Fortuna Bakery & Cafe is tucked away in a small plaza on John Young Parkway beside a church. This cafe also happens to be my Puerto Rican mother’s favorite spot to have an after-mass cappuccino and pandebono, which is a roll made of cassava starch, eggs, cheese, and corn flour. The moment I walked into the bakery I had trouble prying my eyes away from the gorgeous contents of the bakery cases, let alone making decisions about what I wanted to order. This is why I ended up with two handy things; a tray of breakfast pastries and a to-go box filled with cookies and pastries to take home.

This was our first meal of the day, so I had to start things right with a frothy cappuccino. The barista was nice enough to let us prep our small cups with sugar, and I was thankful for the small hint. Once our cappuccinos were topped with whipped cream and cinnamon, there was no stirring anything without getting melty whipped topping everywhere.

I decided on making a breakfast out of a pastel de pollo  and a pastel de espinaca. The chicken pastry was seasoned in a similar way to roasted pork; the filling was desmenuzado or shredded and savory. The spinach pocket was moist, flavorful, and reminded me a lot of collard greens. The ham and cheese pastry was packed with a thick, folded ham and a crumbly white cheese.

My mom ordered a pandebono and a pastel de jamón y queso with her cappuccino. We both happily took half of our breakfasts home — too much goodness for one visit! A pastel de guayava, pastel de manzana, and galletas de cerezas (cherry shortbread cookies) came home with me in a tidy, white box. When I enjoyed the guayava pastry later, the filling was sweeter and a smoother than the guayava pastry from Cafe de Columbia. The apple turnover was moist inside and flaky on the outside — in order words, delicious. My mom and I didn’t even scratch the surface of Fortuna Bakery & Cafe’s selection, so I look forward to many more visits. A handy tip is get to the bakery early! Customers seem to swarm the place after 9:45 a.m. I’ll remember to set my alarm clock.

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T: (407) 855-7070

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