Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The only other cemitas shop in San Diego

Facebook leads to Lucy’s Bakery & Donuts

Cemita de pierna and pan dulce
Cemita de pierna and pan dulce
Place

Lucy’s Bakery & Donuts

31 31st Street, San Diego

Having recently discovered the Puebla-style torta known as a cemita, I began a countywide search for the thing which led me to one option — a single devoted shop in Vista called Cemitas Fandanguero.

The story I wrote on it even ran with the headline “The only cemitas shop in San Diego,” which is true enough if you stick to traditional internet searches.

But there are other ways to ply the web for info. I tend to avoid crowdsourcing, because it feels like asking the world to do the work for you. However, memory of that tasty cemita lingered fondly, and I hoped to find something like it within easier reach of my pad in South Park. I put down my antiquated ethics and put out the call on the local foodie Facebook group called Eating and Drinking in San Diego.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Didn’t take long. Pretty darn quick foodies alerted me to the presence of Lucy’s Bakery & Donuts, just off Imperial Avenue on 31st. “Lucy’s all day!” someone said.

Lucy’s it would be, then. Nothing left to wait for except lunch time.

Lucy’s Bakery & Donuts

Between the barred windows and security gate, Lucy’s looked closed despite the sign saying it was open every day. Inside, the tiny, cheaply built structure was cramped, with just a couple of tables squeezed between a service counter and glass case filled with assorted Mexican pastries.

Mexican pastries

Tortas are the main feature of the kitchen, with photos of the most popular posted next to the hand-painted menu for easier ordering. Other dishes don’t seem so permanent. I noted a relleno and several eggy breakfast options drawn with marker on colored construction paper.

I was nearly swayed by a chorizo-and-fried-beans torta and another torta simply topped by one of the shop’s tamales. Good reasons to go back, but I was on a cemitas mission.

Lucy’s cemitas poblanas options are simple, provided you understand a little Spanish. You get a choice of milanesa (bread pork cutlet), de pierna (pork leg), or queso derretido (melted cheese), each including slices of avocado and onions. Trying to speak with the friendly staff, my faulty Spanish could only ascertain the pierna was shredded and saucy, explained to me as being similar to an enchilada filling.

Sounded good. I picked out a pan dulce stuffed with chocolate and cream — kind of like a heavy éclair — and waited. I hadn’t asked for it para llevar, but they served it in a paper to-go bag anyway.

About the diameter of a compact disc, the fresh cemita roll was outstanding, super soft and sprinkled with sesame seeds. The rich red chipotle smothering the pork was great considering the $6 price tag, especially with an elastic layer of melted queso holding it together. It reminded me of eating a pulled-pork BBQ sandwich with a Mexican flavor profile. And, yes, I could eat this all day.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Angry Pete’s goes from pop-up to drive-thru

Detroit Pizza sidles into the husk of a shuttered Taco Bell
Cemita de pierna and pan dulce
Cemita de pierna and pan dulce
Place

Lucy’s Bakery & Donuts

31 31st Street, San Diego

Having recently discovered the Puebla-style torta known as a cemita, I began a countywide search for the thing which led me to one option — a single devoted shop in Vista called Cemitas Fandanguero.

The story I wrote on it even ran with the headline “The only cemitas shop in San Diego,” which is true enough if you stick to traditional internet searches.

But there are other ways to ply the web for info. I tend to avoid crowdsourcing, because it feels like asking the world to do the work for you. However, memory of that tasty cemita lingered fondly, and I hoped to find something like it within easier reach of my pad in South Park. I put down my antiquated ethics and put out the call on the local foodie Facebook group called Eating and Drinking in San Diego.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Didn’t take long. Pretty darn quick foodies alerted me to the presence of Lucy’s Bakery & Donuts, just off Imperial Avenue on 31st. “Lucy’s all day!” someone said.

Lucy’s it would be, then. Nothing left to wait for except lunch time.

Lucy’s Bakery & Donuts

Between the barred windows and security gate, Lucy’s looked closed despite the sign saying it was open every day. Inside, the tiny, cheaply built structure was cramped, with just a couple of tables squeezed between a service counter and glass case filled with assorted Mexican pastries.

Mexican pastries

Tortas are the main feature of the kitchen, with photos of the most popular posted next to the hand-painted menu for easier ordering. Other dishes don’t seem so permanent. I noted a relleno and several eggy breakfast options drawn with marker on colored construction paper.

I was nearly swayed by a chorizo-and-fried-beans torta and another torta simply topped by one of the shop’s tamales. Good reasons to go back, but I was on a cemitas mission.

Lucy’s cemitas poblanas options are simple, provided you understand a little Spanish. You get a choice of milanesa (bread pork cutlet), de pierna (pork leg), or queso derretido (melted cheese), each including slices of avocado and onions. Trying to speak with the friendly staff, my faulty Spanish could only ascertain the pierna was shredded and saucy, explained to me as being similar to an enchilada filling.

Sounded good. I picked out a pan dulce stuffed with chocolate and cream — kind of like a heavy éclair — and waited. I hadn’t asked for it para llevar, but they served it in a paper to-go bag anyway.

About the diameter of a compact disc, the fresh cemita roll was outstanding, super soft and sprinkled with sesame seeds. The rich red chipotle smothering the pork was great considering the $6 price tag, especially with an elastic layer of melted queso holding it together. It reminded me of eating a pulled-pork BBQ sandwich with a Mexican flavor profile. And, yes, I could eat this all day.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much
Next Article

Seals hook up with Beaver

Salty’s Escape is a Mexican-Style cerveza brewed with corn and puffed Jasmine rice
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.