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Tus Chefs Favoritas make conchas to rival donuts
New generation Mexican bakery brings a singular, sweet focus to Eastlake
A Neapolitan gourmet concha: with a strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate flavored shell
Easily the most recognized staple of a panadería, or Mexican bakery, is the concha. It's named after the Spanish word for "seashell" for a couple of reasons: one, because the sweet roll is topped with crunchy, sugary, shell-like top layer; two, because that layer is usually scored to resemble the grooves on a cockle shell.
Until this week, I might never have compared this Mexican pan dulce to the American glazed donut. Then I paid a visit to Tus Chefs Favoritas.
About five years ago, best friends and South Bay natives Natalie Rodriguez and Lesly Mondoza launched Tus Chefs Favoritas ("your favorite chefs") on Instagram. While many home bakers around the country were experimenting with sourdough, these Mexican-Americans focused on conchas. By the summer they were taking orders for several flavors, including chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and (combining all three) Neapolitan.
How niche an idea was this? It might be telling that most of their posts, for the first couple years at least, were written in Spanish.
A new gourmet Concha shop in Eastlake
But those posts have become bilingual as their business has blossomed, and a few weeks ago they finally opened a physical storefront in Chula Vista's Eastlake. Unlike traditional panaderías—which are loaded with dozens of different breads, cookies, and pastries— Tus Chefs Favoritas' glass counter is loaded only with an assortment of gourmet conchas.
What makes these conchas gourmet? Well compared to the conchas you'll find in most San Diego panaderías, which tend to be dry and fluffy in the center, these come out a little flatter, and more pillowy—a little closer in texture to the brioche rolls to which conchas are often compared.
As for why I find myself comparing them to donuts: their crunchy top shells come off as a sort of candied glaze. Like a donut might have. But it also has something to do with the shop itself. Just as donut shops are technically bakeries that specialize in many flavors of one particular pastry, this one's technically a panadería that specializes in many flavors of one particular pan dulce.
Strawberry, M&M, Rocky Road, and Fruity Pebbles flavored conchas
And like modern donut shops, they even add kooky toppings, whether Oreo cookie crumbles, mini M&Ms, Rocky Road ingredients, or Fruity Pebbles breakfast cereal. They even offer to sell conchas by the dozen or half dozen — though any way you slice it, a standard concha goes for $2.50, while special or featured flavors (with toppings) go for $2.80.
Unlike a donut shop, each concha comes individually wrapped in a sealed plastic sheath, presumably to keep them fresher for longer. After all, bring a dozen donuts to work in the morning, and you can expect them to be gone by lunch. Show up with a dozen conchas, and that won't necessarily be the case. At least, until your coworkers get a load of these addictive Tus Chefs Favoritas' conchas. Eastlake donut shops, look out!
Here's something you might be interested in.
Tus Chefs Favoritas make conchas to rival donuts
New generation Mexican bakery brings a singular, sweet focus to Eastlake
Tus Chefs Favoritas make conchas to rival donuts
New generation Mexican bakery brings a singular, sweet focus to Eastlake
A Neapolitan gourmet concha: with a strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate flavored shell
Easily the most recognized staple of a panadería, or Mexican bakery, is the concha. It's named after the Spanish word for "seashell" for a couple of reasons: one, because the sweet roll is topped with crunchy, sugary, shell-like top layer; two, because that layer is usually scored to resemble the grooves on a cockle shell.
Until this week, I might never have compared this Mexican pan dulce to the American glazed donut. Then I paid a visit to Tus Chefs Favoritas.
About five years ago, best friends and South Bay natives Natalie Rodriguez and Lesly Mondoza launched Tus Chefs Favoritas ("your favorite chefs") on Instagram. While many home bakers around the country were experimenting with sourdough, these Mexican-Americans focused on conchas. By the summer they were taking orders for several flavors, including chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and (combining all three) Neapolitan.
How niche an idea was this? It might be telling that most of their posts, for the first couple years at least, were written in Spanish.
A new gourmet Concha shop in Eastlake
But those posts have become bilingual as their business has blossomed, and a few weeks ago they finally opened a physical storefront in Chula Vista's Eastlake. Unlike traditional panaderías—which are loaded with dozens of different breads, cookies, and pastries— Tus Chefs Favoritas' glass counter is loaded only with an assortment of gourmet conchas.
What makes these conchas gourmet? Well compared to the conchas you'll find in most San Diego panaderías, which tend to be dry and fluffy in the center, these come out a little flatter, and more pillowy—a little closer in texture to the brioche rolls to which conchas are often compared.
As for why I find myself comparing them to donuts: their crunchy top shells come off as a sort of candied glaze. Like a donut might have. But it also has something to do with the shop itself. Just as donut shops are technically bakeries that specialize in many flavors of one particular pastry, this one's technically a panadería that specializes in many flavors of one particular pan dulce.
Strawberry, M&M, Rocky Road, and Fruity Pebbles flavored conchas
And like modern donut shops, they even add kooky toppings, whether Oreo cookie crumbles, mini M&Ms, Rocky Road ingredients, or Fruity Pebbles breakfast cereal. They even offer to sell conchas by the dozen or half dozen — though any way you slice it, a standard concha goes for $2.50, while special or featured flavors (with toppings) go for $2.80.
Unlike a donut shop, each concha comes individually wrapped in a sealed plastic sheath, presumably to keep them fresher for longer. After all, bring a dozen donuts to work in the morning, and you can expect them to be gone by lunch. Show up with a dozen conchas, and that won't necessarily be the case. At least, until your coworkers get a load of these addictive Tus Chefs Favoritas' conchas. Eastlake donut shops, look out!