Mondo Cafe

Sunday on our way out of Moab Red and I stopped at the Mondo Cafe for our daily coffee and some breakfast for me. The cafe is tucked into a shopping center next to Eddie McStiff's Restaurant. The place is fairly large and has a door that connects it to a used book store. This is the place you will find the locals enjoying their coffee before they head out on the trail. You can tell the locals from the visitors because they know the routine and take a laid back approach to getting their food and coffee. The tourists on the other hand are impatient and sad that the place they picked to eat has pushed back their departure time even farther.

Our coffee orders were filled five to ten minutes after we ordered. The poor barista was backlogged and was doing his best to keep up with the high demand. The food was another issue. I ordered a bowl of granola with fruit but there were several (10) orders mostly egg sandwiches before my order. The cafe does not have a real kitchen with a cook so one of the barista's ends up preparing the food. She was a little bitter about making the food. Needless to say the wait was long and food was slow in coming.

While Red and I are tourists we tend to try to blend in. We usually don't travel on a time table. This makes trying new places and allowing for unexpected less stressful and a whole lot more fun. We have a go with the flow attitude and we figure we will reach our destination at some point.

This is the place to be if you are looking for the locals and the food is reasonably priced for the area. I would suggest not having a time table in mind when you order or if you do stick to a pastry and some drip coffee. Simple means fast here.

While we wait, we people watch. Red watches the employees and critiques their methods and how they could better use their time getting more done and the customers satisfied sooner. This comes from her several years of managing a cafe herself. While I notice some of the same things Red does I tend to lean more towards ease dropping on conversations. Eavesdropping is a skill I have and one that is very advantageous where travel is concerned. It is amazing what I can learn from listening to other conversations.

Mondo Cafe is a great local hot spot for people who have some time to wait. Good food, good coffee, and great people watching. Three Stars.