The Recipe to a Loyal Following

Pacific World of Cobblers is a place that’s always rolling in dough.

For eight years, this tiny Crenshaw-area bakery has been turning out specialty cobblers worthy of a mention in the Michelin Guide Book restaurant survey.

Taste the cobblers and you’ll see why. Come early in the day and watch the pastry being prepared in the tiny kitchen behind the counter. The production pace is virtually nonstop--about 400 to 500 pies are made per week.

The most popular choice is peach cobbler. Blackberry, filled thick with fruit and light on the sugar, is another favorite. Other choices include raspberry, blueberry, cherry, apple and sweet potato.

The bakery requests 24 hours’ notice for orders. Cobblers can also be purchased frozen and baked at home. For last-minute shoppers, the bakery’s display case always has a few cobblers available.

Pacific World of Cobblers, located in a mini-mall between a beauty parlor and a barber shop, was opened by Janie Lee Bradford, who died last fall.

As a youngster, she had developed a lifelong love of cooking. When Bradford became dissatisfied with her career as a parole officer, she quit and purchased a restaurant in the Crenshaw district. The restaurant thrived for more than 15 years until she discovered that selling cobbler as a side business was equally profitable.

She sold the restaurant and opened the cobbler bakery. Today, the bakery is still family-owned and operated by Bradford’s husband, Erdx, and daughter Cathie.

Customers come from near and far.

“It’s the consistency in their recipes (that sets them apart),” said Khris Terrell, a longtime customer and Los Angeles resident. “I can vouch for the quality.”

Pacific World of Cobbler, 3415 W. 43rd St., Los Angeles. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Information: (213) 295-2059.