MetroABQ Blog

Five Great MetroABQ Coffee Stops…

I find myself in all quadrants of the city, at all times of the day. I’m not a huge coffee drinker, really on the lookout for spots with good small-portion baked/savory goods and varieties of food and drink. A mid-morning shack, or late afternoon pick-me-up, the MetroABQ always has what we need, hopefully where we need it.

1. Zendo Coffee/Art, Downtown just west of the tracks (413 2nd St SW), is probably the hippest coffee stop this side of Paris. The late Gertrude Zachary’s iconic Downtown Parisian Mansion (directly above) sits across the street from Zendo, both of which are a few blocks north of The Barelas Railyards. Below is the coffee board. The amazing Aztec Latte, with dark chocolate and cayenne pepper, left a great spicy taste for hours. Zendo is always busy & they are in no hurry to crank out the drinks, which is probably why it tasted so good.

2. La Quiche French Bistro, below, tucked discreetly in the middle of the Mountain Run Shopping Center (5850 Eubank Blvd NE #17, 87111) in the far NE Heights, is perfect for afternoon snack; a small spinach quiche and baguette hit the spot!

3. Humble Coffee (4200 Lomas Blvd NE), is on the northern edge of Nob Hill (below). As it’s near my new Re/Max Select office, I have stopped by a few times now to try different things. The mocha is creamy & their breakfast burritos are very tasty & varied–it’s a small place; however with tons of patio seating during warmer weather. Great to stop by as you go from Uptown to Downtown.

4. Caf Bella Coffee Drive through (9121 Eagle Ranch Road NW) is a tough-shed-sized stand alone building on the Westside near the Cottonwood Mall, on the southwest corner of Paseo del Norte & Eagle Ranch Road. It’s all about the caffeine there, with a small selection of morning pastries until they are gone. My Chai was super-duper sweet along with the last danish; as a quick fix on your way to someplace else, it is in a nicely convenient location, seen below.

5. Duggan’s Coffee Shop at 2227 Lead Ave SE, just east of University in the UNM area, is in the most interesting strip mall in the city: there’s the very busy Pinata shop Casa de Pinata, a Karate Dojo, a Barber shop, the Rio Grande chapter of the Sierra Club, a beauty salon and a corner laundromat. All this, next to Duggan’s Coffee shop. They have a good comfort food menu and the atmosphere is trendy, image below, which fits in well with the other unique denizens in that strip. Great when you’re near UNM.