Every Sunday in my parent’s home I used to wake up to the smell of my mother making coffee, warm water bread (“pan de agua”) on the kitchen table, and brown bags with italian prosciutto, mortadella and swiss cheese. All of these delicious items were brought to us early in the morning by my grandfather from his favorite bakery La Jerezana.
Located at Navas street deep in the heart of Santurce is La Jerezana. The bakery has a loyal following which includes everything from professionals to local drunks. It is not the prettiest of establishments, some even might say that it looks dirty and a bit unsanitary, but it houses the best water bread in town and scrumptious sandwiches. The secret to their bread is the brick oven in which they cook it in which gives it a crunchy texture and a hard to beat taste.
When my grandfather was younger, he used to go to La Jerezana every day to get his morning coffee, talk to the locals, and read his paper. Then he would go about his day. Every time I stayed at my grandparents house, he would take me to the bakery and order for me what is still to this day my favorite sandwich, the prosciutto and swiss cheese sandwich. Sometimes we would even sneak in some sweets for me to take back home, either a sugary donut or a mouth watering quesito.
My grandfather is now 80 years old and sadly his legs don’t work quite as well as they used to, so he can’t visit La Jerezana as often as he would like. This is why, every chance that I get, I stop by the bakery, order my usual, the prosciutto and swiss sandwich in his honor and get a few pastries to take back to him.
So if you are in the area, make sure you stop by and give their sandwiches a try. You won’t regret it. If you like it, make sure to give my grandpa a shoutout and tell them that “Junior” sent you.
[su_note note_color=”#e5e4e2″ class=”infobox1″]Location:
1060 Navas Street, Santurce, Puerto Rico[su_gmap address=” Calle Navas 1060 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00907″]
Telephone: (787) 723-0596
Payment Methods: Cash and ATM.
Parking: Limited parking available in front of the bakery.
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