Ditching work to see the “Boss” – Philadelphia Wedding Planner – Angela MALICKI events

It’s summertime! That means the busiest time of the year for us wedding planners, but I decided to play hooky for a day and take a day trip! No, not to NYC or some shopping outlets but rather to Hoboken, NJ to Carlo’s Bakery, better know as Cake Boss!

I have been dying to go see the bakery since the showed aired and decided this was the perfect sunny day to wait in line. Back in November I saw Buddy “The Cake Boss” downtown while he was on his “Bakin’ with the Boss” tour. He is just as funny and personable as in the show! Luckily, I had an aisle seat so I was able to actually touch him and be up close and personal! The show was mostly geared toward kids but I am a big kid myself, so I really enjoyed it. Buddy talked about his family history and how Carlo’s Bakery started. He is definitely your typical Italian family man! The show was an absolute blast and he got much of the audience involved.

carlos bakery - buddy

Buddy, during the show, showing off his cake decorating skills.

If you have never been to Hoboken it really is a cute little town with lots of great resturants on the water. (It’s known to have the most bars in a square mile). My family and I ate at a great Irish pub called Trinity – the food was amazing and authentic! Soon after we made our way over to Washington Street (now named Carlo’s Bakery Way) to get in line. The hardest part was finding a parking spot! It is almost as bad as the city. We walked up to the store front to find only about 10 people in line – I was shocked! But little did we know, majority of the line was in the next block down. During the filming of TLC’s Cake Boss, they do not allow huge crowds outside the store front. The line was almost a whole block long! Waiting was not bad at all – we talked to people and checked out the scenery.

The excitment built as we got closer to the door and finally it was our turn! The “doorman” as I called him, only allows a few people in at a time, once other customers leave. Yet once the door opened and we stepped inside, we had another long line to wait in! You wait outside all that time, thinking right when you go in you will be waited on – not so true. Once inside, you are given a number (kinda like the lunch meat counter) and have atleast another 40 people in front of you. It was so crowded in there I could barely see what was in the cases, good thing I know what they have from watching the show! I knew I already had my stomach set on canoli’s, lobster tails and crumb cake! Besides that, we also got pecan sticky buns, and red velvet cupcakes. I could of got one of everything that I saw but I didn’t want to over-indulge. They bake anything you could possibly think of!

Best of all, we got a surprise appearance by Buddy himself! When your in the bakery you can see the steps that lead from the back door to the upstairs bakery and when customers spotted Buddy, people went nuts! After chanting his name, he came down to say hi to everyone. He thanked all of us for coming and supporting him – very nice! TLC was filming that day, so he had to go back up and finish his project – a cow cake!

Taking pictures inside was quite difficult due to the large crowd of people. Basically you walk in with two cases on each side with all the goodies. So if you want to see what it really looks like – take a trip yourself, it’s worth it!

Finally! Happy as can be with all of our treats!

We weren’t out of the bakery for a minute and we were already ripping open the boxes! Of course everyone in line wants to see what you got, but my mouth was already full of desserts! I first had a canoli which was delicious to say the least! Then I dove into the red velvet cupcake with cream cheese icing – amazing! Literally the freshest baked goods I have had in a while!

Lobster tails to die for! They are a thin cream filled pastry – it seemed to be one of the hottest items.

The box does not lie – it is love at first bite!

Close to two inches thick of crumb cake! Sooo good with a glass of milk.

The ride from Philly is a little under two hours and an easy day trip for some amazing desserts! Of course, Buddy is most famous for making outrageous cakes, but I give his baked goods an A+. Maybe one day I can afford a cake!

xoxo
Ash

“What do you mean you don’t eat MEAT-that’s OK, I’ll make Lamb for you! Wedding and Event Planner-Angela MALICKI events

Growing up Greek, Easter was a big “to do” holiday for the orthodox religion, from the week long services to the grand finale Saturday midnight mass. There is nothing like it. But what is also a big tradition for us is the Pasha (Easter) meal. Traditional Greek dishes include “The Lamb” – this is the main part of our feast. check out the film “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” when the aunt introduces the “meat” to the soon to be groom,Ian, a vegetarian, and comes to find out that “meat” is not his thing. Well, you know the reaction that all the Greeks had (or not, check out the film).

(clearly my egg was not the survivor of this cracking challenge-better luck next year)

Other traditional foods include the “Magiritsa”, a lemon-cream soup made form the lambs sweetmeats. Dyed eggs are common in both religions, however our “Kokkina -red dyed eggs” are found at every table and is tradition for each person to crack an egg with one another. This symbolizes the Christ breaking from the Tomb. The person that outlasts with out a cracked egg, they will have good luck for the rest of the year. My other favorite parts are the sweets! Greek easter cookies – “Kouloura” and Sweet bread known as “Tsoureki or Challah Bread”. There is no other feast like this one. To complete this tradition, you need some good retsina, ouzo, a bouzouki and music. And remember,  food that is rejected or not eaten at a Greek house, will not only insult the host, but also bring them bad luck. So bring an empty stomach!

(Cousin Connie’s Greek Salad – looks and tastes FABULOUS!)

Tradtional Greek Salad:

Romanine Lettuce – chopped very thin

Vine Ripened Tomatoes (grown locally)

Kalamata Greek Black Olives

Scallions or Large Sweet Onion

Cucumbers (optional)

Traditional Greek Feta (do not be fooled by other brands)

Salt,Pepper, Oregano

Dressing:

Olive Oil, balsamic vinger, lemon salt, pepper and oregano

mix well!

Xristos Anesti!