High Desert Market and Cafe

There is no better culinary reflection of the eclectic nature of Bisbee, Arizona, than the High Desert Market and Cafe. Owned and operated by Peyton Tamburo, an actress from New York who arrived on motorcycle at the turn of the millennium, it is a place to eat-in or buy meals to take out, a coffee-juice-smoothie bar, a grocery store, a wine shop, a crafts gallery, a cosmetics emporium, and a town gathering place.

We’re especially fond of dessert: mammoth cuts of cake or pie that is fresh and expertly made. Coconut cream pie is a big, hearty western slice that is endlessly creamy atop a crust that is surprisingly fragile and with an ever-so-slight savory flavor. A thick layer of whipped cream floats atop the chocolate sour cream cake. It is quite sweet, but the cake itself, moistened by plenty of sour cream, is less sweet than most chocolate cakes: intriguing harmony.

For dinner, you can tuck into elegant artisan pizza, such specials as manicotti stuffed with spinach and ricotta along with unctuous garlic bread, or pad Thai with shrimp, bean sprouts, and peanuts tossed with rice noodles. Sandwiches, served on organic whole wheat or grilled focaccia (or on gluten-free bread), are made of interesting cheeses and cold cuts, accoutered with the likes of sliced avocado, pesto, caramelized onion, etc.

Breakfast is big: immense egg-loaded burros, sweet potato pancakes, and pastries that are made on premises every day. Of the muffins, biscuits, and cookies, our fave are the scones. Like the pie and cake, they come as mighty blocks of food – one scone easily feeds two – and they are jam-packed with whatever ingredient is featured, from chocolate chips to cranberries.

The juice bar will concoct just about anything you wish. Apple-lemon-ginger-beet is a house favorite. Among smoothies, the knock-out is a double espresso chocolate with banana and ice cream.

Note: limited hours in the summer.