late July culinary wanderings

After a few days off from work, I've ventured all over the map for some summer bakery hunting. A visit to my hometown brought me to Marukai, our local Japanese market. Though I was there to investigate baked goods, I had to resist the strong temptation to take advantage of Daikokuya's new Orange County location. If you have not yet sampled their food, know that they produce the ramen dreams are made of-- pure ramen magic if I've ever tasted it! For those of you wanderers who food hunt back and forth between San Diego, Orange County, and LA, their location in Little Tokyo is no longer your only option! Tucked into a strip mall off the 405 freeway, Marukai also offers a food court that includes Beard Papa's notoriously indulgent cream puffs. Beard Papa's is also attached to MamMoth bakery, which features a truly cavity-inducing honey bread among other treats. I could write more about their offerings, but blogger ChubbyPanda has already done so for me in his very thorough blog post.

During my visit home, I took advantage by utilizing the ample kitchen space of my parent's house for a baking opportunity! It's much more spacious than my little studio. After thumbing through my mom's arsenal of cookbooks, I went for an obvious, but classic choice-- recipes from New York's Magnolia Bakery.

While whipping up a batch of chocolate chip almond cookies, I listened to my brother talk about the ten year high school reunion he just attended the night before. The night was full of nostalgia coupled with the reality of ten years passing by-- i.e. classmates faced with a plethora of marriages, trouble with the law, good fortune, high paying salaries--the unpredictability and predictability of life all at once, the stuff of Romy and Michelle. As the stories continued, I thought to myself "This calls for another recipe." Ten years of marriages, jailtime, childbirthing, and career opportunities could not be captured with brevity. I eyed a molasses jar and decided to whip up some random molasses cookie recipe from the label on Grandma's molasses. These cookies were simply delicious and unsophisticated in all of the right ways. (Perhaps a nod to the three for $1 cookies my brother and I once enjoyed from our high school cafeteria. Often slightly undercooked, you could taste the sugar granules in those chocolate chip cookies, but there was something so perfect about them. Grabbing a few at the end of the day meant you were on your way to freedom. It was a little bit of decadence in our bland world of rigid dress codes-- a sweet break from the khaki, navy, collared shirt monotony.)

Walks down memory lane aside, I eventually headed back to my apartment. In efforts to check out a new bakery, I traveled towards Brentwood to give the Belwood bakery a try. Sometimes when I stray from Santa Monica towards Brentwood, I'm a little unsure of what I'm getting myself into. Such was the case that day, when I sat down with my pastries and listened to two stockbrokers arguing over their stance on cell phone etiquette, talking business, and complaining about the youth "with their long hair." Pigeons circled around our crumbs, also noticeably irritated by their loud argument. Can't us Santa Monicans enjoy our pastries in peace?

At least I had happy reading--As I was nibbling on some fluffy bread with chives, I caught an article about Paris bakeries in LA Times magazine, a literal ode to bakery hunting across Paris.

Oh, to be a sweetheart of the freelancing world! If only I could jet set to any pastry of my choice. If only!

Love in the time of cake

Today I joined my friend for a wedding cake tasting at Let Them Eat Cake in my hometown of Costa Mesa.

As I have always told her, the cake is (some might say arguably) the most important part of the wedding. A close second to the one that you love, the cake's importance is immeasurable.

A wedding is quite possibly the only time in an average person's life where you can justifiably spend a substantial amount of money on one decadent dessert. It is a decision that if taken seriously, if given enough weight, can provide one with an opportunity for dessert greatness.

There was a lot to consider at the cake tasting session today-- not only design and taste, but also moral quandaries that only Emily Post could solve! For example, if you have three hundred guests, should you purchase cake by the slice for all three hundred present, or should you take into account that some people will not eat cake, as much as you, Marie Antoinette, or the owners of this shop may implore them to do just that? (Personally, I cannot conceive of leaving a wedding before trying the cake.)

At Let Them Eat Cake, they make everything from scratch, a philosophy I have to appreciate. I learned today that "Nothing is dipped out of a bucket, squeezed out of a tube, etc." A lot of heart and soul goes into their uber-moist creations. They seem to take the cake for taking cake seriously. (Although this was my first official wedding cake tasting, so who knows how intense this can get?) Anyway, at times it gave me goosebumps to be around people who are so passionate about baked creations.

