office treats!

[applecore]

next friday is my last day at my current job! i would like to bring in some tasty goodies as a parting gift. i'm looking for something different from the tired standbys such as donuts, cupcakes, bagels etc..

any fun ideas?

thanks!

[bulavinaka]

Depends on where you are, how far you're willing to go, how much you're willing to spend, and what you'd consider to be different. I personally like Natas in Sherman Oaks a lot. They bake Portuguese-style pastries that are really good. I've tried their non-Portuguese pastries as well, but have found that their Portuguese items rule.

http://www.nataspastries.com/

Empanadas are loved by most, and are intriguing to those who have never tried them. Empanda's Place on Sawtelle in Mar Vista/Culver City has - I don't know - maybe a dozen different types that you can order. This place has the deep-fried ones, as opposed to baked - but who's counting calories? And speaking about calories, you should give their alfajores a try if you like shortbread and dolce de leche...

Empanada's Place
3811 Sawtelle Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90066
310-391-0888

If you are in the San Gabriel Valley or even Torrance, JJ Bakery offers Chinese-style baked goods - far too many to list - but these will vary anywhere from small breads vaguely similar to Mexican sweet breads) to individual and full-sized cakes, to hybrid items, like mochi cakes (light cream-filled sponge cake enveloped in flavored mochi).

http://www.jjbakeryusa.com/

Cream puffs can be cream puffs, or they can be artisanal works of art. Patissierie Chantilly in Lomita makes some awesome desserts, but many know them for their amazing cream puffs. Bonjour in Gardena makes great ones as well - I have yet to try the latter, but if poster exilekiss says they're great, then they're great:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/694660

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Empanada's Place
3811 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90066

[goodhealthgourmet]

bulavinaka raises some good points - your location, budget, and the number of people will factor into this. it would also help to know if you're looking for something to hand out as a take-home, or if you;d like to do something you can all enjoy together at the office. having said that:
- LA has some great chocolatiers (LA Burdick, Compartes, etc.), so that's another option.
- you could bring in an assortment of ice cream/gelato/sorbet & toppings and set up a sundae bar
- if it's a relatively small number of people, i love to do granola or biscotti in personalized jars
- cake pops are all the rage these days, you could do those, or cake balls, or cheesecake pops...or truffles
- chocolate-dipped dried fruit or pretzels

[schrutefarms]

Porto's makes these cream cheese and guava tarts that are always a HUGE hit.

[J.L.]

2nd this.

[applecore]

thanks for the suggestions! interesting pastries sound good - cream puffs from beard papa's perhaps or the guava cheese pie from cafe tropical as porto's is too far of a drive. i work in marina del rey, near washington/lincoln so anything near there would be ideal.

[wienermobile]

There is a Beard Papa not far from you on Sawtelle in West LA.
Sawtelle Store
2130 Sawtelle Blvd. Suite #110
Los Angeles, CA 90025
[phone]
http://www.beardpapa.com/

[goodhealthgourmet]

in that case, you might want to check out Jin Patisserie or Rockenwagner Bakery.

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Rockenwagner Bakery
12835 W Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90066

Jin Patisserie
1202 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

[bulavinaka]

You might consider Bite Bar and Bakery on Pico or Huckleberry on Wilshire, both in Santa Monica. Both places have wonderful kitchens that also make lots of interesting baked items. I like Huckleberry for the variety. Bite may offer fewer things, but I personally think almost everything there is superb. Huckleberry can be hit or miss - mostly hits though. Bite's goods average about $2-5 ( a slice of superb chocolate ganache-frosted golden cake is $4.75), while Huckleberry can get as high as $7-8 (for a mixed berry crostada).

Another place to check out that is very good is Amandine on Wilshire in West LA. They have an awesome selection of Japanese-inspired French pastries and desserts. Pretty hard to go wrong there. The prices are a little easier on the pocket book than the first two places, and there's something there for everybody. Most of their pastries are a buck & change to no more than $3. If you get into their tortes, pies, etc., then the prices are more like $4-5.

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Amandine Patissiere
12225 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025

Huckleberry Cafe
1014 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401

Bite Bar & Bakery
3221 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405

[westsidegal]

great suggestions in terms of food quality, but if transport is going to occur around the morning rush hour, there will be a price to pay . . . . .

also, not for op, but amandine and huckleberry , irrc, are closed on mondays

[bulavinaka]

Great points, WSG. And that brings up another point - I wonder where the OP lives, which may make it easier to offer recs based on the commute. And if I were to stay within a (approx.) 5-minute radius of Lincoln and Washington, I'd pick Rockenwagner on Washington, 3 Square on Abbot Kinney (both offer basically the same since they're both Rockenwagner-owned) as they both offer sweet and savory pastries that are first rate, or Angel Maid on Centinela for the boxes of mini cream puffs or any of their cakes as well as their more precious individual desserts.

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Rockenwagner Bakery
12835 W Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90066

3 Square Cafe
1121 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

Angel Maid Bakery
4538 S Centinela Ave, Los Angeles, CA

[bulavinaka]

D'oh - the Homer in me thinks Angel Maid is closed on Mondays as well. I know the OP's last day at work is Friday, so I'm assuming that Friday will be the day, but just in case... :)

[westsidegal]

if it were me, i'd probably go to the whole foods at lincoln and rose and raid their pastry/bakery department for an assortment of goodies--small pastries, large cookies, etc.
they offer good variety, better-than-good quality, and they are much less expensive than gelsons.

for, what imho is a lower quality offering, but less expensive, the costco right near you offers several 'budget' items that would work, but costco doesn't open until around ten-ish, i believe.

[applecore]

i'll be driving from Koreatown - and I forgot all about Paris Baguette! I've had Pretzels from 3 Square and it's only ok, not great. Huckleberry is out of my price range and Amandine is a bit too far from my commute.. Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

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3 Square Cafe
1121 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

Paris Baguette
3470 W 6th St, Los Angeles, CA

[bulavinaka]

I'm guessing you're referring to the "plain" pretzels or pretzel rolls... Now if you're talking about the bacon cheese pretzel twists, then you must of had a sinus cold while trying them! :)

[Emme]

sort of out of the way, but why not stop at Primo's for Buttermilk Bars? :-D

[bulavinaka]

Love their buttermilk bars and the folks there are so nice.