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La Tapatia Bakery
updated: Sep 25, 2010, 9:30 AM
By Ms. Lemonjelly
I was in the area to check out a different restaurant, but someone in my party saw la Tapatia Bakery, declared she wanted to buy everyone pastries, and we all herded into the tiny shop. That's when we saw the menu up on the wall. Meaning, we saw the photographs of all the savory items the panaderia also offered. The pictures were blurry and the colors were fading, but it got the idea across and we left with our pastries but with a goal to return there very soon and try some of the hot food.
Two days later, we were back for lunch. Between two of us, we ordered a carnitas taco and the mole con pollo.
The small taco is about $2.50, a larger taco is $3.50, and the tortillas are made fresh to order - very soft, smooth and a little chewy. Our small taco came with one tortilla and that was enough to hold it all together. There was chopped carnitas with onion and cilantro on top, with lime wedges and a small bowl of salsa verde on the side. It was very good. But what was awesome was the chicken mole. Really, I thought I'd made my decision on a favorite place for mole con pollo, and this may have usurped it. The sauce was sweet and spicy, rich, and complex with a little kick. The chicken was perfect - one large thigh with such tender meat falling off the bone that you only need to pull it apart with pieces of tortilla. And the tortillas! The dish came with more fresh, soft tortillas, the largest I'd ever seen for homemade corn tortillas. This dish also came with a small portion of rice and beans.
I have to say, photos of food that use dark sauces usually don't look that good and this is no exception. But even without a good photo, I picked la Tapatia because I liked the mole con pollo so much. Then there are the pastries. My favorite pan dulce is the one shaped like a butterfly. I buy them anytime I visit a panaderia. I got several that first night we poked our heads for the pan dulce. I also bought one on the second visit, and I have an email sitting here from my father asking me to pick up more the next time I'm in the area. We love them.
The other pastries were good too, but the one we went crazy for was the butterfly pastry. Lightly crisp, yet dense and a little chewy. And they did not fall apart in a big crumbly mess with each bite!
Other notes:
- This is a small shop with just a few tables, and a bench along one wall. It can get crowded quickly with shoppers and eaters commingled
- Open 7 days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner
- No prices listed on the photographs posted on the wall. Just ask and they'll tell you the prices. Our small taco, chicken mole and four pastries cost about $14, which puts the pastries around 75 cents each, and the mole around $8.
- Cash only
- It's worth another mention: great tortillas made fresh to order
La Tapatia Bakery
832 N Milpas St (in the shopping center with the laundromat, Speedy Mart, and two other restaurants)
Santa Barbara, CA 93103
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