Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Salt Lake City -- Bakeries?

In Albuquerque you must go to the Coda bakery for the banh mi sandwiches. It's Vietnamese and makes extremely good ones. I'm not familiar with other Albuquerque bakeries but I believe there are some good ones.

I moved away in 2019 but go to the Santa Fe Farmers Market Saturday mornings. There was always a large display by a local baker everyone calls "the Dutchman". I suppose he's still there.  I forget the name of his bakery and he had stopped selling retail except for the Farmer's market.

Also in Santa Fe, make sure to have breakfast or lunch at Clafoutis, a terrific French bakery and restaurant. They concentrate more on pastries but bake excellent croissants, and baguettes and such too. There's also the Sage Bakehouse, which has its own cafe and sells breads in many area stores.  Too bad I never liked their bread that much even though their loaves always look good.

There's the Chocolate Maven, where they make very good croissants among other things, and you can get a very good meal and look through the large picture windows at the bakery operations.  One time we watched croissants being cut out and shaped right next to us.

Other bakeries either I never tried or are new since I left.  And don't forget to get a green chile cheeseburger while you are in New Mexico.  Ask around, there are some places that make a really good one. And if you are getting a New Mexico meal and you are asked whether you want red or green chile, no matter what you might read, which one is hotter varies from day to day and restaurant to restaurant, so ask.  Or say "Christmas", meaning both red and green.

Not bread, but if you want to hear some fine music in a very small ("intimate") space, check to see if there will be anything scheduled at The Gig Performance Space during your stay. The owner is an absolutely top notch guitarist and always books interesting and good quality performers.   The Gig happens to be very close to the Chocolate Maven, BTW.  Check it out at https://gigsantafe.com/home

TomP

Wild Leaven in Santa Fe has gotten some buzz. The owners/bakers have a definite philosophy -- long ferments, local ingredients. Two yrs ago, when I was last there, I had mixed feelings about their loaves. I'd be interested in your take.

Rob

PS: I agree with TomP regarding Sage: the breads look ab fab & taste ab meh.

Hruska's Kolaches makes delicious sweet and savory stuffed pastries for breakfast. I've never been to their SLC location, but the one in Provo always sells out by about 10am, so make sure to go early.