Modern General

This place is beautiful. Delicious food, smoothies, and coffee plus a shop full of lovely and lovingly curated items for the home and garden. The salt and pepper mills were my favorites. I want the glasses and water dispenser, too! Freshly milled flour in a cloth sack for a very reasonable price. If you love pretty, esthetically pleasing things, this place is for you. The breakfast biscuit was the lightest, most delicious I’ve ever had, and the avocado toast with lime, cilantro, and olive oil is the perfect start before a busy day in Santa Fe. This will definitely be one of the first places I return to on my next visit. My only regret is that I didn’t have time to check out the gorgeous salads at Vinaigrette.

Wonderful smoothies, juices and sandwiches. Make sure to try the phở-​sole! So unique and delicious. I’m a local, and I visit this place constantly (on a daily basis, I’ll be honest haha)

We had a delicious cold brew cacao smoothie and a ginger shot-​both were delicious. Didn’t get a chance to try the coffee since they didn’t open until 8, by which we needed to get on the road. Beautiful shop with tons of books, although some of the overpriced gardening supplies seemed out of place for an eatery. Still worth a visit for healthy smoothies, salads, and drinks from a local
Business.

What a charade! If you want a place with nice and cute things to look at but very little food choices, this is your place.
I asked for a poached egg on sourdough, but they don’t offer sourdough as a choice although they SELL sourdough loaves. What?
The service is OK – but unhelpful and immature.
On the menu– at best, stop by of you want an overpriced smoothie or juice ($ 6.75 for 12oz). They are delicious and nutritious and will make you forget, for awhile, that you really should have not settled for less.

They should call it Gentrified General. Overly precious food. Very few healthy vegetarian options run by unhelpful hipsters. Expensive showcase for cute kitchen and garden without the actual whole food to go with it. Make sure to eat before you come.

Just spent 4 days in Santa Fe over the Thanksgiving holiday. Definitely would recommend stopping by modern general if you are in town! The latte with almond milk was made to perfection and the avocado toast, so simple but so delicious.

UPDATE (May 30, 2016): It just keeps getting better at Modern General. It is coming into its own, and settling in to its purpose and promise. Everyone is lovely and helpful, and the merchandise is filling in with more beautiful, form-​meets-​function, selections. And, too, it’s becoming more of a comfortable, homey hangout…
But, the real reason for this update is to comment on the newly-​introduced, ready-​for-​pickup «dips” – hummus, chicken salad, feta, salsa, guac, and blue cheese variations, The ones I’ve tried all have the perfect level of spice and flavor, and are made from fresh, healthy ingredients. They are meant for snacking or hors d’oeuvres, but I have made several meals out of the fantastic chicken salad/​paste dip, which gets a great kick from red curry paste. The salsa is like a fresh-​tasting, summer-​filled gazpacho; i could drink the entire ½ pint container in one sitting. In a town with no shortage of variations of avocado dip, MG’s guacamole is my favorite blend by far. Expecting last-​minute guests, or just for yourself, you must stop in and pick up some of these delicious, flavorful spreads.
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(November 30, 2015)
«Nothing you don’t need.» A true modern general store, and another smart idea from Erin Wade! (She is a Harvard Business School grad who proves that an MBA doesn’t necessarily sap a person of creativity.) The concept is terrific, and the execution is close to perfect.
Modern General keeps it simple. In this fast-​paced world of far too much background noise (both literal and figurative) and way too many choices, Erin culls the best of basic items for the home, and sells just one brand in each category – from hammers to ketchup.
Should you be hungry while running in to pick up some flour and chocolate, there is a choice of one or two sandwiches, among other categories, and a great cup of coffee, smoothies, and fresh juice. You can be sure that the ingredients are fresh, and possibly from Erin’s farm. The flavors are well thought out and tested.
For the holidays, MG offers a selection of pies to order, and they are sublime. You can actually taste true pumpkin, ginger spread on the crust, the best pecans, and splendid apples. Erin doesn’t cut corners; you can be sure that everything is flawless. My guests were bowled over at Thanksgiving – and they’ve tasted a lot of pies! (Then, there are the boxes, whether you purchase the wooden pie boxes, or settle for the cardboard version (no plastic clamshells or ordinary white boxes here), each is perfect and, of course, ecologically sound. Weird, I know, but I could write a page on the boxes alone!)
The smart, clean design sense extends to the physical store itself. Bright and clever. This kind of simplicity is complex, and obviously required a lot of thought. As with the menu items and recipes, each element is perfectly chosen.
Every town needs a modern general store.
(In response to other reviews: Yes, it may be a bit pricey, parking may be difficult, and some employees may not be well informed, but this is Santa Fe, and the town is very lucky to have a well-​executed, clever «general store» and café of this caliber. All of the employees I’ve encountered are soft-​spoken, earnest and well-​intentioned. Any problems? Ask for Robin, the manager. She is cool, calm, and very knowledgeable.)

