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The Grove Cafe and Market offers a shady patio and wonderful meals. (Dean Hanson/Journal)
It is hardly conceivable that six years ago, a new hip neighborhood called East Downtown (EDo) gave birth to a new hip cafe dedicated to local ingredients, delicious food and inky black gourmet coffee. The Grove Cafe and Market lives on, seeming to grow stronger at every turn as it shows off a comfortable maturity with its place in the breakfast-lunch hierarchy in Albuquerque. Lauren and Jason Greene have created a landmark worth your time.
Back in 2006, my assessment of this spot loved the recipes and coffee but found flaws, from premade salads to disposable tableware. Over the years these details have been addressed in full, leaving the Grove with a honed and efficient feel. They know what they’re doing and are not afraid to smile and guide you through yet another wonderful meal surrounded by other devoted fans. This continued formula is the cause of one remaining problem – noise. During busy hours, the dining room is a clamor of friends catching up, with nary a table tapping away at keyboards (the Grove has never offered wireless Internet). The patio offers considerable audio relief and shade from the sun, to boot.
In addition to seasonal features, a few menu items remain signatures since the beginning: homemade English muffins served gloriously alone with butter and local honey ($2.50) or piled into an eggy sandwich that ought to make fast-food legends quiver, fancy cupcakes (the best coconut cupcake in town is here), and an open-faced Croque Madame ($10.25) using spicy mustard and farm bread. These mainstays are well paired with the best cup of drip coffee in town, thanks to fancy beans from Chicago’s Intelligentsia – good enough to enjoy black.
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The Grove Cafe and Market LOCATION: 600 E. Central, Suite A, 248-9800, www.thegrovecafemarket.com HOURS: 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays; 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Sundays; closed Mondays BEER AND WINE |
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Mid- to late summer is the restaurant’s favorite season, especially when tomatoes hit their peak. This excites every decent eatery in town, but how many go all out and offer a tomato sandwich as a lunch special? The Grove’s construction is not simplistic – adding roasted jalapeño bacon mayonnaise and avocado takes this sandwich into the taste stratosphere. Or just go with The Beef ($9.75) for caramelized onions, horseradish and arugula.
Last week’s featured soup was a cool comfort: Vichyssoise ($5.75 bowl) with local leeks and potatoes and the right balance of cream to give a perfect silky texture without too much richness. I revisited the salad list for a Chopped Salad ($10.95), big enough to share. Each bite of crispy bacon, egg, avocado, turkey and blue cheese leads to another, especially under their house-made ranch dressing. The home-run salad, however, is still the Farmer’s Salad ($10.50), a tumble of goat cheese and roasted beets fit for a foodie’s palate.
When ordering, take a gander at the treats in the display – choose one now to ensure you’ll have room. Cupcake fans will swoon, but my favorite has always been any of their cookies, from chocolate to ginger, perfectly sized and buttery.
