Cupcakes in a jar via the US Postal Service

Imagine my surprise when The Great American Bakery Hunt received a whole package of cupcakes in a jar one sunny afternoon from the Bangerang Bake Shop! The sender? Well it was none other than Meera Bonbonerie, regional representative of The Great American Bakery Hunt, Cincinnati chapter. Meera is one of our most thoughtful contributors here at TGABH, and we salute her always. We're pretty sure she sent these to us while traveling the West Indies, but you just never know for certain where M.B. has landed. From Florida to the Nati, from California to the West Indies, we know she's doing great things out there wherever she is, and finding all the best baked goods along the way! (We'd most like to picture her atop the seat of her folding bicycle, sipping on Newman's Own lemonade and chompin' on a frosting-topped cupcake.)

Meera, you've outdone yourself once again!

straight from the Nati the Great American Bakery Hunt receives some mouth-watering butter cookies

A Great American Bakery Hunt sincere thank you goes out to Meera, regional representative of The Great American Bakery Hunt, Cincinnati chapter. After a visit to California, Meera recently
sent us a package of The BonBonerie's finest selection of iced butter cookies. The cookies were truly irresistible, carefully packaged, and surprisingly intact (for such a delicate melt-in-your-mouth cookie). The colorful butter cookies were ready to be eaten and delightful, and they lasted no more than a few hours of my work day before I gobbled up every last bit (with the help of my fellow coworker, another lucky recipient of the BonBonerie's package). It was a great and very thoughtful surprise, as well as history making for The Great American Bakery Hunt, as it remains the first and only bakery discovered in the uncharted state of Cincinnati. Meera, you have helped T.G.A.B.H. reach unprecedented locations on the bakery map! Going back to those third grade history lessons, I can only imagine that this feeling is akin to the sentiments felt by early explorers as they discovered new and distant lands. Evils of colonization aside, it's always pretty darn exciting to explore! Grab your compass, Meera, and follow the scent of vanilla West-- you will always be welcome to explore with us when you're back in California! Kudos, also to the BonBonerie, I will surely visit you if ever I'm in the area-- your butter cookies left me wanting more indeed.

The City Bakery: more than meets the eye!

I recently discovered the City Bakery, a famous New York transplant, just a 10 minute drive from my apartment. Its LA location is nestled within the Brentwood Country Mart, a trendy shopping center around San Vicente and 26th.

Don't let it's upscale appearance fool you: While the City Bakery's cafeteria-style selections offer customers such choices as roasted endives, they also sell freshly made down home dishes like their Mac and Cheese by the pound. Granted, this is a $10 a pound purchase, but this piping hot M & C definitely looks better than your typical boxed macaroni.

There is something so inviting about this bakery-- friendly service compliments an enticing variety of baked goods, including a famous Pretzel Croissant that has a legendary following from its East Coast beginnings that has now reached the diaspora of baked good lovers across the country.

As a California native who only recently made my first trip to New York, I never knew until last year the abundance of bakeries I was missing out on in The Big Apple. It's nice to get a piece of that here on the West Coast.

Thus far, I have made two trips to The City Bakery. I've tried two of their apple creations, the apple sticky bun and the miso apple muffin (made with yogurt instead of butter). I found both to be a fresh and satisfying experience. Yet what I was most pleasantly surprised by was their chocolate chip cookie, a large, soft, and fresh find among the often too-crunchy or over-baked cookie landscape of Southern California.

The benefits of The City Bakery extend beyond the food-- it is also an oasis from the heavily wi-fi'd out coffee houses of Los Angeles. While I applaud free internet access and caffeine in one spot, it's refreshing to discover an opportunity to unplug and read a regular newspaper-- to sip your cappuccino, get newsprint on your hands, and enjoy some quality baked goods.

It's fitting that this bakery experience made me feel as if it was keeping me in touch with the surrounding world. After doing some more research, I discovered that The City Bakery is tied to another baking venture dedicated to environmental awareness. Birdbath, Neighborhood Green Bakery, bakes in their East Village location and transports goods by bicycle-driven cargo rickshaw to their West Village shop. Milk and cream served in the store comes from a family farm north of Manhattan. And, they offer a 25% discount if you arrive on skateboard or bike.

With my love for alternative transportation, baked goods, and dairy products combined this bakery sounds like my cup of tea!

I'm still waiting to try the legendary Pretzel Croissant-- it seems like a croissant of these legendary proportions warrants a special occasion, so stay tuned.

From California to Baltimore, it's Taco Tuesdays and German Thursdays galore

In Southern California, we start the week off right with our much beloved tradition of Taco Tuesdays. For those of you who are not familiar with Taco Tuesday, it is a day when you are guaranteed to find a wealth of Mexican food to feast on for well under $6. On this day, Mexican food restaurants lower their prices, giving wallets a break so you can guiltlessly partake in all the piping hot tacos your heart desires. For taco lovers in Southern California, Taco Tuesday means freedom.

I don't know how the Taco Tuesday trend originally started, but by God, I'm not going to question it. Ever.

There are endless possibilities when it comes to Mexican food in Southern CA. Travel five miles in any direction and it is likely you will find several Taco Tuesdays occurring all around you. But for all you locals out there, the best Taco Tuesday around is at Taco Mesa on 19th street in Costa Mesa. Los Golondrinas comes in a close second. (For all of you serious taco hunters out there, check out L.A. based taco blogger at The Great Taco Hunt).

Taco Mesa remains my longtime neighborhood favorite. Although my devotion to bakery hunting never wavers, I do often have serious Taco Mesa cravings (particularly when Monday night rolls around).

During any typical week in my life, Tuesday is my most favorite food day. Taco Mesa's original Costa Mesa location is the only way to go. Positioned in a rather unglamorous spot across from the Costa Mesa DMV and next to a MacDonald's, it looks any other typical Mexican eatery from the outside (nothing to blog home about). But anyone who has sampled the greatness of their menu knows better. For this Costa Mesa diamond in the rough, outside appearances are incredibly deceiving. On Tuesdays, Taco Mesa sells tacos for $1 a piece. I can say with confidence that it's the best Taco Tuesday in town! If I were to ever have a firstborn, I would have to consider naming said firstborn Taco Mesa in honor of all of the amazing food I have eaten there over the years. I will be their loyal customer for eternity. (You can also try Taco Rosa for a slightly more upscale version of their food).

Food days definitely make the week go by faster-- anyone who has visited Acapulco's $2 margarita mondays knows this to be true. Speaking of "food days", it turns out that if I ever move to North Baltimore, I'll be able to participate in German Thursdays. Nicole Fuller of the Baltimore Sun reports that the Edelweiss Bakery and Cafe offers German Thursdays to customers in a weekly celebration of German culture. With a name like Friedersdorf, it's about time I get in touch with my German roots. Once a year at Oktoberfest just isn't enough. Bring on the German Thursdays Baltimore! Prost!