At least a block away, the warm smell hits you like a pie in the face. Yeasty, sweet, fruity and…spicy? The new, expansive Dos Hermanos Bakery (1015 SE Stark St., 971-266-8348, doshermanosbakery.com) crosses cultural barriers in the kitchen, and the results are delicious.
You’re first drawn to the vivid colors of the conchas, the classic Mexican sweet breads reflecting the heritage of founders Gabriel and Josue Azcorra. In fact, the Yucatán-born “dos hermanos” are joined in their thriving business by more than a dozen other family members, including their father Papa Gabe. The puffy conchas happily share the case with French croissants, German-style soft pretzels, and hojaldras, Latin American squares of flaky fried sweet bread filled with ham, cheddar and jalapeño or cream cheese that successfully bridge the sweet and salty divide. The bakery’s renowned sesame bread combines fluffy with crunchy. English muffins toast up crispy and chewy. The enormous, chopped “sandos” also skip across borders with alacrity. The Bada Bing features Italian cured meats and provolone; Get Him to the Greek is a mashup of feta, chickpeas, olives, and pepperoncini. The Irish Goodbye pairs corned beef with sauerkraut, and Papa Gabe’s namesake blends ham, escabeche, queso fresco, salsa verde and chicharrónes. Note to bargain hunters: Day-old items are sold at a steep discount.
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