It’s no secret that some of the best restaurants in Los Angeles are hidden inside strip malls, crushed between dry cleaners and nail salons. But until setting foot inside of Dainties Cupcakes, I’d never heard of a place actually being in the alley behind a strip center. Voted Best Cupcake in LA 2007 by Los Angeles Magazine, Dainties Cupcakes is actually the brainchild of caterers Chef Bill Dertouzos and Susan McAlindon, owners of Flatbush & J Gourmet Co.

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Tropicalia Brazilian Grill
1966 Hillhurst Ave (@ Franklin Avenue)
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Phone: (323) 644-1798
$.5

The food here is so yummy that my husband was prompted to say, upon digging into his Brazipork, “This is fucking good,” really loud (in front of some old ladies). Nice.

I’ve been eating at Tropicalia for awhile. Well, I should say I’ve been drinking at Tropicalia for awhile. It’s connected to Vinoteca Wine Bar so my pal Roxane and I used to duck in here for some afternoon wine and the occasional empanada ($2.29, dudes!). It’s usually way less busy and less, I don’t know, full-on than next door. But I’d never actually gone there for a meal until last night. The husband suggested it because he’d never tried it. It was so freaking cold outside that I relented when I realized how much further it would be to walk to my favorite Thai place.

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Leda’s Bake Shop
13722 Ventura Blvd
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
818.386.9644

Is it too early in the competition to already have a serious contender? [Editor's note: No, it's not. I started with the best burger in LA] If not, then Leda’s Bake Shop in Sherman Oaks may have a chance.

Voted Citysearch’s Audience Favorite Bakery in 2007, this mod pink and green bakery dishes out delectable mini treats in an open kitchen where you can watch the action from the tiny space-age seating area, not unlike something you’d find in the Jetson’s kitchen. The white marble counter-top is heavily laden with samples of brownies and blondies, scones and poufy macaroons - all in miniature. It’s difficult to imagine anyone but an elf working at Leda’s.

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Leda’s Bake Shop
13722 Ventura Blvd
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
818.386.9644

Is it too early in the competition to already have a serious contender? [Editor's note: No, it's not. I started with the best burger in LA] If not, then Leda’s Bake Shop in Sherman Oaks may have a chance.

Voted Citysearch’s Audience Favorite Bakery in 2007, this mod pink and green bakery dishes out delectable mini treats in an open kitchen where you can watch the action from the tiny space-age seating area, not unlike something you’d find in the Jetson’s kitchen. The white marble counter-top is heavily laden with samples of brownies and blondies, scones and poufy macaroons - all in miniature. It’s difficult to imagine anyone but an elf working at Leda’s.

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Casita del Campo
1920 Hyperion Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 662-4255

“When you’re a jet, you’re a jet all the way…from your first cigarette to your last dying day.”

But, Rudy del Campo, owner of Casita del Campo in Silver Lake was a Shark. I can’t remember the Shark song. Sorry Rudy.

Anyhoo, Rudy del Campo played a shark in the movie version of West Side Story. He and his wife opened the doors in 1962 and have been getting hipsters, gays and gay hipsters (hip gaysters? gaysters?) drunk on margaritas ever since. You can even see West Side Story memorabilia on some of the walls if you look really hard.

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I used to think a cupcake was nothing more than a children’s birthday party trifle - small in size for little hands and paper-wrapped for easy clean-up. Then, in 2005, I witnessed the line that wraps around the block in front of popular NYC bakery Magnolia, but figured it was a passing novelty, certainly not a trend that weight-conscious Angelenos could ever support.

I was clearly wrong, and today a Google search for “Los Angeles cupcakes bakery” will give you links to 445,000 results. This is no passing novelty – Los Angeles is overrun with trendy bakeries. If all of these bakeries are dependent upon the same business model - a mere half cup of sweet batter and sugary frosting - how do you tell them apart? How do you decide what makes one cupcake good and another not?

You sample the cupcakes. One by one, until you eat every last crumb.

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Yesterday afternoon, Oprah’s Favorite Things 2007 show re-aired. Although not normally an Oprah disciple, I did get sucked right in by the spectacle of grown women crying over free camcorders and thanking Jesus for Kitchenaide mixers. This made me think about what items would be on my list. Because I want to feel self-important like Oprah and because food is what makes me cry for joy, I present to you Kendra’s Favorite Things to Eat In LA.

Black and White Cookies from Canter’s Deli. (419 N. Fairfax Ave.)These are so delicious we served them at our wedding right alongside the cake. Actually, my mother stole one, wrapped it in a napkin and stuffed it in her purse for the plane ride home. Seriously. They’re big and cakey with a hint of lemon, chocolate frosting on one side, vanilla on the other. Oh. My. Gawd.Gelato at Al Gelato. (806 S Robertson Blvd.)

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