We now understand why the whole town of Las Vegas appears to have rolled-up sidewalks on Sunday mornings, the entire town is at Charlie's. We had a breakfast we weren't enthused by up in Colorado, and decided to try a stop in Las Vegas for some pastries or drinks. 

A quick search before we reached the exits brought up Charlie's. When we found parking quickly, though the street and much of the lot across from the restaurant were packed. We were undecided about whether we should dine in or just order from the bakery to go. We opted for the latter, as the restaurant was seriously hopping, but the line at the bakery counter was pretty short, and it was a wonderful day for eating outside.

We ordered one of everything from the half of the bakery cabinet closer to the register, and the server chuckled, telling us that she hears that very often. We expressed understanding, looking at the delectable tarts and Cream Puffs, and assured her we were serious. She packed all the bars, tarts, and the Long John in one box, and gave a separate box for the Cream Puff because it was of astounding proportions.

We went to the plaza and tucked into the Cream Puff right away, and Wow! the pastry portions were light and flaky, and the cream was a departure from the traditional super-sweet pastry creme. It was pretty much the texture and flavor of the most perfect marshmallow fluff, only slightly less sticky and better at holding its shape. It's lucky there were two of us, neither of us could have finished that gargantuan dessert on our own!

We kept the rest of the pastries for the road, and broke into them when we arrived in Albuquerque. That's when we discovered than unlike every other doughnut shop or bakery we have ever encountered, Charlie's does not skimp on the custard filling. The Long John had been injected from both ends, and the creamy, custard center was a thick band all the way through the delightfully fluffy pastry. Total win, I'm not sure I will order custard-filled anything anywhere else now that I've had this one!

Our other selections included Apple, Peach, Cherry, and Prune tarts, and the Lemon and Key Lime bars. Every single one of these were of the finest quality, and big enough for 2-4 people to split as a standard dessert. I have been eating the tarts for breakfast for the last several days, and while they are absolutely the best when fresh, the flavor and texture holds up to refrigeration and reheating quite nicely.  Most remarkable from the rest of these is the Prune tart, which has a crust that tastes like biscochitos, and the richest plum butter I've ever tasted inside. Also notable is the Key Lime bar, which has been getting steadily better each time I have some as a midnight snack!