Today I tried flavors including chocolate, Banana's foster pecan cake, Lemon Framboise Cake, and Raspberry Frangelico Cake (the latter was my favorite among the selections). Their website describes it as "Layers of moist butter cake baked with fresh Raspberry and Roasted Hazelnut Chunks and filled with Hazelnut Cream, Raspberry Cream, and Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache." Yes, it was delicious.

One particularly interesting part of their creative process at Let Them Eat Cake is their request that the happy couple mail them a package of clues, with the idea that these clues will inspire the creation of a meaningful and personal cake with a careful attention to detail. These clues are snapshots into who they are, a representation of their desired cake design aesthetic via bridesmaid fabric swatches, portraits, text about where the couple first met, even wedding shower wrapping paper.

While I can appreciate their thoughtfulness, and their overall creative process, I don't know if I would be able to go through with this. Naturally, aesthetics are important at such a special event-- but I would have to place priority on elements that would make the cake taste the very best. Rather than painstakingly designing edible sequins that match my hypothetical dress, give me the most flavor for my money. Give me a cake that will make my taste buds fall in love. Isn't that what weddings are all about?

Black market baked goods...

I was bakery hunting around the lunch hour this Thursday at the Costa Mesa Farmer's Market when I stumbled upon The Black Market Bakery booth. Although I have never been to their storefront, I had checked out their goods once before at the market. On this particular visit, I spoke with one of their employees, Jennifer, a friendly vendor who gave me a sample of their black market bars and some good suggestions about what else to try. I left with an armful of black market loot! (It felt like a steal since all of the breads were on sale-- I came at the very end of the market, so I'm assuming that's why...a very late arrival is a little known farmer's market secret that can potentially ease the damage on your billfold.)

I think what I love most about this bakery is that their website describes their Black Widow tart as "a Joseph Conrad-inspired journey into the possibilities of dark chocolate." Just from that description, I'm guessing that existentialism never tasted so good....

I haven't tried the tart yet, but I did buy a focaccia pocket with mushrooms and shallots, and it made for the perfect lunchtime nibble. I like their theme over at the Black Market Bakery-- it suggests that the their treats are so good, they must be illegal! So next time you're feeling rebellious, risky, or anti-establishment, make your way to the Black Market Bakery and fight the man through your stomach...It's anarchist baking at it's best!! (They should definitely make a t-shirt with that on the back. I will accept payment for my slogan's creative genius in the form of baked goods...)

And speaking of lawlessness, the farmer's market was all kinds of chaotic on Thursday! Those Southern California winds were picking up, and the vendors were getting restless. High velocity winds can mean trouble for the vendor tents, so I pitched in and, in the spirit of Joe Cocker, I gave a little help to my friends. A few of the vendors at the Costa Mesa market work at my farmer's market as well, so I felt right at home. I had a particularly enjoyable time helping the hummus guy pack up his stuff-- he is Algerian and speaks fluent French, so we were able to practice French together as we begged the wind for mercy! (I think it went something like "Au secours!!!")

Cake boom!

Betty Hallock of the L.A. Times features the latest bakery boom in her recent article "Serious bakeries, whimsical cakes". The article features a list noteworthy bakeries to hunt, and also gives us a sense of what's going on in the minds of local bakers. Susan Sarich of Susie Cakes in Brentwood wants to "tap into the nostalgia for all-American desserts". Debra King of CakeWalk(east of downtown) explains that somebody has to stop with the cupcake craze, and says that "it might as well be me". The most exciting news, however, is that Tomi Harase, a well-known chef who used to have a restaurant in Beverly Hills, has returned to his "first love" and opened up a bakery in my hometown! Costa Mesa's Cafe Blanc on E. 17th street sounds like a promising bakery to hunt, and with summer hours lasting until 9 pm on the weekdays and 10 pm during the weekends (Fri & Sat), I can tell this will be a prime spot for my future late night summer bakery cravings. Chef Tomi Harase has a great philosophy too-- on his website he explains that "Here [at Cafe Blanc] we strive to serve happiness and want to communicate to our customers though our desserts and new creations". Well put. Anyone who wants to serve me happiness makes me a happy camper.