La Asunción & Tamales Panaderia

Driving the areas below downtown, canvassing voters for the '24 presidential election, I told my co-worked that I wanted to stop off for a snack. I went for a taco at the hidalgo style barbacoa place, she came into La Asuncion.When I met her in there I noticed something peculiar about the pictures on the wall. One of them showed a quesadilla, bifurcated to reveal the bodies of several crickets. When asked, the woman at the counter identified herself as Oaxacan. I apologized to my co-worker and told her how we will be returning to La Asuncion later for lunch. She had an easy going attitude about it. I thanked her. Back again, I ordered a tlayuda with chorizo and chapulin (crickets). A tlayuda exists under the general domain of the tostada. An ultra thin, yet ultra wide disk of dough is cooked on a flat surface and comes up a little crisp, a little leathery, and a little burnt. A smear of a lardy black bean puree is applied and so is a web of the dry stringy oaxacan cheese. The aforesaid is the base trim tlayuda. I asked for mine with chorizo - the Oaxacan kind - formed like a string of pearls, very orange, very large and very porky pearls. Of course, I also got the crickets. A group of three middle aged Pinoys were in that day. We struck up a conversation. They spoke of having spent the previous Dia de los Muertos in Oaxaca. They came to grab a loaf of pan de muerto. I recommended they order a huitlacoche quesadilla. They were nice people and asked to take some pix of my cricket studded tlayuda.The crickets are more about the optics than the sabor. As they are dried with lime and salt, they taste of lime and salt, which is good, just not really crickety. But their partly crunchy/partly chewy bite matches that of the tlayuda. The beans are rich with manteca. Lettuce onion and tomato freshen up the affair. And the chorizo gives the zest. The cajera/cocinera armed me with a squeeze bottle of a dried chili salsa. The heat, fat, and direct bug protein makes for an invigorating experience.

