven days a week. Because they spend so much time in their restaurants tending to the care and feeding of others, they tend not to eat there–when they make time to eat. On their rare days off or when they’re able to make time for a quick escape, they like to visit their fellow restaurateurs, not necessarily to check up on the competition, but to be pampered and fed well. Some restaurateurs would make great restaurant critics though they do tend to be overly “honest” when describing direct competitors, restaurants which serve the same…

Fancies Bakery and Modern Market

“Light and airy, reminiscent of European markets.”  That’s how the Corrales Comment described Fancies Bakery and Modern Market.   New Mexico Magazine waxed: “Fancies Bakery, Market & Cafe is a hive of activity. People pop into the airy Corrales café for a fresh-baked pain au chocolat, Cubano sandwich, or other delectable fare. Others browse the European-style market, picking up tinned sardines from Portugal, French jams, and ceramics made in Latvia.”  Perhaps only if you’ve lived in Europe is clarification helpful.  For my Kim and I, “fancies” had come to represent French Fancies, iconic, bite-sized sponge cakes topped with a dome of buttercream and covered in colorful, glossy fondant icing.  We must have devoured a truckload of fancies during our time in England. Recent restaurant visits have been akin to returning to our English home from 1984 through 1987.   During those three years, my Kim and I celebrated our cotton, paper and leather anniversaries (and we’re still going strong some 37 years later).  As much as possible, we lived “on the economy,” a military term for integrating into the local commercial and housing market instead of relying solely on the military bubble.  It meant buying food at local markets because it was…

Banh Me & You – Albuquerque, New Mexico

According to The Tanner Food Group, a a food consultancy focused on international trade, industry preparedness and regulatory activities, there are now nearly 8,000 Vietnamese restaurants stateside.  Food Scientist Michael Murdy, founder of robustkitchen.com attributes the  popularity of Vietnamese food to the “wide range of flavors and textures associated,” specifying that “the combination of sour, sweet, savory, and spicy flavors, as well as the use of fresh herbs and vegetables, makes Vietnamese food particularly attractive to people.” From among the nearly 8,000 Vietnamese restaurants on this side of the pond, it’s a good bet many of their menus are graced with banh mi, the sandwich melding French and Vietnamese flavors and techniques.  I first encountered the banh mi during one of many trips to the Santa Clara-San Jose area courtesy of Intel.  With a significant Vietnamese population, the area was teeming with restaurants, most generally serving pho and other wondrous delights from Vietnam.  At the time (mid 1990s), the San Jose area was starting to see Vietnamese bakeries opening up mostly in areas frequented by Asian populations.  Among them was Lee’s Sandwiches, maybe the first to showcase the banh mi. Lee’s Sandwiches has suffixed its corporate name with “International” and…

Dulce River Bakery & Coffee – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

“Siblings in an ancient tradition Who take time, temperature and love And bring them together To make something that brings people together. You make more than just food You make friendships. You make joy.” ~Thank You Bakers According to legend, the city of Vienna, Austria has bakers to thank for its existence.  Those legends have it that in 1683, Vienna was under siege by over a hundred thousand Ottoman Turks. After months of trying to starve the city into submission, the Turks attempted to tunnel underneath the walls of the city. Fortunately for the “City o Dreams,” some bakers hard at work in the middle of the night heard the sounds of the Turks digging and alerted the city’s defenders. This advance warning gave the defenders enough time to do something about the tunnel before it was completed. Just in time, King John III of Poland arrived at the head of an army that defeated the Turks and forced them to retreat. To celebrate the end of the siege and the part they had in repelling the Turks, several bakers in Vienna made a pastry in the shape of the crescents they had seen on the battle standards of the…

Le Bakery – Albuquerque, New Mexico

“What colonialism does is cause an identity crisis about one’s own culture.” ~Lupita Nyong’o Academy Award Winning Actress Much as we might believe geopolitics has no place in a food blog, food and geopolitics are undeniably intertwined.  Perhaps nowhere is that more evident than in the history of Vietnam.  In the 17th Century, France began a trade relationship with Vietnam.  Two centuries later, France began the colonization of Vietnam.  For six decades, France ruled over the Southeast Asian country, essentially relegating the indiginous population to second-class status, if not servitude. During this time, French influence spread across Vietnamese cuisine, architecture, culture, art and cuisine – an influence which continues to live on across the country today. The French influence on Vietnam’s culinary culture included the introduction of  new ingredients and cooking techniques that blended with local flavors. Perhaps the most famous fusion sprang from the iconic baguette. While mostly similar,  the Vietnamese style of baguette is made with rice flour instead of wheat flour, giving it a wholly distinct flavor and texture. Baguettes are the canvas on which one of one of the most famous Vietnamese dishes worldwide are constructed: banh mi. These magnificent sandwiches contain a combination of grilled…

Sergio’s Bakery & Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

In Italy, the oft-used idiom “Senza il pane tutto diventa orfano” translates to “without bread everyone is an orphan.” That’s how important bread  is in Italian culture.  Is it any wonder bread consumption in Italy is higher than in any other European country, even France. Many loaves are made by artisan bakers operating out of family-owned and operated bakeries.  Most work on a small scale and are heavily influenced by family recipes and regional traditions.  Those secrets and techniques have been handed down from baker-to-baker over the years. Family is essential to retaining the continuity of bread-making excellence in Italy.  Whether baking bread for home or operating a panetteria  and (or) a panificio, traditions are passed on from one generation to another.  Note:  In Italy, a panetteria is a shop that sells bread while a panificio is a place where a baker bakes bread.  Those lines , however, are often blurred, and the two places may be the same, called a forno (a term which also means oven).   Many of Italy’s bread-baking traditions have largely transcended the distance between the old world and the fruited plain. One readily apparent example in the Land of Enchantment is Sergio’s Bakery and Cafe. …

