Susina's Bakery & Cafe...a standard in my book

7122 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323)934-7900
Mon-Fri 7AM-11PM
Sat-Sun 8AM-11PM

Took me forever to get this to you. It's been on my to do lists for what seems like forever. In LA, I think there are few people who don't enjoy their occasional sweets even if they happen to be diabetic! That being said, we have some of the best places to treat that sweetness attack. What's great is we have something that caters to whatever your addiction demands weather it be more of a dairy type thing with MILK, or maybe cupcakes are your thing, See's Candies are all over the freaking place or high end confections can be found at places like Boule. The one place that I have consistently told people about when they want something a little more traditional but done well is Susina's bakery on Beverly. They satisfy the bakery need in my life time and time again, not to mention the fact that those I introduce it to, it becomes one of their infectious places to pass onto others.

Let me get the one thing out of the way that's been a bummer lately. Late night hanging at Susina's has become an impossibility unless you get there early. When I went there last we waited around for 20 minutes waiting for a table to open up and no one moved. This can be attributed to the fact that they have free wireless so camping can sometimes be a problem. But this was not the only instance. On another occasion 8 cops were chilling at a table just hanging out. While I love LA's finest I didn't right then. Oddly enough they used to have a sign that they used to have on the tables stating to not camp when people are waiting or something like that but no more. Hopefully they'll see this and bring'em back.

These cases were forbidden to be photographed. I had already popped all these pictures before the counter person told me otherwise.

Therefore, I took one for the team.

While they do serve up excellent cakes, pies, cookies and my favorite mocha in town, my all star favorite item off their menu is their banana cream pie. When I introduce this place to someone I invariably order up one of these if it's available (on occasion it's not there thanks to it's popularity). It's described as a pie with a "thin shortdough crust lined with chocolate; filled with coconut pastry cream, fresh coconut and fresh whipped cream. Topped with toasted coconut." This is without a doubt one of my top 5 desserts in LA hands down and I'm not even a fan of cream pies due to there overkill on whipped cream. This has not too much of anything. In other words, a perfectly balanced dessert. While decadence can be synonymous with dessert, this is light while being rich in flavor. The chocolate lined bottom cupping the always perfectly ripened bananas is heavenly! This is perfect for two people on an after dinner date (if you can find a seat).

As I said, they have classic treats to satiate your sweet pangs. Here's a sampling of their mini tarts that are always a safe bet when you can't decide.

And here's a sampling of their Italian cookies, which of course go famously with their coffee.

I'm glad I was able to get this down in writing in time for the holidays because you can of course get them to make cakes to go and this was one of the first places I fell in love with in LA heavily. Let me tell you one reason why this place holds a special place for me:

One night while me and Celeste were bringing some friends there, we were chatting and the owner, Jenna Turner, chats us up a bit and comes back with some croissants and various goodies for us to take home for free. I was no one and not trying to report on them or anything. She was just being sweet and genuine to patrons.

While some might say that the fact that they gave us something for free persuaded me to be loyal and write such good things it's merely the fact that she took the time to talk to us and ask us what she thought of things. David Myers over at (which by the way is one of the non-plussed places in my book) comes by tables sometimes and can be seen talking to customers and he's a freaking 5 star kind of guy. Personal attention and kindness go a long way in my book but it's not something that you can do at every restaurant and so when it happens it's something to be remembered.

Susina's is about merging memories of bakeries from our youth with the high end living of today while keeping your wallet a little fuller. Thanks for all the years thus far of new memories.

Free refills: no
Price ranges: even better here's the link to the menu.

Dolce Isola...even the simple things from The Ivy are to die for!

2869 S. Robertson Blvd
Culver City, CA 90034.
(310)776-7070
Mon-Sat 7:30AM-6PM
Sun closed

A recent addition to the Culver City empire of restaurants is the Ivy's Bakery store front by the name of Dolce Isola. Being that The Ivy is such a place of note and that just the mention of it conjures up pictures of celebrities hob nobbing on the front patio. It's no wonder that this place shouldn't become a hit amongst common folk such as myself, as well as the rich and famous.

The focus of Dolce Isola is first and foremost as a bakery so you'll find fresh breads and cakes to delight the eyes as well as your taste buds. But don't be fooled, their sandwich selection is something very special... and be sure to check if they have a special sandwich of the day!

Both our sandwiches are what I've always imagined the perfect picnic sandwiches to be. The Dolce club consisted of fresh roasted free range turkey, baby lettuce, tomato, avocado, bacon and their mayo must have infused with a HINT of horseradish. All items were very fresh and the bread was a firm, toasty crispness on the outside and soft on the inside. In short AMAZING. I would grab this in a heart beat if I ever couldn't decide what to get. It was simple, but even perfection can be simple.

Celeste enjoyed their caprese sandwich, made up of fresh tomato, fresh mozzarella di bufala(aka-REAL mozarella which is made from water buffalo milk), basil, light dijon mustard and a little olive oil. With the crunchy softness of the bread, the flavors of each item came together beautifully. Also, it was refreshing to taste fresh soft mozzarella from water buffalo milk, such a difference...if only more people knew.

Here are just SOME of their baked items, additionally there were several more platters out in the open to tempt you. Celeste got a Latte to go with our selections, and I wouldn't normally mention her coffee (sorry no picture) , but she and I found it to be pretty spactacular, and she LOVED the foam (which is really saying something, cause normally she finds it tasteless and an annoying barrier between her and her drink) .

We chose the carrot cake, which if I remember correctly was the Capri cupcake of the day, a dense, double cupcake sized bit of goodness. I myself am always hard pressed when it comes to cake as I'm not such a cake guy, but this was exceptional. The cream cheese frosting was SUUUPER creamy..."like buttah". As for Mitzi's Earthquake cookie, I barely have a clue about what's inside of it. I know that eartquake cookies are made from the same basic dry ingredients as Devil's food cake, and they have a sugar coating that when they're done cracks and reminds you of the ground after an earthquake. What Mitzi's recipe calls for I don't know, but these things were killer. It seemed like a little bit of toffee as well as walnuts were tossed in but don't quote me on it instead just buy one figure it out...they're only 75 cents a cookie.

Here's their array of gelato and sorbet which makes for a great finish for any meal here.

We got a small cup of their Pecan praline and while not the best in town it's most certainly up there for smoothness and creaminess. This was very nice in that it wasn't too rich and the pralines were crushed very small, and the base vanilla flavor it was mixed into was just perfect. Indeed a perfect way to cap off this great Saturday afternoon kick back meal.

With their hours, this is a great way to bring something special home to a loved one or yourself on a weeknight, a means to arrange a perfect picnic, or have a nice low key meal on location. A big plus is that you can order many baked goods including bread, cakes that can serve intimate or huge parties (this screams weddings) as well as their to-die-for jams, chutneys and sauces. My one sadness with them is that they're not open on Sundays and they close at 6PM on the other days. I mean Sundays would be ideal for this place as they'd make a killing. Other than that, I find this place to be a new hotspot for me whenever we can make it. And make sure to hop on in because, for many, this could be the closest you will ever get The Ivy!

Free Refills: No
Menu: I'll do better than give you a range. Here's the menu from the day we went.