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Ian McNulty: I Tried The New King Cake Drive-Thru In Metairie. Here's How It Went.
Professor Longhair was playing on the car radio and I had king cake on my mind when I came around one of the bends of Metairie Road. There it was: King Cake Drive-Thru, a new concept bringing cake-to-car convenience to a Carnival season obsession.
Just a few minutes later, after a deliberation on choice and a credit card tap, I had a pair of wildly different king cake creations riding shotgun.
King Cake Drive-Thru operates pop-up style in Old Metairie. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.ComThe Times-Picayune)
This was my first trip to King Cake Drive-Thru, which offers an array of king cakes from around the metro area in one spot in Old Metairie.
The multi-bakery concept is similar to King Cake Hub, which is back this season at the brewery Zony Mash Beer Project, but this one adds a drive-thru and brings a different mix of suppliers.
A praline cream cheese filled king cake from Joyce's Sweets, available through King Cake Drive-Thru. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.ComThe Times-Picayune)
"The whole idea is if someone's coming through with the kids in the car they don't even have to get out," said Mike Graves, who started King Cake Drive-Thru this season with fiancée Tiffany Langlinais.
A king cake cream puff with pandan filling from Kimi Bakes, a home-based baker distributing through King Cake Drive-Thru. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.ComThe Times-Picayune)
It also means people driving through Old Metairie can access cakes from around the area, including some from West Bank and northshore makers.
Pull right upYou'll find King Cake Drive-Thru open Friday through Sunday outside Duckworth Tires at 1009 Metairie Road. It operates D.I.Y. Pop-up style from a tailgating tent, and you can drive up or walk up (some people have biked up).
King Cake Drive-Thru operates pop-up style in Old Metairie. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.ComThe Times-Picayune)
The Friday morning weather was odd when I visited, with gusty wind, a short bout of rain and beaming sunshine all in a matter of minutes. But Graves was out there throughout.
You pull off Metairie Road and follow a string of orange cones forming a curving lane in the parking lot. A white board lists the selection, and Graves talked me through which ones he had on hand, which numbered about a dozen varieties (you can check the day's selection at instagram.Com/kingcakedrivethru). That included many familiar names, including Gracious Bakery, Bittersweet Confections and Dough Nguyener's.
The board displays the changing menu of cakes at King Cake Drive-Thru in Old Metairie. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.ComThe Times-Picayune)
I landed on two I'd never tried before: Joyce's Sweets and Kimi Bakes. I paid by card through the passenger side window, collected my cakes and I was off to sample them at home.
Different takes on cakesA praline cream cheese filled king cake from Joyce's Sweets, available through King Cake Drive-Thru. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.ComThe Times-Picayune)
The one from Joyce's Sweets ($28) was filled with praline cream cheese. This is a low-rider cake, shaped into a form wider than it is tall, with a dense texture laced with cinnamon between the cream cheese seam. It's heavily frosted on top with a riot of icing and pecans.
The one from Kimi Bakes ($22) was an altogether different riff as a king cake cream puff with Asian flavor. It's a ring about the size of a tea saucer made from choux pastry, airy and light with a crisp shell and filled with pandan cream, which has a tropical, floral flavor.
A king cake cream puff with pandan filling from Kimi Bakes, a home-based baker distributing through King Cake Drive-Thru. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.ComThe Times-Picayune)
Graves told me he starts the day early making the rounds to various cake suppliers while others deliver to King Cake Drive-Thru. He adds a reasonable markup and guides customers through the process.
Part of the selection of cakes one morning at King Cake Drive-Thru in Old Metairie. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.ComThe Times-Picayune)
Graves is known for BOF Bars, his ice cream brand, which has brought such creations as ice cream po-boys to the Oak Street Po-Boy Fest and ice cream shaped into chicken legs and corn on the cob to the National Fried Chicken Festival.
The selection at King Cake Drive-Thru will progress from week to week. Graves is working on an ice cream king cake, for instance, and there's a savory crawfish king cake coming soon from Clesi's Seafood in Mid-City.
King Cake Drive-Thru
1009 Metairie Road
Fri.-Sun. Until Mardi Gras, 7 a.M. To 7 p.M. (or until sold out)
Compton Bakery Reopens After Mob Of Looters Ransacks Store
COMPTON — A Mexican bakery in Compton reopened Friday after a mob of looters involved in an illegal street takeover broke into the business and nearly destroyed the store.
The mob vandalized Ruben's Bakery & Mexican Food near the intersection of El Segundo Boulevard and Santa Fe Avenue on Tuesday, causing thousands of dollars in damage, said Ruben Ramirez Jr., whose family owns the market.
"It will take us a few weeks for our store to return to full operations, but we will accomplish this goal in large part to the tremendous amount of support that we have received from family, friends, loyal customers and community members," Ramirez said.
"We are also blessed from the generosity of strangers who have reached out and offered their help. But we are especially thankful for our dedicated, hardworking staff, who have worked with us nonstop to clean up the store and replace the damaged goods so that we can partially reopen our doors."
About 100 people reportedly were involved in the street takeover, and a vehicle was on fire in the area, police said.
Surveillance footage from outside the bakery, as seen on KCBS2/KCAL9, showed a white Kia Soul slamming into the entrance twice while in reverse, moments before dozens of people flood inside.
Cameras inside the bakery show suspects ransacking the business, where they allegedly took lottery tickets, cash and merchandise, leaving behind a massive mess and considerable damage.
The bakery once again began serving its regular daily customers when it reopened at 6 a.M. Friday, Ramirez said. The family will be baking and selling traditional bread Saturday for the Day of the Three Kings holiday.
The family has an active GoFundMe page, where over $53,045 has been raised through 346 contributions since it launched two days ago. The link to the GoFundMe page is https://gofund.Me/84bb64d7.
"If you live locally and want to help our business, we invite you to come down to our store and shop here!" Ramirez said. "Your economic support lifts our spirits and lets us know that we will be able to continue having our doors open for many more years to come."
Compton Mexican Bakery Reopens After Mob Of Looters Ransacked Business
COMPTON, Calif. (KABC) -- A Mexican bakery in Compton reopened Friday after a mob of looters broke into the business, leaving the store nearly destroyed.
On Tuesday, the large group broke into Ruben's Bakery & Mexican Food near the intersection of El Segundo Boulevard and Santa Fe Avenue.
According to the Compton Sheriff's Station, it stemmed from a street takeover in the area with about 100 people.
Video obtained by Eyewitness News shows a group of what appears to be young men and women raiding the store, jumping on counters, stealing food and taking cash registers. Investigators said the group even used a white Kia Soul to crash into the building.
Video shows dozens of young men and women ransacking a Compton bakery, leaving the business in total disarray.
"When I got the call from the alarm company, I just figured somebody broke a door, or broke a window, or someone tried to break in," recalled Ruben Ramirez Jr., whose family owns the business. "Then when we got here, we saw that the car had smashed through the [door] ... It was just anger. It was just upsetting."
The Ramirez family has been running the bakery and meat market in Compton for more than 48 years. Ramirez said the group of looters left the store with thousands of dollars' worth of damage.
Ramirez said his father, who's recovering from back surgery, was upset to hear the news as well.
"Seeing my dad sad made me sad, but seeing the community come together and help us out and offering to help us clean up, it was really great," he said.
The sheriff's department said the group took off when deputies arrived at the scene. No arrests have been made but LASD said it's possible a few people may have been detained in connection with the street takeover.
Anyone with information is urged to contact authorities.
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