Issue Eight: Cafes
Cover Art by Zahra Marwan
Working as a traditional artist with watercolor and ink, Zahra Marwan enjoys creating small narrative illustrations and magical realism. She is fond of her cultural roots in Kuwait as well as the liberal education she has received throughout her life in New Mexico. She works out of her studio at the Harwood Art Center in Albuquerque.
editor’s note
An open morning spent at an old haunt. The perfect pour. The aroma from the mug mixes with the smell of roasted beans wafting through the room, through the open doors, onto the shaded patio where a table beckons in the dappled light. A slight breeze and a good book. The din of surrounding conversation, the brief hum of an espresso machine, the intermittent voice of the barista calling out names of drinks. A good friend passes by chance and takes a seat. The bottom of the cup appears and it’s time for a a plate of toast. And also time for a quiet toast. To spring, and to the mug and what fills it, to the pastry and what tops it, to old and new and soon-to-be friends, to the breeze and the sun, and to the cafés that can bring it all together. This is our raised mug, steaming and filled with stories, slightly tilted toward yours, offered with a gentle clink and a nod, before we get back to work.
Steep Times
An erstwhile coffee drinker delves into tea at The Teahouse on Canyon Road.
Jason Conde
Jason Conde is a writer and educator. He lives in Las Vegas, New Mexico, with his partner and their daughter.
Butternut Bliss
Mariko O. Thomas opts for a vegan pie and doesn’t regret it.
Mariko O. Thomas
Mariko O. Thomasis an independent scholar, instructor, and writer living in Taos. She is interested in plant-human relationships, environmental justice, and storytelling.
Books, Coffee & Other Delights
Briana Olson writes, “And what better place to kill time than in a bookstore? Isn’t it the very act of killing time that brings us into time, that, like boredom, incites our awareness of it, inviting the eyes to study the shifting panes of afternoon light as they fall on the faces of the people in line to buy coffee?”
Toast of the Town
Candolin Cook tours the local fancy-toast scene.
Candolin Cook
Candolin Cook is a historian, writer, editor, and former co-editor ofedible New Mexico.She recently received her doctorate in history from the University of New Mexico and is working on her first book.
Barista Love
Maria Manuela explains how baristas can turn a dull morning bright.
Maria Manuela
Maria Manuela is a freelance writer based in Santa Fe, where she was born and raised. She works with publications likeNew Mexico MagazineandHyperallergic, focusing on stories about creative New Mexicans. She spends all her free time with her partner, Joel, and their three pups, Darla, Hamlet, and Pea. She’s working on a collection of short folktales based in the Southwest.
Steep Times
An erstwhile coffee drinker delves into tea at The Teahouse on Canyon Road.
Jason Conde
Jason Conde is a writer and educator. He lives in Las Vegas, New Mexico, with his partner and their daughter.
Butternut Bliss
Mariko O. Thomas opts for a vegan pie and doesn’t regret it.
Mariko O. Thomas
Mariko O. Thomasis an independent scholar, instructor, and writer living in Taos. She is interested in plant-human relationships, environmental justice, and storytelling.
Books, Coffee & Other Delights
Briana Olson writes, “And what better place to kill time than in a bookstore? Isn’t it the very act of killing time that brings us into time, that, like boredom, incites our awareness of it, inviting the eyes to study the shifting panes of afternoon light as they fall on the faces of the people in line to buy coffee?”
Toast of the Town
Candolin Cook tours the local fancy-toast scene.
Candolin Cook
Candolin Cook is a historian, writer, editor, and former co-editor ofedible New Mexico.She recently received her doctorate in history from the University of New Mexico and is working on her first book.
Barista Love
Maria Manuela explains how baristas can turn a dull morning bright.
Maria Manuela
Maria Manuela is a freelance writer based in Santa Fe, where she was born and raised. She works with publications likeNew Mexico MagazineandHyperallergic, focusing on stories about creative New Mexicans. She spends all her free time with her partner, Joel, and their three pups, Darla, Hamlet, and Pea. She’s working on a collection of short folktales based in the Southwest.