La Asuncion Oaxacan Bakery/Bites preserves heritage and gastronomic traditions from the Pre-Hispanic era. Come here for your Day of the Dead colorful sugar skulls and decorative Pan de Muerto. Or, dive into a good representation of Oaxacan cuisine. Decolonize Your Diet!You'll find tasty lunchy-snacky bites here you won't find elsewhere in the city. Please be patient with Doña Martha as she's the only one in the kitchen cooking.In her baked goods display, you will find:PAN DE MUERTO - Day of Dead edible bread art with the dead depicted in a very Art Deco Tamara Lempicka style.PAN DE YEMA (DE HUEVO) - Egg Yolk Bread, a staple in Oaxacan cuisine with strict rules about size, weight, egg ratio.PAN DE CAZUELA (or, DE TLACOLULA) - oddly shaped bread due to the baking vessel. Ever so subtle chocolate, raisins, cinnamon, anise. Quintessentially Oaxacan!EMPANADAS - recognizable sweet-filled empanadas (strawberry, coconut, or pineapple)Bakery breads here are not as sweet or showy as other panaderias - most are intended for dunking with your café de olla.For lunch/a bite, just ask and order what's available that day. Here's what's possible:TLAYUDA (like a rustic large flatbread tostada tortilla) - tasajo is beef organs jerky style. Warning: it's tougher/salty (not to my taste). Try the chorizo, cecina enchilada (marinated pork or beef), pollo (chicken), mole (chocolate sauce) version.EMPANADAS AMARILLO: Yellow empanadas with chicken. A Oaxacan delight which you'll recognize as a folded tortilla stuffed with a slightly spicy chicken stew rather than a proper empanada.MEMELAS/PELLIZCADAS - rustic flat sopes with a mole spread, a little drizzle of cream, and topped with quesillo (Oaxacan semi-hard white cheese like string or mozzarella cheese) and then topped with chorizo, beef, or chicken). The chorizo was lovely. A favorite!QUESADILLAS - large tlayuda tortilla stuffed with quesillo cheese and your choice: grasshoppers, sautéed squash blossom, or huitlacoche (corn smut/fungus) or meat choices like barbacoa, chorizo, beef jerky (tasajo)TAMALES - salsa roja or verde (red or green sauce), mole (chocolate based sauce), rajas con queso (poblano chile and cheese) and the very special puerco puñete (which means "punch" and shaped like little tamale balls stuffed with beans and sometimes pork or other meats). Again, something you're really not going to find unless you travel into the region. These are rumored to taste good even when cold.CHILAQUILES - tortilla casserole with eggs and/or meat. Typically, a breakfast dish though good anytime!For a refreshing treat, Oaxacan nieves (snow) are served here. Like an ice/snow cone or sorbet, nothing like ice cream or custard.TUNA - Prickly Pear CactusLECHE QUEMADA - an unusual and delightful smoky milk flavor. I've never had anything like it and yet, it's vaguely familiar. It's best served Oaxacan style with a little of the tuna (prickly pear cactus) on top, Other flavors NUEZ (Walnut), LIMON (Lime), NUEZ (Walnut), MAMEY, COCO(nut), FRESA (Strawberry), MANGO.CAFE DE OLLA - coffee with cinnamon and brown sugar, it's really delightful on a cold, blustery day.In the same shopping center as Every Grain (a culinary hotspot), La Asuncion is a kinda small, cluttered,unkempt space for maybe 8 people total and it's perfect that way. Sometimes, there's a little rush for bread. Most of the time, it's empty and unassuming. I'm so glad I ventured in and spent a little time learning about this cuisine. While I am Mexican, this region is unfamiliar to me and I'm learning and loving it and have ordered some cookbooks to start experimenting and using the ingredients I bought. Buen Provecho/Enjoy!P.S. Be sure not to miss the specialty ingredients sold for Oaxacan cooking at home including:TOMILLO (Thyme) from OaxacaSAL DE GUSANITO - Ground worms in salt used as a smoky/salty Pre-Hispanic protein with mezcal or on any dish that needs a little extra insect. ;)HIERBA DE CONEJO - Rabbit's Herb, relative to the daisy used to make black beans,GARBANZO Y FRIJOL MOLIDO - Ground Beans to make soup, OAXACAN CHOCOLATE - used as a culinary ingredient rather than to enjoy on its own, CHAPULINES - Grasshoppers, great in tacos (totally!)COPAL- not edible, used for altars. Mayans used it as incense and as a spiritual thing. Can be used for everyday atmospheric scentCHINTEXTLE - refrigerated wild smoked chili paste made from shrimp, pasilla chiles, avocado leaves, spices, nuts like pecans/almonds, herbs. It's like an ancient Clif Bar paste. Warriors & workers spread this on to tlayuda (large rustic tortillas) to take it with them for energy. Use it as a spread for fish and meats in cooking.Ingredients here sound super exciting - temper expectations. These are very humble ingredients from an ancient cuisine - sometimes much milder and sometimes spicier/more pungent than expected and sold in little plastic bags. :)

My favorite little bakery that serves yummy food,drinks and pastries! The ice cream is the best part

0 una verdadera porqueria todo el tiempo te venden pan frío y duro y con mala actitud. Cero recomendado!!!

My parents are from. Oaxaca I was born here but due to an immigration situation I was raised in Oaxaca till I was 12. This place has the best pan and antojitos Mexican in town. Their memelitas are soooo good, their quesillo is the best. I always get their cafe de olla and it just hits the spot. Due to this place being a small business it's usually only one older lady that is working there making the wait a little long for your food but in my opinion is worth it. if you have never had food from Oaxaca but you want to try it please check them out! You won't regret it!!!

This place is absolutely delicious. While it may be a bit small and menu options can be limited, the food tastes so authentic. It's rare to get Oaxaca food here in Las Vegas especially without the "American flare" or twist. Everything is made by hand and while it can be a wait, it's 100% worth it. I'm all for supporting small businesses and this one I can stand behind for sure. Español--Este lugar me fascina, la comida esta riquísima y 100% auténtica. Muy chula la abuelita que esta cocinando y atiende bien. No miento que aveces puede tardar en hacer la comida pero tiene mi respeto porque es la única cocinando y atendiendo. No es comida rápida chatarra. Apoyo los negocios chicos y voy a seguir apoyando este lugar. Lo recomiendo 100%