You might be asking yourself what or who is CAO Bakery and why do they appear to be popping up all around town?
As of this writing, there are CAO Bakeries in Downtown Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Kendall, North Miami Beach, Pinecrest, South Beach, Sweetwater, West Kendall, & Westchester. So when I say they’re all around town I’m not exaggerating that there is one near you.
The who is the CAO family. This is the same family that brought us Miami’s most famous Cuban Bakery, Vicky Bakery.
What Tony Cao, grandson of the founders along with his wife Yvette and their business partner Carlos de Varona did was update the bakery with a larger menu.
The looks of the locations have received an update too but this is not a design blog so I’ll focus on the food.
Don’t get worked up since all the classics like their cafecito, pastelitos, croquetas, and empanadas are still available.
They’ve added some soon to be classics like their La Frita CAO, Bacon Maduros, Ropa Vieja Papa Rellena, Arroz con Pollo bites, and their award-winning MedioDia Sandwich.
We’ve got the best of both worlds, old school, and new school.
I’m 100% positive that’s what they were aiming for.
CAO BAKERY MENU
THE DESIGN
THE FOOD
MEDIODIA SANDWICH
I needed to sneak in a mention of the MedioDia Sandwich here at the very end.
In 2019, I hosted a Best Miami Sandwich competition in Little Havana where this sandwich was a slam dunk with the judges.
It’s a guava & cream cheese pastelito with ham and Gouda cheese.
And now you know the story of why they won.
