Gonzalez Panaderia

We are down in the area every weekend and I thought we'd kill two birds with one stone. Currently obsessed with pan de muerto and Mexican bakeries, we headed over to a tiny bakery that we'd seen only in passing but never went to. Isn't that how it always is with food finds?

On our way there, we passed by the South Bay Drive-in, one of the last few remaining drive-in movie places in San Diego. The last time we saw a movie there was 20 years ago, "Wayne's World 2", ha ha!
Yeah, that was a damn long time ago. We left early and got a refund because my crappy car radio couldn't pick up the audio clearly.

Looks like they painted the back of the screens. It used to be white.

Every Sunday they have swap meets there, but I digress. The bakery turned out to be just right around the corner...

Near this fire station near the southwest corner of Coronado Ave and Hollister.

The painted utility box referrs to forgotten aviation pioneer John J. Montgomery's and his "first controlled flight". Nearby, there is an airplane wing sticking straight out of a hill, known as "The Wing", which used to be a notorious makeout spot. There is a local stretch of freeway named after Montgomery, as well as an elementary, middle, and high school down here.

This bakery is in a tiny little strip mall. You will pass by homes and apartments first. It's easy to pass up. It's next to Alberto's, a barber and an mini mart (not shown).

I wasn't sure if they would have any pan de muerto, but we would soon find out.

A quick persual of their trays didn't reveal any pan de muerto, but the usual pan dulces like orejas, cochinitas (the pig shaped cookies), jelly dotted cookies, flaky puff pastry sticks), and more.
They had a nice variety, some kinds which I hadn't seen before.

Bert got one of the creme filled breads. I saw the one in the bottom corner and got that one out of curiosity.

These six ended up being $4.10 (or roughly about .69 each).

In the middle of the bakery, there is an island with empty racks. I wonder if it ever gets filled up? Or perhaps only during busy times of the year? It looked a bit sad and lonely.

TC was eager to try her oreja so she ate it in the car. I'll have to clean up those crumbs later, $#@%! It was better than the one Bert got at Save a Lot, with more caramalization and crispness to it.

Bert had his little bread thing with cream inside. It might be good to eat when you are sitting down with a plate and all, but all that sugar dusted on top can get a bit messy!

Bert thought this pastry was a bit too bready but he still enjoyed it.

I didn't eat my selection in the car.

Of course, here is the photo shoot at home of the survivors:

TC picked this one out, the Nino Envuelto ("wrapped child"),  it's a strawberry sponge cake roll. The outside is coated with strawberry jam and then rolled in coconut. It looks supersweet.

Update - I just tasted this and it's the best of the bunch. The cake was light and moist and we liked the strawberry coating and filling inside.

I picked this one out, a sugar crystal encrusted pastry stick filled with strawberry jam.  I loved the crisp puff pastry and the fruit filling.

I'm not sure what this is called, but I liked the shape, a notched wheel of sorts with a jelly imprint in the middle. I broke off and tasted an edge; it wasn't too sweet but it was kind of dry. As Bert would say, "It needs coffee".

I cut off a small piece of this as well. I liked the shape of this, a buttery stick with slashes on top. It's also kind of dry.

This, the wheel, and the strawberry coconut cake will be enjoyed later this week. I say two days tops and it should be gone!

Gonzalez Panaderia
1290 Hollister St.
San Diego, CA 92154
(619) 429-5878

There is no website and there are only three measly reviews from that four lettered site, a few of them a bit nasty. Speaking for ourselves, we didn't experience any rudeness while we were there.

Our next stop would be ANOTHER Mexican bakery just one minute away, one that I pass by nearly every week and have always wondered about.