Chanced upon this place and what luck. Such a cute store with good coffee and awesome breakfast.

Love love love this place.
Walk up and order. Big menu including the one on the clip board. Welcoming and comfortable environment along with a very friendly staff.
They have a huge amount of stuff to look at and purchase. Great for stocking stuffers or a birthday.
The Sweet green juice was amazing and the peanut butter and jelly always hits the spot.
Parking is not good at all but thats what you get in good ol Santa Fe.

The parking here could not be more disorganized and generally terrible. I have tried on two different occasions to park and visit Modern General. Both times I was unsuccessful. And both times were at different times of the day.
I won’t be trying again.

Thank god!
I’ve spent the last several months looking for artisanal toilet bowl brushes on the Internet with zero luck. I was about to give up all hope, left to clean my toilet with just a run of the mill plastic scrubber with zero soul. By a stoke of luck I found a thread on the artisanal toilet brush enthusiasts forum for a place that has them locally!!! Thank you Modern General! I look forward to cleaning up after after my Uncle Phil this Thanksgiving, he has a gluten allergy but can’t stay away from my Aunt’s hot buttered biscuits!

Though it has a bit of an old fashioned general store feel, the décor is still sleek, modern, with a little French farmhouse charm. The food is delicious and a refreshing addition to Santa Fe’s foody scene. The smoothies are original and delicious-​try the coconut basil– and a good chicken salad sandwich. The egg salad is a little bland and they could have a few more options, but I think it’s fine to have just a few unique choices for a simple, healthy breakfast or lunch.
The website could use improvement but really enjoyed stopping in here a few times on my last visit to Santa Fe.

Modern General is pretty general. There is nothing really exciting about the store. The selection is really sparse and rather pricey for objects that look like they ran over to CostPlus World Market to find.
I do have to say that the garden section of Modern General was pretty killer. The tools were solid construction — no hand shovels breaking on you anymore! The metal was set in what looked and felt like elm wood and was itself pretty resilient to pressure.
Lastly — the peach and ricotta toast (not sure what kind of cheese it was) was great! I do want to come back and try their other toasts soon!

This place needs serious help. The juice bar girl was completely ignorant and confused as to the «natural medicine» she was serving up. (She told us Turmeric was ALMOST as good as Advil.) I then ordered the breakfast sandwich and it was the worst sandwich I have ever had in my life. The staff seemed helplessly confused as the juice and sandwich took up an hour of my time. I would, however, go back to buy a shovel and some seeds.

