Mexican Restaurant-Bakery Replaces Lopez Bakery

Del Valle Oaxaqueño and La Casa Del Pan 2. Photo by Cari Taylor-Carlson.

If you are missing those well-loved rolls and pastries formerly found at Lopez Bakery on Historic Mitchell Street, fear not. A new place  Del Valle Oaxaqueño and La Casa Del Pan 2 has filled that niche, operating in the same location with a restaurant and a tantalizing selection of rolls and pastries. Their pastry display case includes binge-worthy cookies, conchas, churros, cheesecake, rolls, desserts made with puff pastry, and much more. If you come for lunch and they are baking, an aroma of yeasty bread fills the restaurant. It is a few short steps from lunch table to counter and the opportunity to purchase a bag of warm rolls to enjoy later.

On my first visit, friends and I started our lunch with a Strawberry Smoothie, a Mixed Berry Smoothie, and a Champurrado, chocolate-based atole. The Strawberry Smoothie included bits of fresh strawberries, which said it was the real deal, not just strawberry-flavored. The Champurrado, made with cornmeal, milk, and chocolate, was hot, rich, filling, and the perfect beverage for a cold day. You want to drink it when it is hot because it thickens as it cools and loses some of its flavor.

One companion ordered the Tlayuda Mixta, a gigantic tortilla that overflowed the plate. It was covered with beans, veggies, sliced avocado, Oaxacan cheese, grilled beef, and chorizo. The chef had drizzled the tortilla with lard while it was cooking to add extra flavor. We all shared a slice and agreed it was a savory spicy blend of meat and veggies. There are more Tlayudas on the menu: Con Chapulines, or grasshoppers; Vegetariano: Con Guacamole; and Emoladas, with mole sauce.

My Burrito Vegetariano dwarfed my plate with more veggies than I thought were possible. I requested extra mole sauce and found it dark, rich, thick, and a way to accentuate all the flavors in this healthful burrito which was made with the same oversized tortilla as the Tlayuda.

Another companion ordered the La Oaxaqueno, grilled steak along with a cheese emolada, mole sauce, guacamole, rice, and beans. The tender steak hinted of its marinade and the guacamole was clearly made to order. The emolada, or cheese-filled tortilla, is similar to an enchilada, and was sauced with dark mole. Together, everything on the plate said this was classic Oaxaca-style food.

We chatted with owner Heladio Garcia who told us that he also owns a bakery, La Casa Del Pan, located at 2131 S. Muskego Ave., and that he had always wanted to own a restaurant along with a bakery. As soon as he learned Lopez was available, he contacted Jorge Lopez and now he is the proud owner of a restaurant where he can showcase food from his hometown, San Miguel Del Valle. He told us everything on the menu is something we would find in Oaxaca. “Everything is homemade and all the tortillas are made to order,” he added.

When I came back for another meal, I ordered from the House Specialties and picked Molletes — rolls filled with chorizo and potato sauced with smashed black beans and covered with lettuce and Oaxacan cheese. They were beautiful to look at and just as good to taste. My companion’s Empanadas De Amarillo de Pollo were filled with chicken and fruity yellow mole. They looked more like quesadillas than the usual fried or sometimes baked empanadas. Then my companion’s Quesadilla Fritas looked and tasted more like empanadas. Confusing, yes, but all delicious and tasty Oaxacan cuisine.

We finished with cheesecake and churros from the bakery. According to Garcia, the main ingredient in the cheesecake was cream cheese, but we noticed that this cheesecake had an unusually dense texture and less sugar than the usual cheesecake. It was easy to finish the large pieces on our plates, so easy that we were tempted to order seconds. The sugar-coated churros came in three flavors, vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, and like everything else at Oaxaqueno, were freshly made.

We had excellent service and our patient server took time to answer our questions. The restaurant is bright, cheerful, filled with color, and ranchero music set a mood. It is now on my list of Milwaukee’s best Mexican restaurants.

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The Rundown

• Location: 1100 W. Historic Mitchell St.
• Phone: 414-212-8265
• Hours: 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mon-Sun
• Neighborhood: Historic Mitchell Street

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