A scoop from Pinisi Bakery

I was at the East Village's Pinisi's Bakery (only two blocks from my place! so hard not to go there all the time...) the other day to pick up dessert for my visiting Texan, Michael. He picked a slice-o-carrot cake and I picked (what else?) a cupcake. A red velvet-cheesecake cupcake.

The results were variable, I'm sad to say. The carrot cake was most excellent. Very carroty. Moist and delectable cake with a not-too-sweet frosting. I detest overly sweet frosting! Anyway, I very much enjoyed the sliver of carrot cake I (sort of) stole, but the cupcake was a bit hard and dry. The cake portion was quite firm, and so very red -- a red that beet powder probably couldn't achieve. The cheesecake part was moister but kind of crumbly and a bit lacking in flavor. Sorry, Pinisi fans but it's true. This is the first time I've been let down by anything at the bakery though.




While we were there, Pinisi's owner let slip that he and his wife are planning on opening a second store, possibly on the Upper West Side, or the Lower East Side. He was concerned that there wasn't a lot of morning traffic on the LES, or certainly not as much as he'd find uptown. Whatever he and his partner decide to do, the people who live near the new location are lucky. I recommend their fruit pastries and strudels, as well as their carrot cake and chocolate mousse cake. This was my first not-wonderful cupcake, so I would recommend them as well.

Photos by Stacie Joy; please credit when using.