and again marveled at all the changes that have occurred...
The strip mall still has the Bank of America but it's been refurbished. The old Alpha Beta is now CVS. In the corner where the Korean clothing store used to be (that was where I would buy my 80's geometric earrings and cheap bracelets in high school), is a Mexican Bakery, Panaderia Gonzalez, not to be confused with Gonzalez Panaderia on Hollister Ave a few miles away.
It's pretty small and they are cash only, I believe.
Everything is .65 each. Because it's such a small place, the selection is also kind of small. They had the typical filled empanadas (pina, creama, manazana, calabasa. as well as various cookies and donut looking pastries.
There were also the sugar topped conchas and the flaky librito ("little book", so called that because of the flaky layers that resemble book pages, according to my hair dresser), along with...
these cream cheese and jalapeno filled breads. I saw a gnat flying near one so I kind of grossed out. Ugh.
This is the same rack near the front window...Underneath the pina sign was an interesting looking pan dulce, along with ones resembling croissants (but with a different texture).
I had a lot of errands to do that day so I stuck with three items that I didn't think would go bad in the car...
The librito...
a cookie with crunchy sugar nuggets on the outer edges (looks like the same kind they put on chilindrinas)...
and a sugar dusted triangular cream cheese filled empanada.
Out of the three, my favorite was the triangular pastry with cream cheese inside. The librito wasn't flaky enough. The round cookie (?) was too dry. Bert had the cookie with his coffee while TC had most of the librito.
I hate being by myself whenever I check out new places. I'm so used to TC and Bert being there to be "diversions" for the cashiers so I can surreptitiously take photos, ha ha. Luckily, the young girl working here wasn't paying attention to me and had her back turned while I was making my selections.
Panaderia Gonzalez
3398 Palm Ave
San Diego, CA 92154
(619) 575-2424
There is no website but here are the yelp reviews (take 'em or leave 'em).
It was so wierd driving into this strip mall after so many years (decades literally). It's had a facelift over the past decade but until recently, I haven't had the inclination to check it out. Gone are the older businesses that I remember like Chuck's Tavern (a dive bar), Emy's Asian Food, and Winchell's Donuts. In my opinion, the best bakery down here would have to be Moreliana's on Quintard off of Third (hands down my favorite authentic Mexican bakery)...
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