• first look: babycakes in los angeles

    39
    January 3rd, 2010quarrygirlbabycakes, LA restaurants

    happy sunday, everyone! we just got back from the grand opening of LA’s very first all vegan bakery, babycakes. while they have existed in new york city for quite sometime, the downtown los angeles location opened at 10am this morning, and there was a healthy crowd of customers to greet them.

    with a focus on organic ingredients and lots of gluten-free menu items, babycakes’ treats are probably healthier than most, and i think they are just as delicious. i left with a whopping haul that included a chocolate-covered donut, some gluten-free brownie bites, a cookie, a cupcake, and a brilliant invention called a “cupcake top” (just the frosting and a thin sliver of cake).

    here’s a quick review of each item. the donut was decent, the best part of it being the frosting; definitely a less-decadent vegan dessert item. the cupcake top was perfect for me, because i’m the kind of person who likes to just eat the frosting off stuff anyway.

    the cookie was a little disappointing, kind of dry and not very flavorful. the brownie cupcake was excellent, there were even little chocolate chips littered throughout the cake.

    and lastly, the tiny 99¢ brownie bite was INCREDIBLE. it was small, full of chocolate chips, and had creamy frosting in the middle. shocking, but it was the best thing i ordered!

    overall i really enjoyed babycakes’ baked goods and i can’t wait to go back. vegans, you should head over there and give this place a try. by the time i left, there were many many satisfied customers.

    here are some more photos of the shop for your enjoyment:

    babycakes
    130 East 6th Street (between S. Main Street and S. Los Angeles Street)
    Los Angeles, CA
    Telephone: 213.623.5555

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33 responses to “first look: babycakes in los angeles” RSS icon

  • HOW do you do this so fast? I’m just leaving home to buy some cupcakes and you’ve already gone there eaten the stuff and blogged about it. I wish I could eat your blog posts, id never have to leave the fucking house.

  • yep, agree with @davie. edible blogs would be awesome. we’re still getting motivated to go there, just hoping they have some cookies n’cream when we arrive.

  • In love with this picture gallery.

  • If I didn’t see I wouldn’t believe it!!! FINALLY!

  • Of course LA’s best vegan blogger was there. Did they at least give you a free cupcake? I was there at 11am.

  • Thanks for the post. I went today after I read this, and the brownie muffins were so goo! I didn’t like the cookies though. But wow, brownie fudge for under a buck. Hope they do well!

  • Hipstertown, USA

  • I was underwhelmed with my experience at BabyCakes in NYC and I’m cleansing, so the LA location is one I’ll hit up later in the year. To be fair, I only tried cupcakes and not a brownie bite, and I will make it a point to try one next time. I do have the cookbook, but I haven’t made anything from it yet. Looks like they had a great turn-out and I’m always so happy to see vegan businesses getting a lot of traffic.

  • I thoroughly enjoyed my skinny bun and chocolate crumcakes, both were very good, didn’t bother to trying the other things.

  • Agreed that the opening was full of delicious things today, but what’s with a vegan bakery offering cow’s milk and half and half with their coffee?

  • This is a place that I must visit! It looks like the pastries are so delicious!

  • I can’t wait to check it during one of my lunch break..

  • Went and tried a total of 5 things.

    Sample (?) = tasted kinda like playdough, was not feelin this.

    Cookie Sandwich = the frosting saved it, was not very impressed with the cookies.

    Sticky Bun = pretty dang good.

    Banana cupcake = pretty good.

    Chocolate Crumb Cake = dry and chocolate overload. I only ate one bite and gave it to others to try…everyone had a similar opinion.

  • Downtown? No one’s going to drive downtown for this. Who’s bright idea was it to open downtown?

  • @Kelly:

    But downtown is totally going under a revitalization and re-centralization! /sarcasm

    Yeah, I agree. Downtown is a hassle and a half.

  • kelly, greg –

    babycakes are from NYC. everybody from there (I’m a transplant to NYC from LA) thinks that downtown LA is where “it’s all at”, as NYC is all, basically, one downtown and is much easier to get around than LA.

    sad they are so naive, their business won’t do too well with such a stupid, stupid location. they should be in silverlake or even weho, samo and they would be fine.

    seriously. they probably just listened to some over-zealous real estate agent.

  • Who doesn’t enjoy the traffic on the 110 and a $4 parking minimum parking lot unless you get a meter a few blocks down that you can put a few quarters in and sprint to and from the bakery for a cupcake that you will take down in 1 minute?

  • Re: cow milk

    Not everyone who goes into a vegan bakery is a vegan. Due to the ingredients they use, you’ll get folks with gluten allergies or who cannot eat refined sugar and so on taking advantage of treats they can safely eat. As an example, I turned a non-vegan pal of mine onto a vegan pizza place because they use daiya cheese…he’s lactose intolerant, see.

