"Homemade Goodness - Since 1978"

...and that's about how long my family has been going to Al Gelato. Located on the southeast corner of Gregory and Robertson, Al Gelato is a family-run establishment, serving up homemade Italian food, gelato, and some of the most unbelievable cakes and pies you've ever eaten. I completely credit my taste for good food to those who raised me, and one of my earliest memories of Al Gelato is meeting George Gaynes (a.k.a. "Henry") from "Punky Brewster" at the gelato counter and getting an autographed pic of him.

Al Gelato brings some of the best Italian food in L.A. The portions are huge, with meatballs the size of a large apple, the sauce is sweet (there has to be crack in it), the pizza is...wow...and the desserts have a fan base of their own. My dad loves the Devil's Food cake, my brother loves the yellow cake with chocolate frosting, my cousin, Matt, loves the bread pudding, and I will always have a spot in my heart for the Deep Dish Apple Pie, heated up with caramel sauce. I'm not a huge fan of gelato, in general, although that's what Al Gelato is known for.

The place is cash only and metered parking is easy to find. When my brother and I went last week, we ordered a large cheese pizza, a half portion of rigatoni with a meatball, yellow cake with coffee crunch gelato, and apple pie, and the bill ran us $55. Seem expensive? We had leftovers that lasted us for days. This place is reasonably priced and well worth it. Do not miss it if you're out in the city.

"A Blessing On Your Head, Mazel Tov, Mazel Tov"

Now some of you may look at this pictures and think, "Oy vey!" And oy vey is quite right, my friends. As alluded to in previous posts, I have a MAJOR sweet tooth. Stemming from, well, both sides of my family, I can scarf sweets morning, noon, night, and/or late night. These two delicacies you see above are two of my absolute favorites:

1. Mini Blinis (bottom)

A recipe that comes from Chicago, courtesy of my dad's girlfriend, Gayle, and my Aunt Sherry, these mini blinis are little logs of heaven. They're this stellar combination of cream cheese, eggs, sugar, butter, cinnamon, and white bread. Oh wow. Allow at least 5 minutes per bathroom trip per log (no pun intended). The recipe is top secret, so you'll need to contact Yours Truly for inside info on how to make them.

2. Hansen's Cakes (top)

This is where I will get my wedding cake, without a doubt (don't worry, dad, it'll happen one day). Light and fluffy inside, perfectly textured buttercream frosting outside. Get the marble cake with the white buttercream frosting. O...M...G. Two locations in the LA area: in Tazana on Ventura just east of Reseda and in Beverly Hills on Beverly Drive. It has become somewhat of a tradition in my family to order these cakes for big occasions. Today's occasion celebrated my cousin's girlfriend's conversion to Judiasm. And what do Jews do on joyous occasions (or any occasion, for that matter)? We eat. And eat. And eat. Mazel tov, LeeAnn!

Some other noteworthy desserts:

- Mrs. Beasley's Chocolate Truffles (covered in powdered sugar). Rich, chocolatey, andsimply delicious.

(Tarzana, Encino, Brentwood, Beverly Hills and other various retail locations)

- Diddy Riese's Ice Cream Sandwiches. Price has jumped to a stifling $1.50, but well worth the laundry quarters. Their m&m cookies are by far the best. And paired with their peanut butter cup ice cream? Oh wow. No lactaid pills can save you here. But really, I'd confine myself to solitary with a stomach full of gas pains for this tasty and cheap sweet treat. The line is long but deceiving. It moves rather quickly.

- Al Gelato's Bread Pudding and Apple Pie. Not only does this long-standing Italian gelateria have incredible, homemade desserts, they also have great Italian food (who doesn't love giant meatballs?). If you get the apple pie, make sure it's heated up with caramel sauce. It's also great a la mode, but I skip the vanilla gelato because Pauli + ice cream = disaster. But that's just me and all the other lactards. Be sure to request that the bread pudding is heated up too.

No website. 806 S. Robertson Blvd (cross street is Gregory). Cash ONLY. No reservations.

- Crumbs Bake Shop

Better than Sprinkles. Frosting on top and in the middle. $3.75 per cupcake but well worth it. 'Nuff said.