Let them eat Cake!

I feel like most of the dates that Michael and I go on are centered around things I like to do...going out to eat, spending an evening at Barnes & Noble, window shopping in Clarendon (a posh community of Arlington). So, last week, when Mike asked me what I wanted to do that evening (one of his afternoon classes had been cancelled, freeing up some time), I told him that I wanted to do something that HE really wanted to do.

When I got home that night, Michael told me he had a surprise for me and that we needed to eat dinner quickly and then hop on the Metro to go into the city. (First thought: ok, we are not going out to eat.) Michael was so pleased with himself and the surprise he has been planning all afternoon, and probably more so that I really didn't have a clue what it was. As we rode the Metro, he would periodically get this look on his face--like he was an ecstatic little kid--knowing that I was going to LOVE my surprise. As we rode the train, I started to think about what "my surprise" could be. I first thought that we were going to Union Station--one of my favorite places to walk around right in downtown with lots of fun shops and restaurants. But, we passed that train stop. Then I thought we might be going to the National Gallery--Michael knows I love to look at art and we haven't been there since last summer. Nope, we passed that train stop too. At this point, I don't recognize any other Metro stops, so I'm out of guesses. I asked Michael to give me a hint and he said, "It has to do with economics." Great. Then I remembered that he asked me before we left if I was going to bring the book I am reading--The Armchair Economist (it has become one of Michael's favorite books and I thought I would understand why he is so obsessed with economics if I read it). So, because he asked me if I was going to take this book on our trip (his copy), I thought we were going to a book singing of The Armchair Economist.

When we finally got off the Metro, we were on U Street in northwestern DC. We started walking down the street and I started to wonder if Michael even knew where he was going. I didn't recognize ANY thing in the area, but when we finally got to the corner of U Street and 15th street, I noticed a bakery called Love Cafe. It made me remember a bakery I had read about last summer in the Washington Post that I wanted to go to....and maybe this was it! Michael started to slow down and asked, "Do you know what this is?" YES! It WAS the bakery that I read about last summer. The article what about a lawyer turned baker who had recently opened a bakery and was going to be starring in a new show on the Food Network called Sugar Rush. I was SO EXCITED! A date that was supposed to be what Michael wanted to do, and he plans something that he knew I would love! What a guy.




This bakery specializes in cakes made from scratch and cupcakes with many flavors of buttercream frosting. Michael got the German Chocolate cupcake, which he at in about three seconds flat.



I opted for a chocolate toffee crunch layer cake. Wow, was that good! I'm already planning my birthday cake for this year (and only 3 months away!)