Biscuits for Breakfast (Los Bisquets Obregon (Mexico))

Member Name: zoe_page_1

Product:	Los Bisquets Obregon (Mexico)
Date:	18/11/08 (377 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Delicious food, great staff, dirt cheap

Disadvantages: Popular - you may have to wait for a table

In Mexico, when they say "Bisquets", they mean American-style biscuits, i.e. a scone-like concoction with a salty kick. These are quite a popular breakfast-food, though my first introduction to them was in WalMart on the afternoon of my arrival into the country, where I spotted them and immediately named them "Nipple Buns" in my mind, because they look like boobs. I even bought 2 so I could take a photo and post it on my Facebook blog. Fast forward 6 months (yes, really) and I am eating Bisquets on a regular basis. I mention this to one of my students and she promptly informs me that nothing compares to Los Bisquets de Obregon and I have to go and try theirs.

The website for the company at http://www.lbbo.com.mx/ hindered my progress because I tried to look up where I could find a branch and got lost in the list of delegaciónes (the large areas Mexico City is split into, each of which is filled with a dozen suburbs). But, on the day we were fleeing, Thelma-and-Louise-style from our psychotic landlord, I discovered that quite unintentionally I had just moved into an apartment on the same block as not one but two branches of the chain. I don't even have to cross a street to get there. We immediately went in for a post-fleeing celebration breakfast, and I have been a regular ever since.

Most branches of this bakery/cafe chain look similar. They will have a window filled with delicious looking pastries to tempt you in. Inside, there will be a few tables - maybe 10, or 12 - which seat up to 4 people each, and there will also be a counter with stools where I invariably find myself sitting. This place is always packed, often with people waiting for tables, so the huge bonus of dining alone or in a pair is that you can often sit down immediately if you're ok at the counter. I don't mind at all - the counters are wide, so you have plenty of room to put down a book or magazine without getting in the way of the staff working on the other side, and the mirrors straight ahead of you let you nosy at the other patrons, usually without them noticing. We were lucky the first time we went - ay 8am - to get a table since it was the last one left. Today when I went on my own people were waiting about 10 minutes for tables, and they never seemed to catch up with demand because there were other people waiting when I left 30 minutes later.

Breakfast is a massive big deal to the Mexicans, and it's also my favourite meal of the day. However, I usually work early every morning so don't have chance to grab anything exciting. On the odd day when a class is cancelled, or it's a public holiday, I like nothing more than going out for breakfast. As in most capital cities, this can cost a lot or a little, but the great thing about Bisquets de Obregon is that you have a good choice, and freshly prepared food, for very little money. Yesterday I went to try out there November specials, having spied on their website that they were currently serving up chocolate pancakes. Though the Buttermilk variety are hugely popular here, this is the first place I've found doing chocolate ones. I ordered them without apple (seriously, who wants chocolate pancakes with apple sliced in?) and this was no problem for them. Everything is freshly prepared, and I waited maybe 15 minutes for them. In the meantime they brought my OJ - the pancakes were part of a "complete breakfast" and included fruit or fruit juice, plus tea or coffee. I don't drink hot drinks, but if I had, this would have been an even better deal. As it was, I paid 62 pesos (just over £3) in total, and was presented with a stack of fluffy pancakes so large I couldn't eat them all, try as I might. The pancakes were served with chocolate sauce, and I was also offered honey and maple syrup. They came with two small yellow scoops of butter on top. Be warned - this may look like ice cream, but it ain't. This is in fact the second time I have eaten a large spoonful of what I thought was ice cream only for it to turn out to be dubious Mexican butter. I hope I've now learnt my lesson.

The first time we went, we tried the Bisquets, since this is what the place is known for. These start at a measly 7.50 pesos (less than 40p) for the plain ones, and go up to about 20 pesos (£1) for ones with butter, jam, chicken or ham. They are delicious and you can taste the difference between these and the general shop-bought ones. Today I tried another limited time speciality, Bisquets with cream. The serving of cream cost 20 pesos by itself, but was massive. I ended up scraping half of it off, and then ordering a pastry to eat it up with. Mexicans have great sweet-tooths (sweet-teeth?) and my street is lined with bakeries stocked to the ceiling with dozens of varieties of sweet breads and cakes. Generally these cost about 5 pesos (25p) each, and are fresh and tasty. The ones in Bisquets de Obregon are something else though. Today I tried a Conch, a "shell" of fluffy sweet bread topped with a pattern of chocolate butter cream. I didn't know anything could taste this fresh - it literally flaked to pieces in my mouth, and I was using my finger to lick up the very last crumbs. This cost me 8.5 pesos (~ 40p) but was totally worth the premium. They have literally dozens of different varieties of pastries, freshly baked several times a day. It could take me all year to try them all, but I do want to.

The breakfast menu is extensive. It also includes dozens of types of eggs, plus chilaquilles, molletes and other Mexican specialities. They also do lunch and dinner, which includes salads, soups, meat dishes, Mexican dishes and sandwiches, all of which are also reasonably priced, but this will always be a breakfast place for me. They have a decent children's menu too, which features traditional food served in "fun" ways, like Butterfly quesadillas, a hamburger with eyes, a scarecrow man with tortilla arms and legs.

The drinks selection includes various coffees, fresh juices and soft drinks. They served the coffee in glass tumblers which is a bit odd, but Laura confirmed that it tasted nice. Today I ordered a bottle of water since I'm not a fan of the bits in fresh juices - I actually prefer when places serve the cheap, from-concentrate stuff. Instead, I got a glass of water, which they didn't charge me for. This was fine by me - you can't order tap water here since people don't like to admit they drink the stuff, so I assume this was from the large water dispenser they probably have in the kitchen - but I had ordered a bottle which was on the menu. In the end my breakfast cost 36 pesos (£1.60) and left me full for hours. I left a large tip.

I really do like this place, and it is not surprising that it's the 2nd place in the city where they recognise me (the first is, ahem, the ice cream parlour up the street). I like the fact that they call me "Senorita" and that there is usually someone to open the door for me when I arrive. I also like the fact they have stacks of Publimetro, a local free newspaper, to read. I like the fact that it feels like an independent cafe even though it's part of a chain. The staff are always polite and friendly, and deserve the tips though you can get away with not leaving one - as with many places in Mexico, you pay at the till on your way out, rather than paying your server, so if you do want to tip you need to leave it on your table or on the counter. My absolute favourite thing about this place though is that even when people are queuing up outside, you never feel rushed. The food always takes a reassuring length of time to arrive, and is always nice and hot.

My only quibble with this chain is that there is not much room to manoeuvre, since most cafes are quite small and they try to fit as many tables in as possible to meet the ever-increasing demand.
Their main bit of the website is not in English, but you can get an English version of the menu on there. Definitely recommended should you ever be in Mexico.

Summary: The most famous of all the Nipple Buns