Considering I live in Los Angeles, it’s strange to think I have a regular haunt in Miami, but it’s true. I’ve spent eight days in Miami in the past three months and managed to eat at Confiteria Buenos Aires Bakery three times. Sure it helps that my oldest friend lives down the street. But even if he didn’t, I’d still find a way to make it to this Argentine bakery set amidst a stretch of South American restaurants and stores that feels worlds apart from the glitz of nearby South Beach.
A silver plaque above the empanada “incubator” reminds customers that Buenos Aires’ pastry pockets were “Voted best empanadas in Miami.” By who, I have no idea, but after eating one of each, I won’t argue.
Confiteria Buenos Aires Bakery operates two other locations, in nearby Pembroke Pines and in Queens, New York. The Queens location opened first, where it’s been “serving the community since 1972.”
Considering confiteria translates from Spanish as a confectioner’s shop/candy store, I wasn’t surprised to find an entire display case filled with small candies and mini pastries known as masas finas.
Those were tempting, but not as enticing as the star-shaped syrup-soaked pastries behind the counter.
One star was filled with a square of what I thought was candied guava and studded with sprinkles. Turns out guava is unknown in Argentina and I ate dulce de membrillo, sweet quince paste.
[FYI: To my way of thinking, the only difference between sprinkles and jimmies is the shape; jimmies are like candy-colored buckshot, and sprinkles are stick-shaped.] I digress.
A number of pastries involved variations on guava, cheese, or dulce de leche, the caramelized paste of sugar and condensed milk. I’m not complaining.
Come early and the pastries will even be warm. Thankfully, the café con leche, coffee with milk, is available anytime, and it’s always hot and sweet, a great pairing for the pastries.
Eating at Confiteria Buenos Aires Bakery has become a fast tradition, and I’m sure the next time I’m staying with my friend in Miami Beach, we’ll take another drive up Collins. I can practically taste the empanadas already.
Blog Comments
Cookie Stibel
September 27, 2009 at 2:18 PM
This has been the WORST experience ever!! I’m Argentinian and it feels you have never left the country….. we have been pretty regulars over there…. yesterday some unknown person came in and starting arguing with us for no reason (we were a group of 8) when I requested to the employees to please call the police (the argument escalated to name calling, etc just ignored us and did not care for the customer’s well being and security of all patrons! If they don’t care about us the customers… why should we give them our business? there are plenty of more Argentinian places to go.