Laurita's Guatemalan Bakery

"Everything I know about Guatemalan cuisine wouldn't fill a teaspoon, but I am a worshipful slave to good pastry. So when I tell you about the joy of the Guatemalan bakery called Laurita's, know that it comes straight from my taste buds.  I drive past Laurita's all the time, but like the original Bereket, the Turkish gem just a few hundred yards up Bridgeport's Main Street, I never noticed it. Why would I? Located in a disheveled strip mall set back from the road, it does nothing to lure customers. Business is mostly wholesale, to places in New York, because, says Laura Azanon, who runs it with Raul Azanon, people in Bridgeport aren't all that interested in pan royal and redondo cake. Lucky for me, eagle-eyed (and savvy-tongued) Carol Petro – the same angel who clued me in to Bereket – told me I needed to pay Laurita's a visit for out-of-this-world pastries.  Is there a less interesting name for a delicacy than pan tostado, which translates as toasted bread? It doesn't look all that special, either: a large, thick, perfectly circular cookie. It is quite hard, and a first bite is not shockingly delicious. But then you get a little dizzy from the rich flavor of real butter and just enough sweetness to tilt it from bread to pastry. Like a distant cousin of the Italian biscotti, Laurita's pan tostado is an inspired coffee companion. (But you must bring your own or carry the pastry out to coffee; there is no place to sit in this tiny shop.)  Likewise, the bakery's pan royal calls out for coffee. It's circular, too, and about the same tan color as pan tostado, but soft rather than crunchy, reminiscent of a muffin top. It is "royal" presumably because each one is dotted with a few raisins.  "Quesadilla" is a word that derives from queso – cheese – and most people know it as the Mexican sandwich in which tortillas enclose cheese et. al.; but the Central American quesadilla, as made at Laurita's, is something else altogether: a small, flat cake made with rice flour and a tantalizing balance of sugar, eggs, and a wee bit of parmesan cheese. This guesadilla Guatemalteca is almost sweet and almost savory and completely delicious." --http://roadfood.com/Restaurant/Review/7661-8767/lauritas-guatemala-bakery