Special Delivery from New York to LA: a Levain Bakery oatmeal cookie makes a West Coast appearance

A long overdue shout out goes out to Alexis Madrid for bringing The Great American Bakery Hunt a cookie all the way back from Levain Bakery in New York.  As you can see, Alexis thoughtfully placed this cookie in a plastic baggie for travelin', labeled it with care, and delivered it to my desk in Los Angeles! 

While at the Levain Bakery, Alexis made the bold choice of the oatmeal raisin cookie to offer as a sampling to the Great American Bakery Hunt.  I'll admit, sometimes I'm a little skeptical of the oatmeal raisin cookie.  When presented with one, I try to keep an open mind, but inevitably find myself longing for the raisins to somehow magically turn into chocolate chips.  However, Levain Bakery could cause any chocolate chip lover to shift their cookie preference paradigm.  This oatmeal cookie, brilliantly chewy, flavorful, and massive in size, finally does justice to the oatmeal raisin genre.  So before you dismiss the oatmeal raisin cookie, you should certainly get a nibble of this one.


Thanks again Alexis!  I have to say I am touched and quite impressed that you were able to transport this cookie to me without first devouring it at JFK.  This one was a real showstopper!

The only friendly parking restriction sign in Los Angeles

SusieCakes in Brentwood recently installed these awesome parking restriction signs (complete with bakery humor) out in their back parking lot.  In a city where lack of parking causes strife, and parking restriction signs threaten legal action,  this sign is hereby deemed by The Great American Bakery Hunt to be the friendliest (and maybe the only friendly) parking restriction sign in all of Los Angeles. 

Pictured above: Susie Cakes fluffy marble cake with chocolate and vanilla buttercream, a personal favorite

This is what I like to call a win-win situation

You'd be wise to hurry up and get yourself to Eagle Rock soon to try Four's blood orange tart.  According to our Great American Bakery Hunt sources, this heavenly tart has only a few more days until removal from the menu.  While I haven't been to the storefront yet, I was able to sample these after receiving a box of surprise birthday pastries.  Being a blood orange fanatic, this was definitely my favorite of the three.  At least there's no downside to the seasonal menu-- when one thing leaves the menu, there's sure to be another equally delicious thing to replace it.  Four, that's what I like to call a win-win situation.

The way to a woman's heart

You may have heard that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.  But what you didn't know is that the way to a woman's heart is through driving to Glendora, CA to pick her up a seasonal fresh strawberry donut from the LA landmark Donut Man.   Now, this strawberry donut is a much finer gesture than jewelry, flowers, or any other stereotypical woman gift you can insert here.  So ignore your assumptions about what women want, throw away those books about improving your relationship, and book it to Glendora.  All great relationships lead back to this donut.  


915 East Route 66, Glendora, CA 

Sweet Rose Ice Cream delivers delicious nostalgia to LA

On a rare day off from work, my mom and I went to Sweet Rose at the Brentwood Country Mart to get a couple of ice cream cones. Awhile back, I learned about the intended opening of Sweet Rose after reading some LA food gossip, after which my mouth watered for several months in anticipation of enjoying their small batch ice cream on a hot California day.  Well, my dear readers, today that day finally came.  Since Sweet Rose is brought to us by the same folks behind Rustic Canyon and Huckleberry, I knew I was in for a grand treat. The old school aesthetic of Sweet Rose is inviting to the passerby, with its root beer and cream soda taps, freezer case of ice cream sandwiches, and chalkboard menus. Sweet Rose delivers all the nostalgia of the post-school day ice cream stop-- you should prepare yourself that their salted caramel flavor can actually bring you so much joy that you feel like a kid again.  Well, unless you're already a kid.  And then you should realize that you're a kid with a particularly sophisticated palate if you are enjoying salted caramel small batch ice cream on a regular basis.  They say people grow up fast in LA...  

At the same time, there's nothing better than your mom buying you an ice cream cone on a sunny day and having a good talk, no matter what age you are!

The Great American Bakery Hunt to attend International Food Blogger Conference in Seattle!

The Great American Bakery Hunt is attending the International Food Blogger Conference in Seattle!  I am really pumped to attend this conference, which will be the perfect wrap-up to a summer of running camp sessions, a season when I have little time to blog and most of my culinary conversations involve camp food.  (Don't get me wrong, camp food has its charms, but I miss being able to spontaneously cook whatever I want or discover hole in the wall eateries in LA!) 


Anyway, I am looking forward to learning from everyone, bringing some good ideas back from the conference, meeting others from the food blogosphere, and to eating Seattle food and wandering around Pike's Place.

So please, stay tuned...
You may have noticed that my posts are minimal lately, but have no fear, the hunt is on!   I must take somewhat of an annual hiatus during summertime due to working at a year-round camp for kids, but the hunt will be back in full force this fall.  Thanks for reading!