Horno Mission San Jose

The bakery is definitely on point and I like the European atmosphere here. Breakfast tacos were good but I’d be interested in trying some of the other options too.

I must say on any given day I pass up this panaderia and it always appears to be dead. I never see any customers there or for that matter, anyone at all in the store. A place without traffic is usually the kiss of death for a business. However, I decided to try some of their pan de dulce.

When you go inside the place is real nice, the décor is simple and the clerk that day was friendly. It has a panaderia slash coffeehouse feel to it. They even have an area where you can use you WiFi. It’s interesting because I would never have assumed any of this unless I hadn’t gone inside in the first place. Now let me talk about my favorite subject, «pan de dulce.»

I had a thing, a bun filled with cream pastry, exactly like a Mexican version of a Boston Cream Pie. In addition I had these small mini conchas, so tiny you could eat them at work and no one would suspect you were indulging in them. First of all the pan de dulce was fresh. The bun with cream was absolutely delicious. It was soft and above very fresh. The small conchitas were the winners of the day, as far as I am concerned. They were sugary but not too sweet. And they tasted kinda of buttery too. It’s not often that I hum after I eat something but these pasteries were too good for words! In the past I have tasted many a pan de dulce that suffered because it was dry or too sweet. In that sense the pasteries reminded me of the ones I had at a mega-​store in Mexico, all too good.
But more importantly than the taste and the freshness was the price. For two good-​sized bags of pan de dulce it came out to four bucks and some change! I definitely would recommend this place to any lover of Mexican pastry or someone who wants to try great pan de dulce but is on a budget. Impressive, most impressive!

New panaderia on Fredericksburg, just west of I-​10. The tacos are improving, still working out some consistency issues, but the baked goods are fantastic. Haven’t seen pink cake, but the selection is great. They even have an espresso machine. Got a ham and cheese croissant today that filled up a large to-​go box. Good corn tortillas and chicken mole, have yet to try the personal pizzas.
They also have a beautiful naturally lit seating area, a modern kitchen that’s immaculately clean, and European style serve yourself cases. I think it’s fantastic that there’s a place like this in the area that has stayed true to the original architecture, without cutting corners.
Be sure to be on your bi-​lingual A-​game.