Tag Archives: King Cake Death Match

Aces of Cakes: The Best King Cake in New Orleans 2012

Posted on February 6, 2012 | 4 Comments

The field of battle at the hotel Mazarin

He and She Said:

Wow, what an evening!

Our profound thanks to everyone who attended and helped make the 2nd annual King Cake Death Match a rousing success. It was a night filled with sweetness and fun, thanks to the generosity of the eleven bakeries who graciously contributed their work. As a result, all of us had the opportunity to run the NOLA king cake gamut (and then run like hell to the gym the next day).

Above and below, some images from the event courtesy of photographer par-excellence Tonya Armbruster, whose work you can find at Nolafleur Photography, some additional notes, and of course a rundown of the winners:

The goods from La Divina

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Super Thursday: King Cake Death Match

Posted on February 2, 2012 | 3 Comments

CC image courtesy Alan Cleaver at flickr

He and She Said:

The caucuses, campaigning, debating and mudslinging are done, and election day is at hand.

It’s time to do your civic duty: Get out and vote in the bigger, bolder, sweeter, 2nd Annual King Cake Death Match.

What to do about the housing crisis? We have no idea. How to curb a nuclear Iran? We got nothing. But on the weighty issue of king cake, we’ve got a platform and a plan:

Thanks to the amazing generosity of our Gang of Eleven, we have the sweetest ballot you’ve ever seen, and it’s your job to keep the world safe for democracy by evaluating them all.

Poll tax? Unconstitutional. This event is FREE, as our electoral process was meant to be. That’s right, you’ll sample the contenders at no cost in this open pastry primary. On the ticket:

The incumbent: Cake Cafe and Bakery

And the challengers:

Haydel’s Bakery

La Divina Gelateria

La Dolce Nola

Manny Randazzo’s

Maple Street Patisserie

Maurice French Pastry

Praline Connection

Rouses

Sucre

Tartine

Your polling precinct: Patrick’s Bar Vin in the newly renovated Hotel Mazarin, 730 Bienville in the French Quarter. Ballots will be cast in the fabulous rain-proof courtyard. Bar Vin will provide a cash bar, including $5 specials on prosecco and today’s release of Lucky Player King Cake Vodka to help grease the wheels of democracy.

Polls open promptly at 7pm, and, presuming no hanging chads, a winner will be declared at 9pm.

So skip lunch (hell ,skip breakfast), and show up ready to digest the issue of the day: King cake.

 

 

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The Sweet Science: King Cake Death Match 2012 Final Lineup

Posted on January 30, 2012 | 1 Comment

CC image courtesy Eric Hunsaker at Flickr

He and She Said:

Welcome to the 2012 King Cake Death Match presented by He Said/She Said NOLA pregame show, with features, analysis, and breakdown on the epic pastry showdown.

(We’re still in negotiation for named sponsors for next year’s event. The Mercedes-Benz King Cake Death Match has a nice ring, doesn’t it?)

We have on board a ridiculous ten eleven (!) bakeries ready to duke it out in a one-of-a-kind exhibition of the sweet science. As you prepare for the stretch run of Carnival season, this is your chance to sample the best NOLA has to offer in one spot and add some new favorites to your own gatherings.

And we need you to vote!

We  will declare a winner: this ain’t no fancy-pants build-your-self-esteem every-kid-gets-a-trophy suburban feel good soccer league. We keep score. We’ll tally your votes and declare a winner on the spot. Here’s the details:

Admission and tasting are free, begins at 7pm sharp at Patrick’s Bar Vin on Bienville in the Quarter, and concludes at 9pm with the announcement of the winner.

In addition to their normal selection, Bar Vin will offer $5 by the glass specials of king cake vodka on the rocks and Martini Prosecco to pair with your cake.

And speaking of cakes, what a lineup we have. In alphabetical order, here are the contenders:

Cake Cafe and Bakery

Haydel’s Bakery

La Divina Gelateria

La Dolce NOLA

Manny Randazzo’s

Maple Street Patisserie

Maurice’s Bakery

The Praline Connection

Rouses

Sucre

Tartine

Yeah, you might want to skip lunch Thursday.

