If you’ve walked down the avenues on Figueroa Street in Highland Park, perhaps with a cappuccino from Civil Coffee in hand or perhaps while a little buzzed and taking a selfie in front of Chicken Boy, you may have noticed some new signage at Delicia’s Bakery that stopped you in your tracks: “Vegan Pan Dulce.”
Buttery, tender, decadent conchas (including strawberry-flavored ones made with natural beet-derived food coloring), elotitos, cuernitos, cochinitos, and bizcochos — all without an ounce of dairy or a single egg. It was only a matter of time until it happened in Los Angeles, especially in a neighborhood that is changing as fast as Highland Park.
However, the baker of these new-school Mexican pastries is not a classically trained pastry chef getting in touch with their roots, and Delicias — open and owned by the same Mexican family since 1990 — is not becoming a boutique panaderia. This new assortment of plant-based pan dulce is baked by the same panadero, Jose Casimiro Bran Ramirez originally from Romita, Guanajuato, Mexico, who has worked there for a decade.
It all started with a request from Roxanne Sanchez, the daughter of owners Ramon and Maria Sanchez who switched to a vegan diet six years ago. According to her sister, Emily, who kindly showed me the premises during the evening rush of loyal customers coming in to catch the rest of their pan dulce hot out of the oven. Her sister really missed pan dulce, so she asked Ramirez if he can try a batch made without any animal products. Ramirez never heard of a vegan diet before but since he came from a family of panaderos, he didn’t think twice and was up for the challenge.