Great Harvest Bread Co – Albuquerque, New Mexico

The sense of smell, more than any of our other senses, influences our ability to recall past events and experience. Fragrance is considered one of the most potent mediums for conjuring up a memory. True enough, one of the most enduring sensory memories of my youth is associated with the amazing aromas that greeted me each time my mom baked bread in her oven.  How I wish I could relive those experiences now.  Stupid kids that we were, my siblings and I preferred our sandwiches made on Rainbo or Wonder Bread (available for the staggering price of 25-cents per loaf back then).  We thought only the “poor kids” packed school lunch sandwiches (in the days before free school lunches were the norm) made on homemade bread…worse yet, sandwiches made on tortillas.  My how times have changed. Sadly, today the singular joy of incredible yeasty bouquets wafting through the air is one younger generations may never experience.  Though bread baking experienced a resurgence during the dark days of the Cabrona Virus, much of it was done on bread makers.  From the standpoint of aroma, it just isn’t the same as loaves of bread being made on an old-fashioned oven.  If my…

Dagmar’s Specialties – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

In her last Facebook post, Dagmar Gertrude Ingeborg Schulze Marshall Mondragon remained optimistic about making a full recovery from the most recent of the many recent health woes that plagued her otherwise rich and wonderful life. Dagmar refused to be defined by those health woes. Instead, we’ll remember her as not only an extraordinary chef and baker, but as one of the kindest, most loving and optimistic souls to ever grace our Earthly plane. Dagmar was devoted to her customers.  She passed away on  25 February 2023.  You can read more about the amzing Dagmar below. Michael Almanzar, a long time friend of Dagmar’s who is affectionately known as Dagmar’s “Brother from another Mother” is the new Owner/Operator of Dagmar’s!   Dagmar’s reopened on August 25, 2023.  We’re happy to report that under Michael’s stewardship, this outstanding German bakery hasn’t skipped a beat.  Though we miss the beautiful baker, we’re gladdened that her delicious legacy lives on.  One of the improvements Michael has made is in expanding the Dagmar’s space.  The restaurant now has a dining room with a handful of tables in which diners can enjoy their German fare in comfort.  If you prefer al fresco dining, it’s available,…

Horizon Bagels & Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

The furthest thing you can see when you stare out into the sky––the line where the sky meets the earth––is called the horizon.  Now, contemplate the faraway rainbow when it appears on the horizon.  The rainbow is one of the most inspiring displays in nature–the spectacular, high-arching display of colors that stretches across the horizon at the tail end of a rainstorm. This prototypical display of  the colors of the ultraviolet spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, indigo, violet) is brought on by sunlight refracting, reflecting, and dispersing as it passes through raindrops.  It’s magical!  No wonder fortune –a pot of gold–and good luck are often attributed to the mysterious arching rainbow. Now study the bagel.  If you slice it in half vertically then stand it up, it actually resembles a rainbow, albeit much less colorful.  Don’t believe me?  Study Horizon Bagels’ logo which resembles a bagel half spanning the horizon.  It may not have the colors of the ultraviolet spectrum, but to Duke City breakfast and lunch goers, it represents the great fortune of delicious bagels and absolutely delicious Jewish foods.  For New York, Chicago and New Jersey  transplants, the horizon–that unreachable faraway point–is finally attainable.  Bagels reminiscent of home…

Johnny O’s Spudnuts – Farmington, New Mexico

When we tell fellow New Mexicans we lived in Mississippi for eight years, they look at us like we’ve lived in Mars.  Mississippi is not a dichotomy to many people in that they can’t think about anything good about it.  Most dredge up the Magnolia State’s ignominious past or they bring up stereotypes about the state’s literacy and education (despite Missisissipi’s public schools ranking higher than New Mexico’s).   We often feel we have to defend all that is good and wonderful about Mississippi…and there is a lot to love.  Foremost are the people.  We befriended and have remained friends with so many people along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  Most of them are God loving, God fearing people who love their country.  I stood with Mississippi when most of the rest of the country was protesting the Libyan invasion.  Throughout the Magnolia State, the American flag waved proudly. Okay, this blog is about celebrating food, not about politics.  Mississippi excels in the former department.  Contrary to the stereotype, not every food in the state is fried though we grew to love fried pickles, fried alligator, fried catfish, fried pickles…and of course, donuts made from potato flour.  To the detriment of…

Diane’s Bakery & Deli – Silver City, New Mexico

In 2011, New Mexico Magazine recruited several local food writers and asked us to introduce readers to ten of “New Mexico’s Best Eats” in several categories:  Best Green Chile Cheeseburger, Best New Mexican Soul Food, Best Fine Dining, Best Enchiladas, Bet Vegetarian New Mexican Food, Best Road Food, Beste Local Seasonal Ingredients, Best Contemporary Native American Food, Best Chocolate and Best Carne Adovada.   For the most part, writers waxed eloquent about “the usual suspects” in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. The most noteable exception was Lesley S. King, a distinguished writer who graced New Mexico Magazine’s as the “King of the Road” for years.  Lesley declared The Land of Enchantment’s “Best Road Food” to be the Hatch Benedict from Diane’s Restaurant and Bakery in Silver City.  During her tenure as King of the Road, Lesley traveled the length and breadth of the state, visiting virtually every town and city, giving readers a deeper and more enriching experience than what is offered by most travel guides and tour services.  She knows New Mexico and she knows where the state’s best foods are served. Though we should have raced to Silver City immediately after reading Lesley’s excerpts, we let life get in…