The Grove Cafe & Market (5 plates)

Are you a Breaking Bad fan? Remember those 10AM Tuesday morning scenes between Walt, Lydia and later on with Todd?  Remember the chamomile tea and stevia? If you answered NO to all those questions, then you better start your Breaking Bad marathon on Netflix coz it's bad a$$. If you answered YES, then the Grove cafe & market is the ultimate brunch joint for you. How about eating your meal on the same table where Walt and Lydia discussed about their next business move? Pretty cool, right?

Breaking Bad fan or not, the Grove cafe & market has been serving fine food and great experience in Albuquerque New Mexico’s trendy EDO neighborhood since June 2006. The plan was simple, serve the highest quality food products while focusing on a neighborhood friendly environment.  They simply try to create and offer the best food experience in Albuquerque.

The place...

Let me start by saying that the Grove is a very busy place. You better plan ahead and set some time to line-up, wait for your food and enjoy your meal. To be fair, the only time I get to visit the place is during the Albuquerque Balloon Festival week. Not only is it the busiest month in Albuquerque but also the busiest time for breaking bad die hard fans. So I'd give them a pass for the long lines and serving time. Don't worry, the food is worth the wait. The place is very clean with a lot of natural light. Tables are only assigned after you order your food. So be careful as you walk around with your coffee and water while looking for a table. Be sure to approach their staff. They will help you find that available table for you and your group. Even on a busy day, I think the overall service is acceptable.

The cost...

Prepare to spend an average of $12 - $15 per person. If you want to add a cupcake, that would be another $2 each. The meal size is large enough to share. My wife and I would always share on something and then finish off with something sweet. At this cost, you'll be paying for great flavour, fresh ingredients and ample quantity.

The food...

Our favourites are the Croque Madame and the French Toast (only served on Sundays).

Croque Madame

The Croque Madame is an open faced sandwich with black forest ham, tomatoes, whole grain mustard, gruyere cheese and then topped with a runny sunny side up egg. The sunny side up egg makes a lot of difference as the runny yolk binds all of the ingredients together. The crunch from the well toasted farm loaf gives texture to the dish and additional flavour that compliments the sweet tomato and the salty black forest ham. The gruyere cheese adds creaminess to the sandwich without overpowering all of the other ingredients. Make sure you get small pieces of each ingredient in each bite. Oh, and did I mention.... the egg makes the difference?

The French Toast, they only serve it on Sundays. I sure wish they serve it everyday. The french toast they serve varies every Sunday brunch. When I had the french toast in 2012, it had 3 layers of french toast topped with raspberries, almonds and vanilla creme. Drizzled with a little (or a lot for some people I know) maple syrup and you are off to french toast heaven. Unlike other french toast with bland bread, the toast on its own was fantastic. The fruity raspberry together with the crunch on each almond were a perfect pair with the soft and sweet french toast.

Other must try. The Pork, Grove Pancakes, their cupcakes and cookies.

The Pork - House roasted berkshire pork loin, romesco sauce,
fennel, arugula, lemon aioli over easy egg on toasted brioche

The Grove Pancake - French Pancake with fruits

Overall, the Grove is not falling short on their philosophy to create and serve the best food experience in Albuquerque. I rate my meal experience at Grove cafe & market with 5 plates. Try the french toast, it may be better than the blue stuff Heisenberg is offering.

Visit their site at http://www.thegrovecafemarket.com