J & S Bakery

My friend taught in Tela, a small beach town in Honduras, many years ago. He left with some dubious Spanish skills, and a deep passion for baleadas. When he discovered J and S bakery, he became a regular and is slowly converting all his friends. We've also had the wings, pupusas, tamales, horchata. Their desserts are amazing - flan and tres leches and tons of other options. Don't forget to ask for their salsa picante. (PUBLIC SERVICE NOTE TO THE OWNER: pleeeeeeease start selling the hot sauce in jars. THANKS!!)

The quality and value of the food is fantastic. The beef soup had four or five giant pieces of short ribs, some with marrow, more than double what you get at a Korean restaurant for their beef soup! The soup was also extremely flavorful, and also came with rice and tortilla. Fajita mix was also fantastic fresh off the grill, with SO much meat. Two adults could've easily split that for a meal. It was a little intimidating because I don't know any Spanish, but the cashier was nice and knew enough English to take my order. I will definitely be coming back here next time I'm craving something flavorful and filling.

Hole-in-the-wall strip plaza cafe. Very busy on weekends, we got there on a Sunday just after 10am and not long after we sat down a long lineup formed. Tons of seating now as they have a front & back section which I think is newer. Several big-screen TV's playing soccer - super foreign and cool. All Latino customers here which is a good thing as far as authenticity. Staff did speak OK English enough to ask us about options in our order. You order and pay at the counter, then they bring food out to your table. All disposable tableware here. And beware - portions don't look filling but they will make your stomach explode. *Pupusas: We ordered the "mixed" which is a set of 3 pupusas, I'm going to assume a pork, a cheese & beans, and a chicken - based on my tasting of them. They are fresh tasting, lightly greased, encased in corn flour. They aren't the most filling-loaded pupusas I've, had but the quality is still very delicious and excellent for the price. *Tacos de carne: YUM!! Corn tacos with beef, and plenty of fresh chopped veggie fixins in the tacos. They are very generous with lime wedges that are actually almost half a lime each, and you get two lime pieces with your order of two tacos. This made me feel like I was down in California again. *Yuca con chicharon: Fried yuca strips with humungous chunks of pork rinds and Salvadoran pickled slaw. The pork chunks are lightly yet beautifully flavored with a tough outside and a somewhat juicy inside. The slaw here has more of a tomato flavor which seemed overpowering - I usually like a more tart sour slaw to complement the savory pork. Nonetheless this dish was excellent. Multiple ladies on Yelp have complained here about the men who stare. I'm a man, came with a man friend, we're not Latino, and we got stared at quite a bit - but it was only from an old couple. In my culture (Vietnamese) many older folks will stare at the non-Vietnamese customers because of our amazement and curiosity that they enjoy our food. I would hope that this old couple at J&S meant the same thing. Just give them dirty looks and glares when they stare at you and they will turn away. No biggie, what are they gonna do to you? And I'm so coming back here, so glad I live just a few blocks away from this gem of an authentic Salvadoran cafe.

Food is great and they don't skimp you off on the food. They are really cheap and it's a family business!! Have been coming here since I was 12! Nice and clean and always freshly cooked!