La Usuluteca is like a reference library for anyone seeking a better understanding of Salvadoran pan dulce. The scarlet-crowned corner bakery, located two blocks east of Crenshaw on Washington Boulevard, holds a warren of wooden shelves teeming with semitas, quesadillas, and breads. The cold pastry cases here are packed with treats, from the caramelized eclairs known as relampagos to meringue-oozing cuernitos, and wickedly sweet milhojas, a riff on French mille-feuille running over with marshmallow meringue.
The shop was founded 11 years ago this past Tuesday, November 12, by Toni Suarez and Juan Torres, who have established their brand as a primary player in the world of L.A. Salvadoran food. The couple arrived in the U.S. from the southwestern city of Usulutan, El Salvador, in 2008, five years before they cracked the doors to their popular pupusería and panadería.
“When we arrived, we didn't know what to do,” Toni tells L.A. TACO. “We saw a niche of sweet bread that were not [made] as we thought they should be. My husband's family has recipes. They used to be bakers of typical Salvadorian bread, and that's how he got inspired.”