You know how it is: you can’t throw a go-cup around here without hitting someone proclaiming that dawlin’, dis king cake is da best one, but dig a little deeper and you find out that more often than not the expert one bar stool down has been eating nothing but their cake of choice for the past ten years (not that there’s anything wrong with that). This is an opportunity to become something  of a king cake savant, an aficionado of the pastry arts. We absolutely promise if you sample all eleven cakes you’ll go home Thursday a little more well-rounded than you arrived.

See ya Thursday!

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Pour Some Sugar on Me: 2012 King Cake Death Match, February 2nd

Posted on January 23, 2012 | 6 Comments

CC image courtesy Angie Garrett at Flickr

He and She Said:

According to a carefully chosen panel of experts, what’s the best King Cake in town?

Who the hell cares?

Experts? We don’t need no stinkin’ experts. We need you.

For the second year in a row, we are crowdsourcing the vote for the best King Cake in NOLA. If you’re a native, you’ve been eating them all your life, right? And if you’re a transplant, we know you remember the first time you were smacked upside the head with Carnival pastry goodness.

You know what good is, so come out and prove it.

Here’s the deal:

Place: Thursday, February 2nd, 7pm sharp at the fabulous Patrick’s Bar Vin in the French Quarter. Haven’t been there yet? Here’s your chance to check out the Quarter’s newest wine bar and meet bon vivant extraordinaire Patrick van Hoorebeek. Click on this link for more info about Bar Vin.

Price of admission: Your opinion.

Bill of fare: A murderer’s row of confectionery bliss including cakes from the defending champion Cake Cafe and Bakery, Sucre, La Divina Gelateria, Rouses, Maple Street Patisserie, La Dolce NOLA, and a few more as we work this week to complete the list of contenders. By the time you stumble out in a sugar-induced coma, you’ll have sampled the best the city has to offer and passed judgement upon them all.

Bar Vin will be complementing the cakes with everything they have to offer, including drink specials on bubbly by the glass and king cake flavored vodka.

That’s not a misprint: king. cake. vodka.

So mark your calendar and make plans to come out, meet your humble correspondents, and let your voice be heard next Thursday!

*Disclaimer: While no one has actually, like, died during the death match (so far) He Said/She Said NOLA and Patrick’s Bar Vin take no responsibility for the effects of ridiculous sugar intake upon your system. The gloves are off for this pastry cage match, so eat at your own risk.

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Save the Date! 2nd Annual King Cake Death Match, February 2, 2012

Posted on January 9, 2012 | Leave a comment

CC Image courtesy of Infrogmation on Flickr

He and She Said:

Thrills, festivities, and edge of your seat excitement. Fire breathers, dancing-girls, clowns in Volkswagens: anything can happen. Back by popular demand, we present the second annual He Said/She Said King Cake Death Match, where fan voting rules the day.

That’s right, no fancy-pants, nose-in-the-air celebrity voting here. Bring your appetite and your opinion and let your voice be heard.

This year’s event will be held Thursday, February 2nd, at 7:00pm at the fabulous Patrick’s Bar Vin in the French Quarter on Bienville Street. Admission is of course free and will include the opportunity to sample the best king cakes in town and take part in anointing the winner for 2012.

Cake Cafe took home the prize last year, and we expect them to make every effort to defend their title against a host of worthy challengers. More details coming soon on the pastry gauntlet, drink specials, and general merriment.

So, put it on your calendar and give the Super Bowl weekend an early kickoff with us at Bar Vin!

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Aces of Cakes: The Best King Cakes in New Orleans 2011

Posted on January 28, 2011 | 4 Comments

He and She Said:

Death Match Sugar Gauntlet

People love to vote.

(Editor’s note: for information on the 2012 King Cake Death Match, Thursday Feb 2nd, click here.)

This Wednesday, Fahy’s Irish Pub on Toulouse and Burgundy hosted with us the First Annual French Quarter King Cake Death Match. There were no casualties (with the possible exception of a few sugar-comas) and we were unable to document a single sleeper-hold or figure-four leg lock, but great fun was had by all.

Truth be told, Quarter residents can be a bit of a jaded group. Spray-painted mimes battling in the street with pirates; naked bicycling jugglers: For some, signs of the apocalypse. For us, just another Tuesday. So we knew we needed to bill this as a lethal armageddon just to keep people’s interest. We did learn that showing up anywhere with twelve King Cakes will always make you more popular.

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