Crumb Grabbers Birthday Cupcake

Birthday Cupcake
Crumb Grabbers Bakery, free (!)

Crumb Grabbers Bakery is a popular spot for light meals and treats located in a friendly-looking house on a side street just off Sequim's main drag.   I had to elbow through the lunch crowd to reach the bakery counter, but that effort quickly paid off.

"It's our one-year anniversary," said the woman behind the counter, "Would you like a free birthday cupcake?"

Giddy with good fortune, I rushed out to the less-crowded parking lot to enjoy my freebie.  The chocolate-on-chocolate cupcake was moist and not too sweet, with a good balance of frosting to cake--even factoring in the frosting that mysteriously ended up on my face and shirt.

Crumb Grabbers Bakery 

492 W Cedar St

Sequim WA

360/504-2031

Velvet Artisinal Teacakes

Teacakes

Velvet, $1 each

Velvet dispenses serious coffee and frivolous baked goods from a diminutive corner shop in New Orleans' ritzy Audobon neighborhood. The coffees are carefully curated and include Stumptown, Ritual, and Verve, made using your pick of methods; there's an espresso bar with the usual range of options, and three "slow bar" choices: a Chemex, a syphon, and a pour-over system.

The tiny kitchen also bakes and cranks out light meals. Featured treats included homemade pop-tarts and "artisanal teacakes"--a.k.a. bite-sized cupcakes. The vast selection caused me to panic a little and pick a couple of cakes that seemed reassuringly familiar: a "Sour Puss" (lemon cake stuffed with homemade blackberry jam with blueberry on top) and a "Coconut" (chocolate cake with buttercream coconut top). Only later, when read the full menu on Velvet's website, did I have a little twinge of buyer's remorse--and hunger. I could have had:

Mast Brothers Syphon: syphoned hand sorted Stumptown coffee w/Mast Brothers bar cake stuffed center as well as Madagascar chocolate frosting

NOLA: yellow cake-praline stuffed-praline frosting

WHO DAT: saffron rice filled cake with Creole frosting

Blood Orange: orange cake with a slice of blood orange stuff inside with orange frosting

Blue Flower: Mem Imports Earl Grey tea cake, blue flower frosting

Velvet Espresso Bar and Artisanal Teacakes

5637 Magazine St

New Orleans, LA

504/450-2129