La Abundancia

It's the last day of November, and yes, I went another two months without writing, and without much eating, and I do have some good excuses, I swear, but not going to get into them now. The important thing is that I did actually make one tiny little stop on Roosevelt Avenue during the month, and am finally sitting down and typing it up. After a filling and very cheap dinner at Lao Bei Fang Dumpling House (write-up to come) in Elmhurst with some fine eating companions (Rachel, Stella, and Helena) we were still looking for a little something sweet, as usual, and made our way down Broadway towards the corner of Roos and 75th, to the large, brightly-lit, green-tabled oasis that is La Abundancia Colombian Bakery for a slice of dulce de leche cake.


The roulade was a surprising dessert. I was expecting it to be dry and overly sweet, as roulades covered in dulce de leche can sometimes be. But the cake was dense and moist, the dulce was not cloying or overpowering, and the shredded coconut exterior added a nice textural contrast to the softness of the cake, saving it from becoming boring. But, you may be asking, how do four girls who have the capacity to eat as much cake as we do (see cake-off here) share just one slice? Well, we did get a few other desserts.

Flan, which we quickly concurred was far too eggy and a touch overcooked.

And a sweet bread that was filled with guava. A thin and crackly crust, then an even thinner layer of guava surrounding a sweet ball of dough. If we had a cup of coffee to dip into, it might have been more satisfying, but not our favorite.

The steam tables with daily lunch and dinner specials look tempting, with stews and rice and beans and that sort of stuff. The empanadas and other fried snacks looked tasty as well. But I went to La Abundancia for the dulce de leche cake, and stayed for the company, and the green tables. I love those tables.

La Abundancia Bakery
75-02 Roosevelt Avenue, Jackson Heights