on things sorely needed by my fair city.

Okay, so I realize that most of the people who read my blog don't even live in Albuquerque, but whatever.  You will nevertheless hear my pleas.  This city is in desperate need of the following things:

1) An Awesome, Independent Do(ugh)nut(tt) Shop.  Let it be known far and wide: I love doughnuts.  And unfortunately, all we have here is Dunkin' Donuts and, like, one Winchell's.  Krispy Kreme closed awhile ago, much to my chagrin.  There is, however, Paradise Donuts (to which I have never been, admittedly--I'll have to rectify that soon), but it's out in Bosque Farms.  Yes, it's only a 30 minute drive from my house, but in Albuquerque time that's like 2 hours.  Find a review of Paradise Donuts here.

But back to the main point: we need at least one awesome doughnut shoppe in this city, preferably  walking distance from my house, but I'll settle for downtown/Nob Hill/Huning Highlands area.  See?  I'm flexible.  Last month I became obsessed with this idea, and began planning my future donut empire.  I have a plethora of flavors and business names all ready to go, if anyone is interested in partnering-up.  The leading contenders for store name (courtesy of a late night bar-based brainstorming session with my sister) include: Holey Doughnuts; Mighty Doughnuts; Dickhole Doughnuts; Dirt City Doughnuts; The Greazy Hole; Ye Olde Thyme Dough-nuts; Presenting: Doughnuts!; and Professor Sprinkles' Donutarium.  Cast your vote now and make Albuquerque Doughnut History (ADH)!

What we don't need is another cupcake store.  I think there's four now (not counting multiple locations of the same store).  How can a city this size support so many hip-five-years-ago snack establishments?  How can we support so many Thai restaurants, for that matter?  (I'm not by any means complaining about that last one; I'm just baffled.)

2) Excellently Repurposed Motels.  For those of you who have never been to Albuquerque (or, perhaps, actually live here but are afraid to go west of San Mateo/south of Montgomery--yes, I know people like this), there are a bunch of boarded up/burned out/meth-labbed/generally sketchy motels and motor courts all along Central Avenue (the famous Route 66).  Last year, my sister and I spent a great deal of time (like, several weeks) concocting our dream business plans (are you seeing a pattern here?) for one such mistreated jewel, the El Vado Motel.  We talked about turning it into a hip bed and breakfast, which also used some of its space for community/cultural events--things like art shows, knitting groups, dance classes, book clubs, band performances, and block parties.  

Other ideas I've had include turning the old motels into studio apartments and, more plausibly, retail space--keeping the original architectural details and design, of course.  One space which I think is very promising for this kind of not-quite-a-strip-mall strip mall is the now defunct Silver Moon Lodge.  It's in a great location for a cluster of little retail stores and there's even a space out front for a diner or something.

Needless to say, nothing has ever come of my scheming; I'm too poor and lazy to get shit done.  But maybe someone, somewhere will read this and be like "Hellz yeah!  I'm totally gonna do that!  Three cheers for Professor Sprinkles!"

3) Better Public Transportation.Riding the L everywhere on a recent trip to Chicago made me wish we had something along those lines here.  But I know this one is truly a pipe dream.  Sigh. 

4) More All-Night and Late-Night Eateries.  Gone are the days when you could drunkenly scarf and then immediately vomit up a mouthwatering Frontier breakfast burrito/sweet roll/western style hashbrowns between the hours of 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.  Now you have to either squeeze it in before the bars close or wait to do it before your morning jog.  (For those of you not in the know, the Frontier used to be open 24-hours; then it got all gang-y and bar-y and they cut back the hours.  Now there is a ridiculous line to get in on peak weekend nights, complete with security guards monitoring the number of people allowed inside at one time.  This means that I have to avoid going there at these times.  Lame.)  Now, of course you know that I've already plotted my late-night food business, right?  Oh, I so have.  You just wait.

So, what do you say, Albuquerque?  Help a brother out.

Comments

[Ian]

All we need is a dollar and a dream. And then more dollar.

[Elyse Sewell]

God, have you seen that Just Muffin Around establishment on Montgomery and Wyoming? Muffin fucking tops 4 sale. Makes my blood boil.

[kristin]

I know I am late chiming in, but what about calling it, "Bumping Doughnuts". Mmyes.