J & M Bakery

Solid Colombian bakery option should you be craving some rosca or pan de bono. Nothing makes me happier than when I time it just right so that they’re still warm from the oven. Not a huge fan of their sweets, but give me some fresh bread and café con leche, and I’m one happy camper. It looks a bit seedy from the outside, but do not be deceived!

OK it defintely does not look like a 5-​star place from outside, and I certainly would not say that all the baking goods here are 5-​star quality; but I MUST tell you, if you stick to their bread, EMPANADAS, CHEESE fingers, and COFFEE (expresso with milk), J&M bakery is simply THE BEST. Period.
I am known as a foodie and snub about food among friends so it is not easy to impress me with food. However, ever since I moved away from Astoria, I have been looking all over places trying to find one that would give me the same satisfication as J&M’s Empanadas and Cheese Fingers, and I found none… I would spent $ 4 on a piece of tiny empanadas and all I got was disappointment…
Solutions? Every weekend I drive 25 min back to J&M to stock on the supply of Empanadas and Cheese Fingers from J&M. Normally I tell the boss to give me ALL the «beef and egg» empanadas, ALL the cheese fingers, and some chicken empanadas. That would be good for two or three days… Don’t forget their HOT SAUCE! So good with the empanadas! Go check it out and you will see why I love this «little hole» (yeah, I am not there for their décor anyway…_).

J & M Bakery is one of those old style bakeries that I remember growing up with in Brooklyn. It’s not the prettiest thing to look at. Old white counters with seats lined around the edges of the shop and old glass cases with silver edges. When you first walk in there are cases with cakes and cookies. The main display case has a lot of the baked goods including Pandebono, coconut buns and more. Towards the back is a much smaller case with warm goods in it including baked empenadas.
Service has always been efficient if not overly friendly. I was amused that the gentleman behind the counter spoke Spanish to me briefly and then switched modes to English. I have never waited long here either.
On this particular visit I ordered three different items:
PANDEBONO
Oooh cheese bread. I have practically a love/​hate relationship with this bread. I love its flavor and textures, but I hate what it does to my diet! This bread was nice and crisp on the outside with a nice chewy interior. The cheese flavor was good, but nowhere near as great as the place near my house. Still, tasty and well worth the money.
COCONUT BUN
Unlike a Chinese coconut bun that’s shaped like a hot dog bun, this one was round with an opening in the middle, sort of like those bread rolls used for «soup bowls». Except for soup inside is a sweet coconut custard. When put together the custard and bread taste great, but the proportion is a bit off and could do with more custard.
CHICKEN EMPENADA
Bless these folks for having baked empenadas. This one had great flavor. The chicken was nice and chewy with tasty spice. There was also great bread to meat ratio, giving you a good amount of both in every bite.
I enjoyed the food from J & M and would happily come back again.