Through its many iter­a­tions over the years, Winning’s has remained the lit­tle guy’s alter­na­tive to the big and big­ger. Not a chain, or a cor­po­rate robot, Winning’s is the grungy, deli­cious lit­tle cof­fee train that could.

Rich and Sandy run a com­fort­ably loose but effi­cient ship of neigh­bor­hood cul­ture and caf­feine. Roast­ing their own cof­fee and whip­ping it into a vari­ety of deli­cious drinks, their staff can knock out a long break­fast or lunch line quickly and smoothly as any oper­a­tion Danny’s ever seen.

Serv­ing bur­ri­tos, sand­wiches, sal­ads, and spe­cials, Winning’s pro­vides solid lunch and break­fast fare. And don’t for­get the array of muffins, scones, brown­ies, lemon bars etc. at the counter, many of which are baked in house. Danny can rou­tinely be seen with the espresso choco­late chip muf­fin and the peach scone. While not a great selec­tion of teas, they do fea­ture a few loose-leafs, and sev­eral of the individually-wrapped are organic. (We really wish they’d get in bed with NM Tea Com­pany. But then, we wish every­one would.)

The walls are cov­ered by the work of local artists, and they also play hosts to an eclec­tic array of live local events, includ­ing swing danc­ing, improv music, belly danc­ing, bands, poetry and music open mics, lec­tures, and just about any­thing else peo­ple can book. On Mon­days, Wednes­days and Fri­days Bradley’s Books sets up shop at the counter in the south room and offers a mint selec­tion of used books sure to please any bibliophile.

The crowd here is the most diverse in the city – punk rock­ers, hip­pies, pro­fes­sors, grad stu­dents, high-schoolers, busi­ness peo­ple, dogs (leashed on the patio!), kids, high tech nerds, lawyers activists, artists and even, yes, poets. Gasp! Folks min­gle com­fort­ably and smoke on the patio where it seems the prob­lems of life the uni­verse and every­thing are solved at least a hun­dred times a day.

Hours vary with the sea­son and hol­i­days, 8–5 is a safe bet on any given day.

While it can be hard to find a seat dur­ing peak hours, the music is always fresh from someone’s iPod, and the coffee’s not over­priced, mak­ing it a great study/work spot. Everything from yummy sand­wiches & bagel com­bos to hand-baked desserts, and daily specials.

Tags: Coffee, Queer-friendly