Eats on the Street – Trey B Cakes

My friend Lisa loves cake, so much so in fact that she once casually uttered the statement, “I don’t think about money all that much, mostly I think about cake.” Granted we were traveling when she made this declaration, and there may have been some sleep deprivation involved but you get the basic idea. It was for this reason that Lisa was the perfect companion on my first visit to the newly opened Trey B. Cakes.

Despite my awareness that we were rolling into a cake shop, the first thought on my mind at 3PM was lunch. Much to my relief, Trey B. offers more than just cake, so while I ordered a quiche with a bowl of soup Lisa began scanning the sweets. There was much head scratching and mind changing before we settled on a slice of coconut cake, a creamed filled chocolate cupcake that went by the name Lulu, and a banana cream tart.

My lunch was tasty despite bacon being the primary theme in both the quiche and the soup. The soup was rich, with discernible chunks of pepper and mushroom floating throughout, and the bacon cheddar quiche was satisfying. A homemade bowl of soup with a fresh quiche for $6 is a steal.

Now for the real deal: the cake. Of the three, Lisa crowned the coconut her favorite based largely on the strength of the cake itself which was moist and tasty whether you nabbed a bite with or without frosting. The frosting itself was creamy and buttery, but not to the point that it rested on butter alone to boost its appeal. Overall the cake was balanced, not too sweet, not too rich, not too dense. A solid winner.

Next in line came the banana creme which at different times held the lead until it was voted out due the disproportionate whipped-creme-to-banana-pudding ratio. Although the whipped creme was excellent it came to overpower the tangy banana creme filling that lined the crunchy tart shell (which I would like to point out was coated in dark chocolate.) Banana plus dark chocolate is a winning combo.

Bringing up the rear was Lulu, who sadly was overpowered by chocolate, which I know you’ll say isn’t possible.  The first bite of the Lulu was bliss. The second bite was waning bliss, and by the third I was overwhelmed. Now, if Lulu was a little bonbon, things might be entirely different, but we were confronted by a whole cupcake. This is definitely a chocoholic’s cupcake, hands down.

The shop is bright, sunny and comfortable with large cups for the coffee and a very friendly and accommodating staff. Our afternoon of cake exploration with coffee and lunch came to just around $20 which is outrageous for the quality of the ingredients and the depth of flavor coming out of that sweets case. Open til 10PM most nights, (midnight on Friday and Saturday) this place will enter my regular rotation of latenight haunts. -LM

Trey B Cakes, 1801 L Street, Ste 70 916.442.7270