got pupusa?

...these are a few of my favorite things!

Restaurant Info: Paola’s Bakery Café is located at 2300 N. Main Suite 205, Las Cruces, NM 88001. (575) 524-2025. Open Monday-Friday 7a.m. to 5p.m. Closed Saturday and Sunday.

Dinero: Cash and cards, sorry friends no checks. Menu prices listed run from $1 to the most expensive item on the menu being $6.95. Eat here and save some dinero…si!

Atmosphere: Paola’s is located in a plaza and is easily accessed from either N. Main or Madrid and there is plenty of parking. It’s a small café. It has 10 tables, each with 3-4 chairs, but there were enough tables for the lunch crowd. The walls are fashionably painted and the tables and chairs are a classic 1950’s style.

Customer service: The owner/manager will take your order and $ at the counter and deliver your food to your table. He is very friendly and makes you feel comfortable. He knew a lot of the customer’s names. Quick note: This means the food, prices, customer services is so good that you will be back for more. Order ahead and take your food to go.

Food: Everything you eat at Paola’s is made in their kitchen from their breads to their sauces.

Breakfast menu items include omelettes, burritos, croissant and panini sandwiches.

Panini sandwiches are served on freshly baked bread and choice of 1 side. Paninis: Cuban, Pastrami, Cheese, Ham & Cheese, Roast Beef, Grilled Chicken, Turkey Pesto, Muffuletta, Tuna and Grilled Veggie. Sides: Paola’s house salad, Greek salad, Garden salad or Macaroni salad.

Esmeralda had the Muffuletta Panini. It was muy delicioso! Carrie had the Grilled Chicken Panini and her exact words were, “Tastes like a bacon explosion!”
Salads: Paola’s House, Greek, Turkey Avocado, Pasta, Fruit, and Garden. We both ordered a side Paola’s House salad with our sandwich. Yum! I’m all for inexpensive gourmet salads.

Fresh homemade soup of the day and a daily Soup & ½ Sandwich special for $5.95.

Pupusas are a tasty, flat, healthier (not deep fried) version of a gordita. But just to set the record straight, we're totally not dissing the gordita. There is much to be said about occasionally eating deep fried goodness such as gorditas, french fries, etc. Before you start saying, "Not me, I'm all about healthy food,” let me remind you that you’re reading a blog about food. Stop being a closet gordita! Pupusas are $2.25 each and come with a cabbage salad called ‘curtido’ and a tomato based dipping sauce.
Your options are: Chicharron (pork rind) and queso (cheese), queso and green chile, queso and frijole (beans), queso and loroco, queso or plain ol’ chicharron. Don’t fear the pork, es muy good-o. The queso and green chile pupusa is best described as “hot and sexy”. Bakery: They have a variety of gourmet flavor empanadas, muffins, brownies, individual sized pineapple upside down cake, streusel, queso bread, flan, choco-flan (because if you’re gonna eat flan, you gotta eat the chocolate flan), bread pudding and tres leches cake. Their bakery items change daily and new items are introduced weekly.
Caution: 1. Save some room for dessert. Our lunch was so good that we ate it up and left no room for dessert…a sad day for LC Gorditas.
2. You’ll be back to try the many sandwiches and baked goods. Once is not enough.
3. Get ready to save some $$ at lunch.