It's right in front of this building...
I was curious to check out what will probably be a hipster Mexican bakery...
made for those
There is no seating inside, but just enough room for maybe 10 people to stand in line. Like at their Golden Hill location, they had a chart for the gringos. One MAJOR THING that I didn't like here was that you cannot pick and choose your own pastries. In all of the panaderias I've been to, you get a tray and a pair of tongs and choose what you want. Not here. Their selection is very small and it's BEHIND the counter. You have to ask the workers to get what you want. In our case, I only chose two items, an oreja (palmier) and a birote filled with cheese and jalapeno.
The prices are higher than their other locations and definitely higher than what you'd find at the panaderias in City Heights or Chula Vista. Let's put it this way, my Mexican friends wouldn't go out of their way to go here.
They also make food here - breakfast and lunch items. The prices are very hipster. Really, $5.75 for a breakfast burrito? And $5.75 for a burger? I could get a complete meal at In 'n Out for less.
Perhaps the higher prices have to pay the rent in North Park...who knows. There was a family of 8 (Mexican, no less) trying to decide what they wanted. I took a quick glance and chose our two items.
Their case had flan and cups with a rice/milk dessert and cake slices.
View from the corner on 32nd...
The lone two items we bought. For the record, both tasted very good!
The oreja was flaky and shattered satisfyingly when I bit into it. This was definitely not a dry and tasteless oreja like some I've had at other places.
The cheese/jalapeno filled birote:
There were only two jalapeno slices in there. The bread was fresh and warm with toasted sesame seeds adding a bit of nutty flavor. To be fair, we liked both of our items.
Writeups/reviews:
"Panchita's bakery and kitchen opens in North Park on Monday" Eater SD, March 18, 2015
"6 Things about Panchita's Kitchen Bakery" Zagat SD, April 7, 2015
My previous visits to their other locations:
Golden Hill December 2013
Barrio Logan, January 2014
Panchita's Kitchen & Bakery
3803 32nd St.
San Diego, CA 92104
There is no website but here are the reviews from yelp
I can't speak for their other pastries but to be honest, I would rather pay less at my favorite panaderia (Moreliana Pan) which is closer to me, and have the freedom to choose what I want. It kind of takes away the fun when someone else has to do it for you (although you probably could direct the worker to get the exact piece that you want). I'm sure Panchita's will get a different demographic at North Park than at their other locations.
4 comments:
I liked how the only review compares it to Moreliana which I know of because I just went there based on your recommendations! Haha. North Park is way closer to me than Chula but I also don't like how all the pastries are behind the case and you have to ask them for it...I had like 10 things in my tray last time! And those prices :/ At least the pastries were good :)
Hi Joyce,
heh, that was my review. Well, i'm glad that you gave Moreliana a try. This bakery will still serve a need in North Park, but at hipster prices.
Damn hipster prices. Sigh. It's like a surcharge for them fetching the pastries for you.
OMG, no offense to this place, but really? I would rather venture into the hood or go to my local panaderias down south.
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