I was so excited to go to this place. Let me just start by saying it is extremely cool and pretty! It seems extremely progressive with its bone broth and fresh juices. We are all about clean eating and this place definitely strives for excellence.
When we first entered I was a bit confused as to all the things that were going on in this Eatery /​Farm Supply /​Flower & Cooking Shop. But I was still so excited. I went up to the front to grab a menu and my husband got a seat. When we were able to pick what we wanted I went back up to give my order… The girl who took my order was very sweet. I was paying with a credit card and they had me sign the iPad (this is where it gets kinda odd) As I’m signing the cc area on the iPad one of the other servers an older lady name Denise walked by and said «oh my you used the entire space… «I made some joke that «if you give me the space I’m gonna use it» she replied «wow somebody doesn’t have an ego or anything»
I was at a loss… I have only been nice to these people and I’m spending money here and I deserve to be insulted… The younger girl behind the counter kinda looked at me nervously. To Denise’s defense she seems like she is a hard worker but she has an extremely icy demeanor (from my experience w/​her). I had a few more interactions with her and all were odd.
Unfortunately, my husband did knock over a very small potted plan on the windowsil and when he asked if he could clean it up b/​c he felt bad and was extremely sorry. She told him «no b/​c she would do a better job» LOL. I normally never review to be negative but I just didn’t get the ruddiness. Maybe she was having an off day or her personality and mine didn’t jive but I was disappointed and my excitement for Modern General was over.

Such a neat store! They have really unique kitchen and garden tools and books. You can sit at tables made from tree stumps adorned with windflowers. If I lived here, I’d be a regular!

For almost $ 40, we were treated to a fruit and granola parfait laced with what tasted like cumin, a passable breakfast sandwich that had to be re-​made twice (requested bacon on the side to be able to share it with my vegetarian husband), a tiny (albeit delicious) lemon curd kolache, and two small juices — which had been mislabeled (causing quite a shock when my husband took a gulp of the ‘sweet’ one and was greeted with massive amounts of ginger and spicy radish). Since we had a small dog with us, we were relegated to the outdoor area, which was obviously meant for looks, not seating. The place is very trendy and will likely do well with the «in» crowd. Meanwhile, we’ll keep looking for places that cater to the crowd that likes good food at reasonable prices.

What a treat to stumble across this new, truly unique addition to Santa Fe’s eclectic coffee/​juice shop scene while leaving Vinegarette last weekend. As someone who spends a lot of time in New York City, the open, well-​lit and overall «light» atmosphere reminded me of the charming coffee shops one can find in Brooklyn but with a huge difference. Not only does Modern General possess that undeniable Brooklyn charm, it has a truly unique aspect which includes selling products for gardening, as well as refills on household cleaners, shampoos and conditioners for the eco-​conscious consumer! It is definitely a bit on the pricey side but the coffee was delicious! I will def be back to try out their food and juice bar soon. Very excited about this place and I hope they continue to do well.

Santa Fe, Local, N.M.
I would like to start by saying I am from Albuquerque. My girlfriend and I took the train to Santa Fe last Saturday. I took a umbrella big enough to for my girlfriend and I just in case it might rain. We planned on walking to The Plaza and around town to find shops and eateries until the last train. Upon finding this juice bar it had a great look inside and seemed very friendly. Unfortunately one older lady (please forgive me for not getting her name) was very rude. On top of that the cherry juice drink that I got was not filled to the top and I think it was lacking a sweet additive. So I think the young man who made my drink forgot an ingredient. My girlfriend also got a drink and it was a green one that had a good sweetness to it. We also got two pastries which were very delicious. I feel the lady could of been nicer and talked more about the menu items.

I am with a documentary film company based out of St. Louis, and we had a need to film in a cool, eclectic coffee shop in Santa Fe, NM.
I blindly called the number for the Modern General, and had the most delightful conversation with the manager, Robin. Not only was she happy to let us come and film there, but our crew was treated wonderfully once we arrived on site. Robin and the entire staff were very welcoming and professional.
At the time, we’d intended to shoot there and move on to the next location, but we ended up sticking around and having lunch. Everything was fantastic.
The café/​juice bar also doubled as a shop with interesting housewares and unique items adorning the space. It was just really cool. Our crew actually ended up purchasing a few things.
I can’t thank Robin and the folks at Modern General enough for their hospitality. This is a must-​see place, and we’ll definitely be back next time we find ourselves in Santa Fe.
— Once Films