Correction and editor's note: This story originally stated La Usuluteca is in West Adams. It is in Mid-City, not West Adams. We regret the error.
A good hole-in-the-wall eatery isn’t hard to find—if you just know where to look. Mid-City is the historically Black, centrally located L.A. neighborhood that is home to Salvadoran panadería La Usuluteca. The establishment, located just west of Arlington Heights, first opened in 2013 and celebrated its 10-year anniversary just last year. Founder and co-owner Juan Torres migrated from El Salvador to California in 2008 to first work in his family-owned business—an ethnic grocery store that focused on Salvadoran goods.
“When he came to work with his brothers, he found that the quality of sweets they sold [that they bought from third parties] was not great,” says Maria Antonieta Suárez, his wife and co-owner. “So when we started tasting them, Juan saw an opportunity to improve the quality of those sweets.” With the Salvadoran immigrant community well-represented in L.A.’s Central American circles—just take a look at Panaderia El Salvador in East Hollywood or Panaderia Cuscatleca in Pico-Union—it’s a wonder that these delicious Latin American pastries have largely been overlooked by other Angelenos.
Suárez says that La Usuluteca goes “by the book with everything [they] do,” taking pride in their authentic Salvadoran recipes, from baked goods to shelved products. The duo claims to sell “nostalgia,” due to the fact that many of their customers are Salvadoran as well, and want to indulge in desserts that remind them of their childhood. The bakery is stacked with every traditional food you can think of—from the massively popular semita de piña to traditional cheesy pupusas to classic packaged Salvadoran snacks like Diana Corn Brights (sugarcoated, vanilla-flavored corn curls).
After chatting with the owners and doing a taste test of our own, we picked out the five top Salvadoran pan dulce that are a must-add to your L.A. bakery bucket list. Once you try them, you might also think, “Where have these pastries been all my life?”
Semita de piña
Semita de piña, a pineapple jam-filled pastry, is one of La Usuluteca’s bestsellers. Pineapple is a common fruit in El Salvador that brings a ripe sweetness in between the pastry’s bread dough. The dough is comparable to a soft graham cracker. Before baking, the dough is topped with sugar, as notes of cinnamon shine through due to its inclusion in the pineapple preserves. It’s a sweet pastry with different variations of jam fillings, such as mango, guava or fig (with the elevated taste of a homemade Fig Newton).
Quesadilla salvadoreña
One of the most iconic Salvadoran desserts is basically a sweet cheese pound cake that looks like cornbread. This pan dulce includes traditional baking ingredients (eggs, white sugar, etc.) with the most distinctive flavor derived from Parmesan cheese. Sesame seeds top the cake for an additional mild and nutty flavor. Some versions are made with rice flour. Salvadorans often enjoy the treat at breakfast with coffee or during family gatherings—when a little sweetness and sugar are in order.
Budín
How could you not love budín? This sweet pastry is a bread pudding soaked in panela (unrefined cane sugar) syrup and garnished with caramelized plantains, comparable to French toast or monkey bread. The unrefined sugar gives it a taste similar to sweet molasses. It’s a versatile dessert that’s easily amenable to ingredient additions (such as raisins, nuts or chocolate chips). Budín is often served as a warm golden-brown dessert that can be the perfect solution to any stale bread you have laying around. Other Latin American countries, including Mexico and Puerto Rico, also have their own version of budín, with certain variations involving anise seeds.
Milhojas
If you enjoy a light puff pastry, then you’ll have to opt for milhojas. The dessert consists of flaky dough layers with white meringue stuffed in between each layer, then dusted with powdered sugar. Sometimes, pastry cream is included and spread on the first layer of puff pastry while the second puff pastry is topped with meringue. Milhojas are usually refrigerated for a short period of time and cut into rectangles. It’s a nostalgic dessert popular across Latin America and Spain.
La peperecha
The vibrant red pastry that you see in the bakery’s window display and are automatically drawn to is la peperecha. The La Usuluteca menu describes it as “a soft, cinnamony, golden sandwich of crumbly pastry, oozing with panela syrup.” The garnished white sugar is dyed red (if red sugar isn’t readily available for purchase) to make for a colorful dessert. La peperecha can be eaten for any occasion, from a quick morning bite to a delectable nighttime treat.
La Usuluteca is located at 4014 West Washington Boulevard and is open daily from 6am to 8pm.