  • Pretty cool place, although I must question the choice of locations. The mini-brownies were very good, as were the vanilla muffin tops. Sadly, they were out of cinnamon rolls when we arrived @ 12:30. A few suggestions:
    1. Music is kinda loud…makes it hard to actually place an order.
    2. The glass barrier on the counter makes it seem like I’m depositing money at a bank that’s been robbed one to many times…I’m 6′ 4″ and still had to stretch to communicate my order. Since I don’t expect them to remove the glass, at least consider removing the menu items that are painted in white on the glass. This is cute, but hardly effective. Small signs on each tray would be much easier to read and we would have certainty as to which item they refer to…the trays don’t necessarily correlate to the paint…especially as items run out. It would also speed up the line.
    3. A light inside the case would be great.
    4. A number system would allow us to check out items in the case and not lose our place in line.

    These are merely my observations…it’s not my place, and if it’s only me making the suggestions, take ’em for what they’re worth…I’m just glad to see a vegan bakery in L.A.

  • My wife, me and a couple of other friends stopped at Baby Cakes last night to sample their cupcakes, corn bread and other offerings. Here is the lowdown:

    Pros:
    1)They are Vegan
    2)They offer Gluten-Free options
    3)They offer Vegan donuts (which are a rarity)

    Cons:
    1)Parking
    2)Everything I tried was either too dry or had a very strong taste of flour
    3)Scary neighborhood at night time (***don’t get lost around this neighborhood trying to find parking***)

  • I agree about the location. The only reason I ever go to Downtown LA is when I’m dragged kicking and screaming to jury duty.

    If you’re interested in trying their brownie bites, here’s the recipe:

    http://blog.washingtonpost.com/mighty-appetite/2006/08/vegan_brownies_for_everyone.html

    I tried it and it is good.

  • Eh. I was thinking that it was a pretty poor location until I arrived on opening day. As stood in line, it started to make a lot more sense. I think it’ll do OK. Have you ever been to Nickel Diner (around the corner) on a Saturday or Sunday? Ridiculously crowded.

    Get the Jam Biscuit, it’s tasty. Generally the Spelt cupcakes are better than the Gluten Free ones in my opinion. Although they were unavailable at the opening, the Red Velvet are one of the best cupcakes I’ve had at Babycakes NY.

  • I’ve been gluten-free for 5 years and bake my own items, so was interested to be able to purchase again like pre-diagnosis. Uh, let’s just say I would not go again. The location’s not great, but even if it were in a better spot I wouldn’t be compelled to go again. Selection was predictable and, honestly, the taste was so-so at best. People need to realize that just because vegans and gluten-free people have a more difficult time finding places to go, they’re not just going to jump on the bandwagon for mediocre products served up by people in bad outfits.

  • I need to get over here ASAP. Although it looks like some people were pretty disappointed.

  • this is less then 2 miles from my work , i need to stop by asap to sample the goods and flirt with babes behind the counter. !

  • l.a. people can be so insular and self-absorbed. look folks, not everything is about the westside or the valley or manhattan beach or santa monica or west hollywood – yada yada yada. and thank heavens.

    believe it or not, there is a growing community in downtown los angeles. people actually live there (gasp). i’m one of them.

    it seems like every week there is a new, great place opening up there. i’ve been look forward to babycakes opening there and i’m so glad it has actually happened. i’ll be there this weekend, for sure.

    for you folks who poo poo this location – please stay west of labrea or the 405 – whatever your cutoff is. downtown l.a. doesn’t need to be polluted by your sorry mental disposition.

  • At least this post is objective unlike some other vegan blogs who just rave about stuff. I agree, the cookies sucked. And thanks again for your honesty, everyone else just sugarcoats things. (No pun intended)

  • Um, wow. Vegan and gluten free treats? Yep, there is a God.

    Thanks for sharing.

  • I went last night. I had the agave brownie bites, the blondies, and a chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting.

    Both the brownie and blondie were great. I actually liked the blondie more – it had little chocolate chips in it!

    The cupcake was a bit dry and crumbly, but the frosting was outstanding. I wasn’t extremely excited about the cake, but I might try the cupcake top for the frosting alone. My friends had the carrot cupcake, the red velvet cupcake, and a vanilla cupcake – all had good reports, especially the red velvet.

    As for the location – I love it. I live across the street, so it’s very convenient for me and a huge number of loft-dwellers who live in the area. It’s a five minute walk from the red line/Pershing Square stop, so if you don’t want to pay for parking, there are alternatives. I think Babycakes fits the vibe of the neighborhood perfectly. I went at 7pm at night, and there was still a line.

  • @Jennifer, Thank you for the location insight. I think it is wonderful how you informed us on where to take the red line to- it will become very helpful! Can’t wait to try some new vegan delights at Babycakes.

  • every single thing looks so delicious…
    when I visit la, will not miss this place !

  • It’s all about the brownie cupcake!!! I was seriously blown away. Brownie bite was a tad bit dry 🙁 Can’t wait to try the cinnamon rolls on my next visit (sadly they were all out).


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