where sweet orange/anise flavored breads topped with bones abound at local Mexican bakeries...
such as Chico's in downtown Chula Vista.
This was less than a dollar and was fresh. As for tamales, they were out of them by the afternoon. They normally sell three kinds (chicken, beef and pork)...
Just around the corner from Chico's on the corner of Landis and E Street (look for this sign), is La Concha bakery...
I hate parking in front because when you back up, you back up right onto the main road so I usually park at the tax preparer's lot next door (if it's empty)...
They had two sizes of pan de muerto (big and small) on the front table...
In the glass case were empanadas on the top shelf; the tortas were already all gone. I bought one, filled with seasoned ground beef and peas.
On their trays were sugar skull cookies...
What I bought from Chico's - one pan de muerto, one pastry stick filled with pineapple and cream cheese and one oreja (for TC).
OMG, just look at that sugar crust...I want another one of these now!
The unceremonious shot of La Concha's goods from my car - one smaller pan de muerto, one skull cookie ad the meat empanada..
Loved the flaky crust...
One the left was the pan de muerto from Chico's and the one from La Concha. The one on the left was a bit denser. Both had a faint orange flavor but no anise or anise seeds within. Both tasted the same to me.
The next day, I was down in western CV and went to my favorite panaderia, Moreliana...
I got one of the pan de muerto's for Cathy whom I would meet in a couple of days. There were two kinds with colored sugar, blue and pink)...
The other items were a sugared donut stick with a twist for TC plus a caramel filled empanada for me and Bert. TC really liked this donut; it was the first time I bought this type, but it tastes like a lot of their other offerings. The only thing different was the shape.
That same evening, since I was down south, I stopped by Gloria's Bakery to try my luck at finding Pan de Muerto...
and yes, they did have them here...small ones too, which was nice.
I was hungry so I bought a chorizo filled torta. Once again, they were out of machaca; everything else had beans and or cheese or jalapenos or a combo of the same ingredients. TC really liked this...it was nice and warmed when I picked her up later that evening.
My last stop before getting TC was here, at Save a Lot on the corner of Saturn and Coronado Ave. It's the same strip mall with Oasis Ice Cream.
They did have pan de muerto but they were really huge so I passed on getting these. One of them did not look sweet and was topped with sesame seeds; the other was sweet looking and topped with sugar.
(blurry stealth shot)
While at Save a Lot, an older Mexican man approached me in the snack aisle wielding two small jars of peanut butter. In Spanish, he asked me what was the difference between the two and which one did I like better. In my rather elementary Spanish, I explained as best as I could the difference between creamy and crunchy to him and told him I preferred the crunchy but it was up to him. I apologized for my poor Spanish but he thanked me profusely saying he understood me and that I was a big help to him. That was really quite nice of him to say and it made my night.
Below, one of the pan de muertos from Gloria's amongst it's mostly eaten brethren from Chico's and La Concha.
Of the three, I liked Gloria's the best because it was softer. Bert liked them all.
Last year's post on Pan de Muerto:
October 2013
and Cathy of mmm-yoso's detailed post last year on this Mexican tradition...
Previous visit to Chico's and La Concha:
December 2013
Previous visit to La Moreliana:
August 2014
Previous visit to Gloria's Bakery:
October 2013
Previous visit to Save a Lot:
October 2013 (also include's Chico's)
I was bummed I didn't get a chance to try Save a Lot's version this year as it was my favorite of all from last year's sampling. Once Cathy's post is up, I will update it here.
In the meantime, get these breads before it's too late! Available at a panaderia or Mexican supermarket near you!
4 comments:
The pan de muerto from Los Morelianas had *much*more orange in it-after we toasted slices of it for breakfast...the orange was barely noticed with the bread at room temperature (and dipped in hot chocolate). This is a good compilation of this years offerings. It was weird having a weekend Dia de Los Muertos - meant some places didn't start making the breads until Monday or Tuesday and we had explored a lot on the weekend.
Yay, so glad you liked it and had a wide variety to breads to choose from.
Nice! I perked up more at the tamales sign though, haha. I love the coloring on that skull cookies, looks so awesome! I only tried pan de muerto once and it was from Northgate and I didn't find it very exciting at all. I bet a fresher one would be much better.
I don't like sugar cookies at all, so TC was the one who enjoyed it. I couldn't resist getting one for Day of the Dead. You will have to wait another year for the pan de muertos.
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