Panaderia, Links, Et. Al.

Almost finishing my tax preparations this morning called for a celebration of sorts: a trip by my favorite panaderia, The Golden Crown Panaderia, to get a sweet potato empanada. This is a cool little local bakery that has been in business for 18 years. It is run by a father and son team who always hand out a free biscochito when you visit.

A couple of other of my favorite drop in spots:

Downtown Gourmet, where I buy cheese from all over the world (and the owner always hands out a huge amount of samplers.

The Middle East Bakery is my place to go for middle eastern groceries, fresh falafel, pita bread, Turkish coffee and lunch when I have the extra cash. (Link is a review post)

For all things German, including apples & cream horseradish sauce, I visit the Alpine Sausage Kitchen. (Link is just the street address.)

Beer: Chama River Micro-Brewery, where the only have four tap beers. That's it. You can bring your own food in to eat and can leave your mug on their shelf to use whenever you return. If they had a Web site, it would be bigger than the entire room (which has about 4 tables, plus the bar). Very cool.

Coffee: Still haven't found my perfect fit. Find myself going to the Blue Dragon when they have throat singing events; want to like Alfredo's but seating is too stiff; same for Irysh Mac's; Whitings is cool, but I seldom go for some reason. Typically, I stick to my own home brews and invite friends over or go to their places.

Hangout with a Book: Not a lot of selection here since Pearl's Dive closed. I usually end up at one of the Flying Star locations (see picture at right).

Groceries: Other than the specialty shops mentioned above, I go to La Montanita Co-op, where I am a member, and to the Talin Market. I hope to join Los Poblanos Organics soon, since I know the farm where most of the food is grown.

I'm not sure why all of this info is at the top of my head today. Maybe it's The 1950's Housewife thing, or that I'm just avoiding work at my desk. Anyway, I obviously enjoy local and off-the-beaten path joints around the city. Feel free to add others that you know and enjoy.