La Mascota Bakery
Red Chile with Pork Tamale
Green Chile with Chicken Tamale
Pineapple with Raisin Tamale
Concha
Guava Empanada
Cream Cheese Pan Dulce
Cortadillo
Pineapple Bread Pudding
Strawberry Tres Leches
Part of East Los Angeles’ Boyle Heights neighborhood since 1952, La Mascota Bakery has survived much, its sale to Francisco Aparicio from the Salcedo family in 2015 seeing sustained quality that has continued through the pandemic as a carry-out only operation with no signs of falling off.
Open daily at 5:00am, and recently re-starting the kitchen closed by COVID-19, it is immediately upon entry that eyes widen to an array of Pan Dulce, a brief queue finding bilingual staff ready to describe everything from Concha to Cake and Torta to Tamale.
All scratch-made daily, a team of employees in PPE visible throughout a humble space with nothing to hide, it was after a moment of indecision that nine items were requested, the $17 tally a bargain as Tamales are $2.19 each with moist Masa and ample inclusions such as Chicken, Pork or Pineapple.
Taking sweets to-go, though a still-warm Concha did not make it past the parking lot, Guava Empanada are well-filled with Jam while the unlabeled Pastry with Cream Cheese features Dough with a bit more tooth and more restrained sweetness.
Also offering Cakes whole or by the slice, confettied Cortadillo softer than most beneath a thin layer of Frosting, Tres Leches on this day came studded with Strawberries while weighty Bread Pudding mimics La Mascota’s Dulce Tamale utilizing Cinnamon, Raisins and Pineapple.
www.lamascotabakery.com
