July 2008

Leave your passport at home...

But meet me in Casa Blanca!

photos by Stephanie Williams

by Elizabeth Brinkama

At the crossroads of Takoma and Langley Parks, barely visible among the eclectic mix of dollar stores, fabric stores and carry-outs, lies a bakery and confectionary with an improbable blend of cultures that makes it seem as if you’ve traveled a great distance. For a journey of less than a mile on the #16 Ride On bus, I found Casa Blanca Bakery the epitome of what it means to experience the joys of discovery.

Casa Blanca first opened their doors in 2000 and quickly became a morning staple for the predominantly Hispanic neighborhood residents. Under the guidance of manager Sam Cheon, himself a native of Korea, his mostly Spanish-only speaking staff, and recipes culled from the culinary traditions of Guatemala, Mexico and El Salvador, it truly is like opening the doors to another country and discovering a hidden treasure.

Just as you would never think of patronizing a McDonald’s or Starbucks when strolling along the Champs-Elysees (seriously, you wouldn’t do that, would you?), it’s time to move beyond the bakery aisle of Whole Foods and try something a little out of your comfort zone. As I would never demand that you to do something I myself would not try first, I gathered the finest culinary palates in the region (well, perhaps not the finest, but they were willing and hungry) and together my friends* and I ate a plethora of pastries.

Yeah, I know, life is hard.

The display case of cakes and custard tarts was most definitely a pleasure to the eye as well as the palate. The strawberry cake proved to be as moist and sweet as the fluffy pink and white cloud it appeared to be. By far, the favorite among our intrepid group of taste testers was the banana bread pudding. It was creamy, full of raisins and had more than an essence of “banany” flavor, to use the technical gastronomist term. Another delicacy that received high marks was the Pande Anis.

If the taste of black licorice is to your liking, this bread is for you with it’s “unexpectedly savory, anise flavor”. The Cuernito Dulce was a bit dry, though the cinnamon sugar generously sprinkled on top elevated the flavor from bland to somewhat grand. Accompanied by a large bowl of café au lait for dipping and you have the perfect way to start your morning. The Concha, unfortunately, was clearly no one’s favorite. “It looks more fun than it tastes” and the day-glow yellow top of this rather lackluster bread “looks and tastes like Playdoh”.

Of course, we Americans consume almost 155 pounds of sugars and sweeteners a year, so it is easy to see how we might find another culture’s delicacies to be too different for our liking. Yet, as everything in Casa Blanca is baked fresh daily and virtually all sold out by days end, they are clearly doing something right. As culinary and travel writer Anthony Bourdain asserts “You never really get to know a culture until you have tasted their food…it is the purest expression of a culture and a region and a history.”

Casa Blanca Bakery
7988 New Hampshire Avenue
Hyattville, MD 20783
301-445-3001

* Just as the great food critics of yesteryear, from Elizabeth David to Ruth Reichl, the identities of our food critics must remain cloaked in mystery.

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