New discoveries for spring
Spring is nearly here, and it seems like something new is popping up on every corner. In the case of the artisan bakery Bread Shop, the “something new” is roomier digs just down Lena Street from its original location (the tiny spot that once housed La Lecheria).
The white building behind Whiskey & Clay is airy and open with a welcoming environment that matches the atmosphere. More than half-a-dozen tables beckon customers to linger over an expanded menu of pastries, focaccia, sandwiches, tea, coffee and other cold drinks.
Of course, it’s nearly impossible to leave without one of the shop’s signature bread varieties. The dough is naturally fermented for at least 24 hours, and the simple ingredient lists speak to the quality of the bread. All the shop’s flour comes from small grain growers in the Western United States. Pick up a baguette made with spelt flour, an abundant cherry poppy loaf, a whole-wheat country-style boule or my favorite, a dense loaf of seedy rye, with flax, pumpkin and sunflower seeds.
Bread Shop also has one of the sharpest curations of cheese, charcuterie and dry goods I’ve seen in Santa Fe. There are beautiful olive oils, New Mexico favorites like teo.o.graphy teas and Heidi’s jam, salts from Maldon and Jacobsen Salt Co.
Bread Shop is now offering sandwiches served on mini sesame seed-covered baguettes. I picked up the Spanish ham sandwich, with jamon, manchego cheese, romesco sauce and salsa verde ($12.50). Rich, salty and piquant, the fillings still allowed the flavorful, hearty bread to shine. I didn’t have room for the adventure bar ($2.85) I bought on the side, but I ate it anyway, delighting in the delicately sweet, cardamom-forward mix of oats, dates, millet, coconut and flax.
Bread Shop now has absolutely everything you’d need to pack a beautiful spring picnic — but it might be tough to want to leave this lovely new space.
Speaking of lovely spaces, the new Iconik Red’s unassuming facade (in the former Discount Tire shop’s Cerrillos Road location) belies a huge, gorgeous coffee shop where the old tire store once was.
The industrial-chic aesthetic of gleaming ductwork and concrete floors is balanced by warm wooden tables; pops of red, coral and turquoise; and a dramatic wall of hanging plants. There’s plenty and varied seating, including tables and couches, a long bar against the window and a patio. The menu features the traditional Iconik lineup of exceptional coffee and espresso drinks as well as tea from ArtfulTea, smoothies and a robust food menu. Breakfast includes tacos and a burrito, eggs Benedict and a breakfast sandwich, French toast and a breakfast bowl with kale, veggies, Parmesan and two poached eggs. Later in the day, you can opt for choices like the Thai salad, birria tacos, adovada mini quesadillas or Chimayó chile burger.
It feels like spring year-round inside the new Bubble King, near St. Michael’s Drive and Llano Street, with its bubblegum pink and robin’s-egg blue walls. The shop sells boba, or bubble tea, a hugely popular tea-based drink that originated in Taiwan and typically fuses milk or fruit flavor, ice (shaken or blended) and chewy tapioca balls. It’s served with a wide straw to slurp them up from the bottom of the cup.
This clean, bright space had a line nearly to the door after school on a recent Friday — but it moved quickly as customers built their custom boba teas or chose from a long list of flavor combinations.
At Bubble King, a small (16 ounces) is $5 and a regular (20 ounces) is $6; extra jellies or popping pearls are 50 cents; there are also packaged Asian snacks available for sale. My kids grabbed Connect Four from the shelf of board and card games and amused themselves while I stood in line nearby. This place is clearly an after-school crowd-pleaser, and it was nice to see so many kids, teens and young families filling the tables here.
After our stop at Bubble King, we swung by Buns Dumpling Cafe, newly opened in the building previously occupied by La Tour Experience (and before that, Lucky Goat and State Capital Kitchen). Buns is a freestanding restaurant from the owners of Dumpling Tea and Sushi8 Hibachi & Sushi by the Plaza. It offers the terrific homemade dumplings, wontons and noodles that have made Dumpling Tea a favorite, but has more options, as well as several varieties of Korean bibimbap — rice topped with vegetables, chili paste and usually meat.
We picked up our order in the small waiting area up front, across from a tempting assortment of baked goods in a glass case. The small dining space looked cozy and inviting.
The bibimbap here ($15.99) came with an egg on top, which added to the complex symphony of pickled, fermented, earthy and slightly sweet flavors. We rounded out our family takeout with a lush beef noodle soup, chicken wonton soup and fried veggie dumplings, all of it fresh, flavorful and ample enough for leftovers.
Any day now, it’ll be the season for sticking our heads above ground and looking around for all things bright and green. But you don’t have to wait for the daffodils or the calendar to embrace the spring spirit — discovery is just a menu away.