culture@dailylobo.com
Reese’s isn’t just for breakfast anymore.
New University-area restaurant R U Cereal? opened its doors earlier this month, and breakfast lovers can now visit the bistro any time of day for a customizable meal of all-you-can-eat cereal.
R U Cereal? is the first cereal bar to open in New Mexico, and for $5.99 guests have access to the bistro’s wide selection of hot and cold cereals, as well as various toppings, to craft their own cereal masterpieces.
Co-owner Joe Chavez said the University area was their first location choice.
“We figured it had to be in the UNM area,” Chavez said. “What better place to be unique and bring something different?”
R U Cereal? currently stocks 33 kinds of cold cereal, and just about every type of milk you might find at a grocery store: 1 percent, 2 percent, skim, whole, soy and, yes, even chocolate.
Additional toppings include fruits, nuts, candies, syrups and pure sugar. And if you’re looking for something other than cereal, the bistro also offers different types of oatmeal, coffee and energy drinks.
Chavez said he plans to bring entertainment to the restaurant, with its ample seating, curtained lounge areas and a patio.
“We want to start having a music night,” Chavez said. “We’d like to give local students that are not 21 — that can’t go to the nightclubs or those types of places — something that they can do. And help promote the smaller bands that wouldn’t be at those clubs anyway.”
The bistro showcases art from a few different local artists, which he said makes for good conversation pieces. And for the true-to-life breakfast experience, customers can take charge of the remote control and watch television while they eat.
“Cartoons have been the most popular; usually everybody chooses cartoons,” Chavez said.
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Customer Britt Baiamonte made herself a bowl of cream of wheat with granola and fruit and chocolate sauce. She said it’s not something she often has the opportunity to do.
“You want to do all of this, but you’re so health-conscious that you would never allow yourself to buy a whole box of Captain Crunch … but you want a bowl,” Baiamonte said.
“Here you can get the perfect serving and not feel guilty or continue to snack on it all the time. You get to indulge all those grocery store fantasies.”
Baiamonte’s friend, Alexa Banks, shared her sentiment.
“I had a bowl of quinoa with fruit and coconut and chocolate, and another bowl that was mostly candy and Captain Crunch,” Banks said.
Chavez said the most popular cereal, by far, has been Reese’s Puffs.
“We are blowing through Reese’s Puffs like crazy,” he said. “I’ve seen both adults and kids eat it and add different stuff to it … With the peanut butter and the chocolate, you just can’t go wrong.”
By this time next year Chavez hopes to have more than 50 cereals to choose from, including some foreign brands.
“We were thinking it would be cool to bring a couple of cereals from India, China and other places to give (foreign exchange students) something from home,” Chavez said.
R U Cereal?
2720 Central Ave NE Suite A, across from Johnson Field.
Every day
6:30 a.m. – 9 p.m.
