Where Do I Get Stuff?

[FunJohnny]

And don't ask John W about what happened the last time I walked into the Wine Enthusiast with him and purchased a magnum of sake. (Hint for the curious: I ended up hurling invectives in the bathroom of Baja Fresh.)

Cheers,

Rocks.

Do invectives taste as good coming up as they do going down?

[Monica Bhide]

I would like to get a fun cake made for my son's fifth bday (note that does not translate to expensive ) Any suggestions? He is in love with Nemo and loves chocolate and strawberry flavors!

Help!

[mnebergall]

I would check with Shumans Bakery on Washington Street in Alexandria. I was in there the other day buying a cake off the shelf for my kid's 10th and there were several people picking up cakes they had custom ordered. You might call them and see what they are capable of doing for you.

[sara]

I love Cakelove. Those are kid-friendly cakes. Yum! Randolph in Arlington is good too.

[Varmint]

Why don't you just hire Steve Klc? I'm sure he can give you the "Insider's Special."

[JennyUptown]

Steve was talking about this guy.

The photos are amazing (look at the Special Event section for cakes appropriate for a kiddie birthday)...but the prices might be too. Sorry if that's no help.

Edited July 13, 2004 by JennyUptown (log)

[Monica Bhide]

Why don't you just hire Steve Klc? I'm sure he can give you the "Insider's Special."

dream dream dream

[DonRocks]

And don't ask John W about what happened the last time I walked into the Wine Enthusiast with him and purchased a magnum of sake.  (Hint for the curious:  I ended up hurling invectives in the bathroom of Baja Fresh.)   

Cheers,

Rocks.

Do invectives taste as good coming up as they do going down?

I wish that were the case. It was late, I had been to several places, and was toting around this magnum of sake in a brown paper bag (a magnum is a double-sized bottle). I walked into Baja Fresh and was looking at the menu when, all of a sudden, the bag dropped from my hand and hit the ground. The bottle had broken into several pieces, but had not shattered, and wine was spewing out of it. Furious and seething, I picked up the bag and sprinted for the bathroom because wine was leaking through the bag and pouring all over the floor. I quickly put the bag into the little disposal thing under the paper towel dispenser, all the while screaming expletives like a dockworker who had just dropped something heavy on his foot. I peaked inside the bag, saw that there was still a big hunk of the bottle with some sake left in it, and said, damn it, I was going to at least taste the stuff, so I fished out the jagged piece of bottle and was just about to try and drink from it when I realized that I was on the verge of drinking shards of broken glass. At that point, I wrote it off as a total loss, stormed out of the bathroom cursing mightily, and continued into the night.

[morela]

There's nothing like a Japanese magnum in a Wendy!

[dcfoodie]

I agree with sara. CAKE LOVE. CAKE LOVE. CAKE LOVE.

I was at a party and they had a cake from this place. I probably gained 10 pounds that night and I am not a dessert person.

[Malawry]

I don't think Cake Love does Nemo-themed cakes though.

Plus, they aren't cheap. Whole cakes are in the $50 range IIRC--I called once while trying to figure out how I should price a cake a friend wanted me to make. If we're talking $50+ budget I'd rather try for a small cake from a place like Amernick, personally.

[sweetfreak]

I know that others might cringe at this recommendation, but seeing as the boy is turning five, I am positive that Safeway or Giant would do a Nemo-themed cake. In fact, I have seen a Nemo cake at Safeway.

[khart]

How about Reeves Bakery downtown? They did a giraffe cake for a baby shower I went to recently, and they seemed capable of lots of kinds of decorations.

[laniloa]

I second the Reeves recommendation. We have a rule at work that all work party cakes must come from this place because they are so fabulous. We had a wonderful strawberry cream cake a couple of weeks ago that just screamed summer.

[hjshorter]

How about the Amphora Bakery in Herndon?

[hillvalley]

I know that others might cringe at this recommendation, but seeing as the boy is turning five, I am positive that Safeway or Giant would do a Nemo-themed cake.  In fact, I have seen a Nemo cake at Safeway.

I second the Giant recommendation. Their cakes are perfect for 5 year olds and they should have a Nemo theme.

This year with my class we made edible Nemo fish tanks. Take a plastic cup, pour in blue jello. Let it set for a bit and then add goldfish or swedish fish.

Edited July 14, 2004 by hillvalley (log)

[Monica Bhide]

My son drives a hard bargain. He wants only Nemo or get this Spiderman. Oh dear. Cakelove does not do this neither do some of the others..am I going to have to go the Gaint route???

[Monica Bhide]

How about the Amphora Bakery in Herndon?

thanks Heather.. calling them now

[hannnah]

Wegman's has a good sized notebook of different character cake designs, although I'm not certain of either Nemo or Spiderman. I can't imagine their sheet cake wouldn't be better than Giant's - plus you get to shop for other stuff while you're there.

[Monica Bhide]

I was hoping for more than a sheet cake... something fun with Nemo..

[Rachel Perlow]

You could do the Nemo sushi.

Bring a Nemo card or other artwork to one of those places that can do the edible printouts. If it is the local supermarket, and you don't want a shortening frosted cake, then see if you can just pay for the printout. Make your own cake with delicious ingredients (or buy a plainly decorated cake from a good bakery) and lay the gum paste (?) artwork on top.

[bilrus]

One of my favorite things in the world is cloyingly sweet, sugary birthday cake. No amount of well prepared subtle desserts will ever turn me off of them. So I think my tastes might approximate those of a five year old in this case.

This year for my birthday I bought a regular birthday cake from Giant and it was very good - moist cake and sweet frosting that was not overly grainy or tasting of shortening.

[Al_Dente]

It wouldn't be too hard to do a spiderman cake. Frost a cake with red icing and pipe a spiderweb over it with white icing. Get a spiderman action figure or something and plop him on top in a suitably heroic pose. Get some plastic spiders and stick them all over the sides.

[Malawry]

For that matter, I bet Wilton makes a fish-shaped cake pan that you can use and decorate yourself. Most of the Wilton pans take a standard amount of cake batter. Look at Michael's, they usually have a good selection of Wilton pans.

[hjshorter]

Emma wanted a Nemo cake this year. I can say with some authority that neither Giant nor Safeway has a Nemo themed cake, and none of the area craft stores had a fish shaped cake pan. She settled for a starfish shaped cake that I formed from two rounds and frosted myself.

However, Spiderman is all over the place now since the new movie release. I'd go for it over Nemo.

What did Amphora have to say?