Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/68592
Dangerously Delicious Pies While adding organic milk to your coffee—from Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Intelligentsia Coffee, Ceremony Coffee Roasters or Barismo—your four-legged friend can snack on Zilla Bonez, Baked & Wired's dog treats. The welcoming shop features a large mural, exposed vents and comfortable furniture. CakeLove: Old-Fashioned, Homey Treats With six bustling locations in the D.C. metro area, CakeLove is a long way from its genesis: informal cake parties at founder-owner Warren's Brown home. But that's indeed how Brown, a former law- yer, entered the dessert business. In 2002, he opened his first bakery in the U Street Corridor. You won't find fancy fondant decorations or sugar flowers here. CakeLove offers simple, "old-school" treats. Sweets run the gamut from traditional layer cakes, brownies and cookies to CakeLove inventions such as Crunchy Feet (mini pound cakes baked in bri- oche pans) and Bedrolls (walnut cake and cream cheese roll-ups). Cakes and cupcakes are the top sellers. Myriad cupcake flavors include the 44 (vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream, caramel and sea salt), Toffee Crunch, Red Velvet, Cherry Blossom, Lime on the Coconut, and S'mores. Brown even came up with a Green Label line of gluten-free, vegan and low-sugar baked goods, all of which can be prepared with four days' notice. CakeLove offers a baker's dozen special for cupcakes, with the thirteenth treat free. On the CakeLove website, visitors can watch video baking lessons, order treats and download the free CakeLove iPhone app, which offers recipes, videos and photos. The media-friendly Brown is a frequent public speaker, hosted "Sugar Rush" on The Food Network from 2005 to 2007, and has authored two books: CakeLove, How to Bake Cakes from Scratch (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2008) and United Cakes of America: Celebrating Recipes from Every State (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2010). Dangerously Delicious Pies D.C.: Classic Recipes Meet Rockabilly Style Music and pie collide in this down-to-earth sweet and savory pie shop in the H Street Corridor. Dangerously Delicious Pies—whose four shops include the original location in Baltimore—was founded by Rodney "The Pie Man" Henry. Henry, the frontman of a popular Baltimore rockabilly band, The Glenmont Popes, learned to bake from his grandmother in Indiana. The key lessons that stuck with Henry: use seasonal fruit in fillings, and shortening and butter in the crust. Among the 50 pies on the shop's menu, 15 to 25 are available each day. Whimsically named and colorfully described, the pies brim with personality and flavor. Just take Full Custom Custard, an egg-custard pie that Henry describes as "white-trash creme brulee." Savory options are equally mouthwatering, such as a rich and hearty Chicken Pot Pie and the gourmet Steak Mushroom Onion and Gruyere Pie. The bak- ery's top seller is the Baltimore Bomb, filled with locally made cookies that melt into a sweet vanilla chess filling. For an extra kick, the bakery will happily add hot sauce to any of its pies. Slices come topped with fresh whipped cream or, for an extra charge, homemade vanilla ice cream. Sandra Basanti, an owner of the D.C. branch, describes the ambience as "comfortable, rustic, classic American with a rock 'n' roll twist." Custom pie safes bearing a distinctive pie- and-crossbones logo are displayed behind the counter. In addition to pies available whole and by the slice, customers will find cof- fee, quiches, live music (featur- ing Henry and other area musi- cians) THE BAKERIES Baked & Wired 1052 Thomas Jefferson St. NW 202.333.2500 bakedandwired.com CakeLove 1506 U St. NW 202.588.7100 cakelove.com Dangerously Delicious Pies DC 1339 H St. NE 202.398.PIES (7437) dangerouspiesdc.com Georgetown Cupcake 3301 M St. NW 202.333.8448 georgetowncupcake .com and local photographers' work lining the red and black walls. A "buy local" display by the register stocks hot sauce, coffee and music. Henry runs pie trucks in D.C., Baltimore and, soon, Philadelphia, with routes announced via Twitter (@ThePieTruckDC). A satellite location of the shop in northwest D.C. and a full shop in Detroit opened in spring 2012. Paul (flagship store) 801 Pennsylvania Ave. NW 202.524.4500 paul-usa.com Sticky Fingers Sweets & Eats 1370 Park Rd. NW 202.299.9700 stickyfingersbakery.com JULY/AUGUST 2012 133 PHOTO: DANGEROUSLY DELICIOUS PIES