A New Cupcakery in Town

After a disappointing lunch, we thought we would  try the new cupcake place.  We entered Gold Rush Cupcakes at 20 First Plaza, "Sweet" 211, in downtown Albuquerque.  The cases were full of attractively decorated cupcakes, many with Easter designs.

You have to understand that our family loves cupcakes, and that we try them in as many places/cities that we can.

The daily lunch specials on the board looked appealing, and we thought that we would like to come back for a meal another day.  The lunch specials included Golden Gobbler and Rocky's Bad Boy sandwiches, homemade soups, and green garden salads.

Hours of operation are Monday - Friday (they may open on weekends in the future) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or until the last cupcake is sold!

My daughter ordered a chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting, and I ordered a chocolate cake  with chocolate frosting and a peanut butter cup garnish. The cake on both of our desserts were OK, but the frosting was underwhelming.  Not much peanut butter flavor, and my chocolate frosting was not very sweet and not thick enough for me.  

My rating is 2/4/3.   

Paris in Downtown Albuquerque?

I had learned of the "La Quiche Parisienne Bristro" when visiting the Downtown Growers Market.  Their chocolate croissant was delicious so I filed the bistro's name away for a future lunch or breakfast.  

Today was the day, and my daughter accompanied me.  We walked in and immediately noted that there was not a lot of inventory in the cases.  We decided to split a small mushroom spinach quiche and a Classic Salad with the house dressing.  Even though we told them we were splitting the meal, they brought it on one plate so that we had to split it ourselves.

The whole quiche was dry.  We added salt to pump up the flavor.  The salad was fresh, but the dressing was watery.  

Additionally, the atmosphere was a bit dreary.  I've been in warm, sunny French bistros with flowers and printed fabric curtains.  This restaurant had magazines all over the window ledges, and we had to bus our own table without a receptacle for the dirty dishes.  There were unprofessionally created signs posted, and a tree that needed to be composted.

So, with ratings of 2/3/3 from my daughter, and 2/3/2 from me, we will not be going back to La Quiche, 401 A Copper NW.

Today's Special - Pecan Pie Muffins

We met with Marcey Henderson, owner of Just Muffin Around, after a lunch of Uptown Turkey sandwich, #1, one of their most popular selections. This is a great local place for both breakfast and lunch with a choice of over 15 specialty sandwiches, wraps, soups and salads. Toni's favorite side is the homemade carrot and raisin salad, and she loves the whole grain Fano bread.

For breakfast, there are 9 selections (wow!). CC recommends the #33, a hearty Green Chile Burrito. Inside you'll find eggs, hash browns, green chile and cheddar cheese.

Ok, now for the best part, the muffins. They bake 16 varieties every day, and rotate them daily. Are you a Muffin Top type of person, or a Whole Muffin type of person? You have a choice! Muffins are $1.95 and the tops are $1.25. Marcey tells us that the blueberry and orange cranberry are the best sellers. Her personal favorite is the bran muffin, a healthy choice with fresh apples and carrots.

CC's rating is 4/4/3. Toni says 5/4/3.

Improvement's we'd like to see include an upgrade of the ambiance. A few special touches like fresh flowers at each table, and removal of the vinyl tablecloths. The temperature is on the cool side. Offering of a mini basket of muffins would be a great option too. We're not crazy about the coffee. Maybe another local roaster?


Overall, good food at very reasonable prices. Try it!

Muffins or Muffin Tops?

Stay tuned for our first post from "Just Muffin Around" a local bakery and sandwich shop.  We've been there before, but this will be our first time in review mode.  Can't wait!