La Ideal Bakery

Cakes, cookies, pastries, and tortillas are all good here. They are made daily. The prices are cheap! My favorite is the huge 3 leches cakes for $25

La Ideal means the ideal bakery; how do you say misnomer in Spanish again?Don't get me wrong, La ideal is decent enough at what it does, which is mix water and flour and coat it with sugar, but there are many Mexican bakeries that do the same a whole lot better, like El Bolillo. Glass cases are stocked with an array of pastries so varied that person behind the counter might not be able to tell you exactly what is what. It doesn't really matter though, as everything I had tasted basically the same, sweet and unhealthy. Just pick out the ones that look the most appealing to you and take them home and have them with coffee, or if you need a CPA just go through the hole in the wall to the place next door. La ideal's most appealing characteristics are their prices, or lack of thereof really. You can feed your entire family with enough sugar to send them into a diabetic coma for under 10 dollars, you just cant beat that. You might be taking a gamble by picking random, unknown pastries off a shelf, but at about $0.50 a pop, the gamble is at least more on your taste buds than on your pocket book. What you cannot go wrong with, however, are the tasty bolillos that are 3/$1 most days and 5/$1 on Tuesdays. They will render you incapable of paying the outrageous prices commanded by the modern grocery store baguette now that you are reminded of just how inexpensive water and flour really are.

This place gets two stars only because the cashier was really friendly, but as far as the product.... I think for the price you can get way better quality at El Bolillo. We got 10 different pieces and I did not like any of them. They were all over salted and stale. We did go right before they closed but no bakery should offer stale products, especially if it's a small family owned chain. So GREAT customer service but horrible bread.

They have some of the best cajeta empanadas in Houston and if you show up early enough, you'll get freshly baked bolillos.

Holy Carb Crack, Batman! My friend Edgar brought some crack-like-carb filled banana pineapple muffins to a picnic recently. I almost didn't get one, but I am sure glad I got the last two. When I got home and ate them I about died. They were so GOOD! Well, I got the 411 on their location and headed over to La Ideal Bakery to pick up some more for myself. Edgar told me they were 70 cents each, but I thought he must have been mistaken, because they were too yummy and huge for that price. Maybe he had time traveled back to 1980? Well, I arrived that La Ideal before heading to dinner on Washington Ave. The lady at the counter was putting more items out for the evening. She was happy to help and showed me the different items in the cabinets. She was a bit used-car-salesmen trying to sell me everything under the sun. I actually ended up with 12 of the banana flavored pineapple filled muffins. They are so damn good. I also picked up 2 huge apple turnovers and 2 huge gingerbread things (they aren't cookies or muffins, I really don't know what they are besides dense bread). All 16 items for $11. Crazy! She even put them in a lovely box. They are open until 9:00 pm every day of the week! I kind of wish she hadn't told me because now I'll be there far too often.If you LOVE baked goods or even just like them a little, head over to this place. It's totally a hole in the wall bakery and they share space with a tax preparation business (there is a huge opening in the wall between them) so the whole set up is kind of strange. But, it is totally worth it for these baked goods. In addition to what I got, there were several items filled with cheese, pumpkin empanadas, etc... They have a wide selection. I wish I had had more time to browse, but friends were waiting on me for dinner. I will be back... over and over and over.

Best.Tamales in Houston. I've had tamales in so many places in Houston and this is seriously the best (Texas Star bakery in Galveston is legit too). The masa is very soft and flavorful. The meat inside is also very flavorful. Doesn't need salt and salsa. My husband who hates tamales or he doesn't understand the appeal of tamales even says it is the best. He ate 1 by himself. If you want tamales, buy them here. Come early though. Everyone in the morning comes for tamales and $1 coffee. The lady and the man who I'm assuming are the owners are very pleasant. I want this place to be known for their tamales and not just their baked goods. Buy 1 or a dozen but 1 should be enough. They are huge. You won't be disappointed.

3.5 stars for this cute little mom-and-pop bakery across Shepherd from the ultra-busy Heights Kroger. After having busted my Ultimo Taco Truck cherry on a sunny, cool Saturday, I was hankering for some more Latin goodness.The place is your standard panaderia set-up: aluminum platters and plastic tongs by the door, glass-front wooden cases showcasing the goods, and paper signs advocating the use of the tongs (and not your hands). A small refrigerated case sits in the middle with some custard-based items, primarily flan.After discovering an item called Pan Colombiano (crescent shaped pastry filled with sweetened cream cheese - sometimes with some coconut added), I've been frequently dreaming of a repeat encounter. This bakery does have these items but sans the coconut - I bought 3 of them at 80 cents each.An item that looked like a wider flatter muffin caught my eye and I asked the lady what it was; she said it was banana bread filled with pineapple. Upon the mention of pineapple (I am a pineapple freak, among other things.), I was sold and took one. This item costs 70 cents. Scrumptious!Carbs and I have an unhealthy co-dependency - at this point, I hurried to pay and leave before I loaded that tray with more "carb crack". Cash only - the total came to $3.10 and I tore into one of the pan Colombianos in the car. After that, I tore off a little sliver of the muffin and it was moist and fruity: a delicious combination and I hadn't gotten to its golden pineapple core.In the privacy of my home, I made like a "Cookie Monster" and ate the balance of that first crescent. After dinner, I ate a second one. The muffin did not survive the night since I ate it before bed. Did I mention it is "carb crack"? If you're anywhere near the busy Heights Kroger, throw a few bucks to this local business and satisfy your own baked good cravings.