Man of La Concha, Otra Vez

Conchas a la Bimbo.

In my continuing search to find authentic Conchas in America, like the ones I had in Mexico City, I ventured down to Riverdale, Maryland because I had heard about the conchas from a bakery there called La Flor de Puebla.

During my visit, I stopped off at the local Mexican market and grabbed the conchas they had in stock and decided that we would have a "Concha Shootout" at The Spro, so I gathered all the conchas I could find.

And the conchas came from all over the place. We had conchas from Rasita Bakery in Kensington, Panaderia El Latino in Washington DC, El Amigo Bakery of Annapolis, the aforementioned La Flor de Puebla, and Mexico's ubiquitious baker: Bimbo.

The conchas wait being eaten.

The terms of the shootout were simple: just which one tasted best. On it's own and with coffee. For the coffee, we had the very nice Panama Carmen Estate from Hines Public Market Coffee prepared the way I like it - in a French press.

In the end, there wasn't much science to the evaluation. Strictly subjective. Unfortunately, I found the conchas from El Amigo and El Latino to be too dry and not sweet enough for my tastes. The concha from Rasita had a nice, mellow sweet flavor and a soft, fluffy texture. The bread was quite yellow in color, but still quite enjoyable. The Bimbo concha was about what you could expect from a major, nationwide baker - nothing too exciting. Lots of preservatives and just a middle of the road kind of flavor.

The carnage after.

For me, the winner was the concha from La Flor de Puebla. Soft, light, airy, lightly sweet. Delicious. Delicate. Not quite as good at the one I had at Bondy in Polanco, but definitely in the right direction. It's a refreshing treat.

Now, if only if La Puebla wasn't so far from my house...