When I stopped in at La Monarca for a couple of my favorite pastries in all of Los Angeles, the taquitos with guava and cheese filling, I realized that I need to share this delightful cafe and bakery with my friends and others who enjoy authentic Mexican pastries.

La Monarca has several locations around L.A., but the one I go to is at the corner of Wilshire and Euclid in Santa Monica… not a neighborhood known for its Mexican cuisine. The pastries are always wonderfully fresh – I’m so obsessed with the guava taquitos that I haven’t yet tried all of the varieties, but I can strongly recommend the conchas, wedding cookies and café de olla.

It’s a friendly place with a warm atmosphere and great coffee. I stop in whenever I’m in the neighborhood… In fact I think La Monarca is the reason I never changed my dry cleaner on Euclid Street when I moved away from Santa Monica a few months ago.

Here’s the website: http://lamonarcabakery.com/