At Teixeira’s, the main draw is pasteis de nata. People sometimes travel all the way from New York City to try these bite-sized delicacies. The flaky pastry shell is crispy, and the beautifully caramelized custard filling is light as air. The pastry, believed to have been invented in the 18th century in Belem, in the outskirts of Lisbon, is a staple in any Portuguese bakery. But for a country where bread and pastries are serious affairs, the offerings at Teixeira go far beyond pasteis de nata. Read on to learn more about this piece of Portuguese heritage right in Newark.
(Photo credit: @teixeirasbakery)
The History
(Photo credit: @teixeirasbakery)
The bakery is on Ferry Street, the main thoroughfare of Newark’s Ironbound district. The neighborhood saw an influx of Portuguese immigrants beginning in the 1950s due to political turmoil in their home country. By the end of the 1980s, 60 percent of the Ironbound, around 50,000 in number, were of Portuguese descent. Many Portuguese restaurants and specialty food stores that are still operating today were opened by entrepreneurs in the community.
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(Photo credit: @catarina320)
Teixeira’s Bakery hails from that era. Its founder, Manuel Teixeira, whose family had run bakeries in Portugal for 150 years, first opened the shop in Harrison in 1976 and moved it to Newark in the early 1980s. The business is now owned by new investors, according to a New York Times article in 2010, but has retained its old vibes. Neighbors come to drink coffee and read newspapers throughout the day. The store clerks sometimes chat with customers picking up their bread.
What to Order
(Photo credit: @teixeirasbakery)
The best time to visit is in the morning when the air is filled with the warm sweetness of freshly baked goods. Many customers shop for their families, filling large boxes with minhotas, a ring-shaped pastry studded with nuts, or coconut stuffed caracois, snail-shaped bread. If you have time to sit down, get a papo seco, a crunchy roll with a signature cut in the middle, smeared with butter, and wash it down with piping hot Galão, espresso with foamed milk.
(Photo credit: @teixeirasbakery)
One can probably argue that bread, traditionally eaten with all three meals, is an even more iconic piece of Portuguese food than pastéis de nata. The variety at Teixeira’s is dazzling: there are entire racks of loaves of different sizes and shapes.
Other dessert classics like cheesecake and chocolate mousse cake can be found at the bakery – but visit early because they sell out quickly!
(Photo credit: @teixeirasbakery)
To sample some of the most unique varieties, try the broa, a dense corn-and-wheat rounded loaf with beautiful cracks on the crust. It is available by the pound and can be sliced in the shop. Dip it in the housemade caldo verde (a thick kale sausage soup), or top it with sardine preserved in olive oil. For a lighter texture, there is pão de Mafra: the elongated, irregularly shaped loaf with a thin crust and airy interior. It is an extremely versatile bread and is great for sandwiches or on the side of main dishes.
See More: A Guide to New Jersey’s Best Desserts
(Photo credit: @teixeirasbakery)
The bakery runs its own baking facility located at the nearby Kossuth Street and also supplies a large number of supermarkets. You can get Teixeira’s rolls, French loaves, and pan de Manteca (a fluffy bread made with oil) at local grocery stores. ShopRite carries a few different kinds of Teixeira’s bread.
Keep up with the latest from the bakery on its social media pages, Facebook and Instagram.
