Guest post by Carl Orthlieb
Hmmmm, a Mexican town near Puerto Vallarta is not one you would expect to find international cuisine. No matter! That’s part of the charm and the opportunity that is Bucerias. This is our second star stop on our tour, right after Wendy’s Coffee Cup. After you’ve had your latte at Wendy’s, continue up Lazaro Cardenas and cross over the Arroyo (more on the this in the next post) using the footbridge. Lazaro Cardenas has now mysteriously been renamed to Mexico Ave. Go past the central square and up three blocks to Hidalgo St and turn left. Tucked in a little foyer near Cafe Triskell (more in a future post on this little slice of heaven), is Delices de France (joy of France).
The owner, Guillame, looks French, speaks French, Spanish, and English and makes the best croissant in town The fact that he can do this is amazing given the predominantly soft wheat that you find in Mexico. Most Mexican pastries are soft and doughy, not flakey, and tend to lack taste. North Americans are used t0 hard wheat, which has a higher protein and gluten content that gives us the crunch.
Perhaps he gets his wheat directly from France, packing bags of it illicitly into his luggage, and bribing customs officials with eclairs–I don’t know. I do know that he has marvelous viennoisery which are a delight to the palate.
Don’t miss out on the chocolate almond croissant which is filled with sweet almond paste and drizzled with chocolate!
Delices de France sells fresh croissants, white and whole grain bread, muffins, and other desserts. Operating hours are Mon-Sat 9am to 7pm and Sun from 9am to 2pm.
