We're in New Mexico and spending a day in 400 year old Santa Fe.
Cherry chocolate scone and brownie 100% gluten free
All 100% gluten free
So I have a knack for picking restaurants with huge lines, Georgia has a knack for booking places to stay that require us to walk a marathon to get to. There is usually a good reason though, like a great coffee shop nearby or a really cool market across the street. Santa Fe is no different, looking across from our hotel sits 'The Revolution Bakery', it is 100% gluten free and offers up sweet and savoury delights. Some of the flours they use here I've never even heard of..quinoa flour? We try one of their Cherry chocolate scones made with a mixture of white and brown rice flours, I assume that it will be rock hard but it crumbles as I take a bite, soft and fluffy this scone is incredibly light like a puff of air and disappears just as quickly. We also try a brownie made with a sweet rice flour and sunflower meal, these ingredients in no way overpower the rich chocolatey flavours. They also offer a range of white, brown, seedy bread loaves and a golden buttery brioche. When we started our cafe 4 years ago, we wanted to be able to provide gluten free options, as we both have friends and family who suffer from gluten intolerance. We never imagined that by the time we sold the business, we would have become so popular for just that reason. People were always so excited to see that there were options for a gluten free diet and I know this place would go down a storm.
Peach pollen smoothie
Avocado toast
Santa Fe is full of restaurants but a lot of them seem to only offer a dinner menu, luckily we came across a store that is in the most amazing space. 'The Modern General' is a cafe/ general store selling 'nothing you don't need' that's the slogan. This place is filled with the most beautiful items to use for cooking, gardening, anything here would make your house look cool. They even have a machine to mill their own flour! You just choose what grain you would like by the 'lb' and they give you a little cotton sack that you can return and get re filled, that's going the extra mile if ever there was one.
Breakfast sandwich
The menu is simple and nourishing. A range of exotic smoothies fills a board and we share a peach pollen version. Thick and ice cold the smoothie is full of fresh fruit and I like it even more just because it is served with one of those fat straws, so you don't have trouble with the big fruity chunks.
Georgia has a slice of thinly seeded sourdough, avocado is spread thickly to all corners and sprinkled with fresh corIander, cracked black pepper and flaked salt. Drizzled with a little olive oil and served with a slice of lime to cut through the subtle flavours.
My future house
I go for the all day breakfast sandwich, firm poached eggs are layered with wilted kale and a thin slice of provolone. A lemon aioli has added ginger which gives a burst of freshness. Served alongside a little fruit cup of seasonal goodies.
All the bread is baked locally using the shops own ground flours and basically if I ever get round to building my own house, it will look like this building.
Delisciousness
The next day we are wombling around before we catch our bus and we see a sign for 'Whoo's Donuts'. Tiny little shop, middle of nowhere, how do these people make a living? Because the doughnuts are awesome. Hot red chilli glaze on crispy golden bacon, salty toffee shards, dark chocolate icing, all toppings on one very special chocolate doughnut, we got the last one of these and a minute later someone came in asking for one, I would have felt guilty if it hadn't of been so worth it. The doughnuts here have a moist cakey texture, thick and doughy as if they were baked. We also get a blue corn maple pecan for the road, the corn gives it a really nice gritty texture, something different.
Got chatting to a lovely man in the bus station, he was a Chippewa Indian and told us wonderful stories about traditional festivities..he wanted to take us to the Grand Canyon where they would sacrifice a tree and then stick bits of wood through their skin, not eat or drink for 4 days so you are on the brink of death and can then meet the spirits. Sad that we missed this June festivity but we left with his best healing crystal as a present. I'm going to write a blog just about encounters at greyhound bus stations because there is nothing more entertaining. Just read the reviews online for Las Vegas Greyhound station alone, it had me in tears.
Off to Dallas and it's dizzying heat.
G & S xxx