Pampa, you have a treasure and you may not even know it…read more
Walking in the doors is like walking through time and the doors of my childhood. I grew up in Los Angeles in a mostly Mexican family. I'm super picky about Mexican food, and it's so hard to find house made, classical panaderia, but you can smell all the delicious smells of fresh pastry from the street, and a quick perusal of the cases reveals expertly prepared treats, sweet and flaky or tender as expertise demands. If we were here longer I would have raided the shelves, because it's probably been 30 years since I've seen items that looked this good. And I've been looking. Dear Lord, have I been looking.
Mainly we were here for dinner and we barely made it in time so I didn't want to linger too long after what must have been a busy weekend day.
My son got the nachos, which were incredible. They fry their own tortilla chips, and they were light and crispy and tasty. The toppings were perfect, and the pico was just as fresh as you would hope.
I had the carnitas plate. The carnitas are perfect, something I miss now that I live in Denver where they think carnitas means chile verde, which is just sad. Carnitas is not a stew. These are meltingly tender and yet perfectly crispy on the outside. Their salsa verde is beautiful and balanced and the perfect accompaniment for the carnitas. Their retried beans are delicious as is the rice.
I couldn't pass up the elote (in a cup, not on the cob, in L.A. we call it esquites, all the same flavors but easier to eat than on the cob) which was absolutely amazing, and tasted just like home.
We did get dessert, tres leches and flan, both of which are wonderful.
One other thing I regret not being able to try was the aguas frescas, they looked absolutely amazing, so if you are here, give them a try, I suspect they are every bit as authentic as everything else.
Authentic and artisan quality.
There is something here for everyone, so give it a try.
On your way in, grab a tray and some tongs and grab some beautiful pastries to take home with you, and remember to get an agua fresco (or champurrado if they have it). If it's a weekend get some caldo de res, basically the best beef soup you'll ever eat. This stuff is so labor intensive, especially food of this quality, and its more affordable than you can believe.
Make sure you have cash for a tip, I couldn't figure out how to tip with my credit card.
Whatever you do, come in now.
You'll love everything.