La Adelita, which has been in business for over 30 years, is a restaurant, bakery, and tortilla shop in Los Angeles, California. La Adelita makes traditional food from the countries of Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico. During my visit to the restaurant, I was overwhelmed with smells that I haven’t smelled in a while. It reminded me of the holidays that I would spend with my dad’s side of the family, and the days during my childhood when my dad would take me to buy bolillo (bread) and gallo pinto early in the morning. But it also reminded me that there is so much about my culture that I don’t know. Not only did writing this article give me a great opportunity to learn about the differences between the tamales from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, it also gave me the chance to taste new desserts that I hadn’t heard of before.
Tamales:
Tamales are made out of masa, a corn dough typically used for tortillas, tamales, and pupusas. The masa creates a texture that is both crumbly and moist. Tamales are filled with meat, rice, and usually a mix of vegetables, and are steamed in either a corn husk or banana leaf, then served. Let me tell you, before today, I had never liked tamales. Anytime my dad got some for the holidays, I’d stay away and stick to something more familiar. Never in a million years would I have thought tamales could taste good.
3. Tamale Colorado (Guatemala)
Tamale Colorado typically contains a savory red sauce, pork, and olives. The ones that I bought also included red and green peppers. In my opinion, it was almost like this tamale was trying to be the life of the party, but wasn’t. The sauce caused the masa to get very wet and mushy so the texture was pretty much the same throughout. The pork also contained quite a bit of fat which added to the already kind of gross texture, and was a little dry, even with all the excessive sauce. There wasn’t much spice in the tamale, either. This definitely wasn’t my favorite and I don’t think I would eat it again.
2. Tamales Pisques (El Salvador)
The Tamales Pisques that I was eating consisted of beef, potato, green pepper, and refried beans. Visually, the tamales weren’t the most pleasing to look at. They looked sad and a little down. If they were at a party, they would be sitting on the couch in the corner of the room, dozing off. Despite not being super pleasing to the eye, they were actually pretty good. Yes, they were lacking most flavor out of all the other tamales, but the ingredients complemented each other well! The beef was soft and cut very easily, helping the flavors spread out. Not my first choice but I would certainly eat again.
1. Nacatamal (Nicaragua)
Unlike the other tamales, a nacatamal is not wrapped in foil but banana leaves. They are usually stuffed with pork or chicken, rice, red and green peppers, onions, olives, and sometimes potatoes. Hands down, this tamale was the biggest and most flavorful. Although it is slightly spicy, it is not overpowering... and this is coming from the girl who has never tried Takis before! All the ingredients created a great overall flavor. The texture was perfect and not at all uncomfortable. It would definitely be the life of the party! I’m not going to lie: going into this I was secretly hoping the nacatamal would win first because my father immigrated here from Nicaragua. I definitely wasn’t disappointed.
Desserts:
Honestly, when I was at La Adelita’s, all the desserts looked really good. I wanted to get foods I was familiar with because I know that they tasted really good but I also wanted to try new desserts that looked kinda cool. Eventually, I decided on two that I had never seen before and one that I already knew and loved, and would eat every opportunity I can get!
3. Mexican Chocolate Tres Leches
Sitting right next to the happy face cookies were the tres leches cakes. They had coconut sprinkled on top and a small layer of frosting. At first sight, they looked absolutely delicious. In fact, even after you taste it, it still doesn’t lose its visual appeal. Sadly, it did not taste as great as it looked. A typical tres leches cake is supposed to have multiple textures that combine very well. This did not. It was extremely dense and grainy which made for a weird feeling in my mouth. The whole cake was very rich and fudgy due to the chocolate, but the sweetness was overpowering. Although I don’t doubt that other recipes might taste better, this did not leave a good imprint on my palate.
2. Minoja
A minoja is made of flaky layers and a sweet cream. Mine came with a strawberry glazed with some type of sour gel and honestly, it made the dessert a lot better. By itself, it is on the sweeter side and kind of plain. With the strawberry, the two clashing flavors contrasted nicely. I preferred eating this after leaving it in the fridge for a while; it was much easier to cut and the sweetness calmed down. I don’t think I would get this one frequently but I’m sure it could be a nice treat once in a while.
1. Concha de Blanca
A concha is one of the most popular types of pan dulce (sweet bread). It is just a sweet bread with vanilla, (or any other flavor), frosting on top. This is definitely more messy due to the crumbly texture, though you can literally never go wrong with a classic. Even though I knew how a concha tasted, I still wanted to compare it to the other desserts that I had eaten. Hands down, this deserves its #1 spot. As you bite the bread, it dissolves in your mouth. It’s light and airy and worth every penny. There isn’t just one flavor, either. There is a slight saltiness to it, but not too much. When compared to concha de blanca, the other desserts had no chance. 10/10, would recommend trying.
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As you can see, I had mixed emotions while tasting some of the foods. Although I may not like something, that shouldn’t stop you from trying anything on this list. They were all good in their own ways and will appeal to different people. As a whole, La Adelita is a really great restaurant to get food from. The atmosphere was really homey and although it was my first time going, I felt like I had been there a thousand times before. The next time I take a small trip to go there, I will definitely try more foods and explore a greater variety of desserts. For more information about La Adelita, visit https://www.laadelitafoodco.com/!
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