You may have heard of Magnolia, Buttercup, Crumbs, and Billy’s. This is Baked, a delicious little dessert place in an unpretentious part of town called Red Hook. A Brooklynite for many years, Renato Poliafito, co-owner and manager of the two-year-old bakery, felt the neighborhood was on the verge of something new in 2005. As Poliafito is talking about The Today Show’s announcement of Baked being picked the winner of the national best brownie contest (unbeknownst to him until this morning), it is clear how right his instincts were.
When customers step inside the store on Van Brunt Street, they order chocolate chip cookies and red velvet cakes, sweet ‘n salty cakes and the most recent creation: Pumpkin ‘Whoopee’ Pie made with traditional cheesecake frosting and cookie-soft textures, “perfectly pumpkinee for fall,” says Poliafito, who admits that this, even above the now famous brownie, is his favorite Baked treat.
Founders Matt Lewis and Renato PoliafitoIn addition to satisfying both the curious and regular customers who pop by, the shop will customize cakes, cater weddings, and deliver to Manhattan and as far as Pennsylvania, south New Jersey, and upstate New York. At Baked, you will not find “sugar-bombs,” (as Poliafito describes what is cranked out at some of the more popular Manhattan pastry shops), but rather a new modern more minimal twist on classic confections. “We use really great ingredients, with a true European-style butter cream. We cut a lot of the sugar so you are tasting actual flavors of what you’re eating – chocolate and vanilla will taste like chocolate and vanilla.”
How to get there: Take the F or G train and get off at Smith/9th. From there hop on the B77 bus (it’s right at the subway entrance). That will take you into Red Hook and drop you off across the street from Baked! (359 Van Brunt St., 718.222.0345, www.bakednyc.com)
(Photo Credit: Baked)
The co-founder and editor-at-large at offMetro, Lauren is a sustainable travel specialist and freelance journalist with frequent bylines in National Geographic, Bicycling Magazine and Shape. Follow Lauren’s adventures at @laurenmati.
Sarah Knapp is a Brooklyn based entrepreneur whose love for the outdoors and community building led her to the October 2013 creation of OutdoorFest. She has a BA in History, is a Wilderness First Responder and a NY state hiking, camp and boating guide. Her proudest achievement to date is reading the Aeneid in Latin. 
Allison was one of our first top writers and Chief Editor but is no longer working with offMetro. Allison is a native New Yorker, who has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne, Toronto and Los Angeles. She frequently contributed travel pieces to Family Travel Forum, using her own children as guinea pigs as they travel the globe. She never missed a chance to sample local delicacies, as her love for travel goes hand-in-hand with her love for food and wine. 
Josh Laskin is a freelance travel writer and photographer based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. When he is not at work or on the road, you can find him in the mountains snowboarding, climbing, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking, and eating bagel bites.
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Kate E. O’Hara is a New York based freelance writer and photographer who loves all things food—especially the people who make it and market it. Her writing aims to capture the essence of the food experience; the stories that go well beyond a plate of ingredients. In addition to her love of food, Kate is also known to have a hankering for red wine and craft beer. You can also find Kate on Instagram