(Sweet Lady Jane Cakes–Hmm–Maybe It's Time For an Un-Birthday)
Question: (Posed by anon via "Ask Lifestyle Questions!"–2/19/09)
Since you know everything good in L.A., I'm wondering if you have any thoughts on where to get a great birthday cake.
Answer: Moi? You're too kind. I don't know everything good in L.A. Just ALMOST everything. Hee.
Now, let's get down to cake business! YUM. Obviously, there are a million places to go, but here are some varied options below:
1. Eagle Rock Italian Bakery is a hardcore real deal Italian bakery in this burgeoning hipster east side hood. (If you trek here, you CANNOT skip a drink at The Chalet and dinner at Casa Bianca, a red-checkered tablecloth Italian pizza joint and neighborhood standard up the street–fried eggplant pizza and cannolis are the famed choices). The bakery's traditional Italian birthday rum cakes are unbelievable and CRAZY inexpensive and you get to pick yellow, pink or blue flowers. I told you: OLD SCHOOL. As my grandmother used to bring us versions of this from Brooklyn as children, I searched high and low and was incredibly psyched when I made this discovery.
2. Any true Angeleno worships the ground that
Sweet Lady Jane walks on. All the cakes in this sweet little Melrose WEHO cafe are beyond DELICIOUS and ridiculously beautiful looking (though not so cheap), but their famous Three-Layer Berry Cake is the best (I think).3.
Buttercake Bakery in Culver City (well, adjacent) has a yummy, sort of a homemade feel, but with professional level deliciousness. I'm a glutton for their classic Signature Buttercake with traditional vanilla cake and chocolate frosting (you can choose other frosting, but pleeeaase). If it ain't broke:) They're opening a WEHO annex shortly.4. Okay, I know this goes against some of what I preach, but, as vegan cakes go, I'm a big fan of the Carrot Cake from Cooks Double Dutch Jivana Vegan Bakery. It's seriously yummy and moist. For reaaals. So, you can have your cake and let me eat it too! Best of all worlds . . .
xo – N.