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This well-worn neighborhood bakery prefers to focus on decorating its elaborate wedding and birthday cakes, instead of the store itself. Walls are papered with faded photographs of previous customized concoctions, including frilly, towering wedding cakes and whimsical "doll cakes" with skirts made of concentric cake layers. The Eastern European basics are made from scratch without a preservative in sight, making for rustic rugelach and challah bread. (A wide array of sugar-free cakes are also available by the pound.) Those searching for a slice might consider the caloric cheesecake, the moist vanilla sponge cake or the deceptively light-seeming Margarita cake (which alternates ultra-thin layers of walnut meringue with chocolate cream). The lightly iced Russian gingerbread cakes have a dry bite that goes nicely with a cup of tea. — Keach Hagey