Hot Cakes in Barracks Road Shopping Center

(I know, it's been far too long. The summer swept me away. The good news is, I'm back, school is in full swing, and I have lots of delicious Cville foodie tidbits for you.)

First tip of the school year: Free lattes at Hot Cakes in Barracks Road Shopping Center. For UVA students and PVCC students, for the entire month of September 2010, every single day.

There is no catch.

In fact, if you want to order an iced mocha instead of an iced latte, the kindly folks at Hot Cakes will only charge you the difference. Two quarters, or so.

Now that I have your interest piqued, what is Hot Cakes, you ask? I passed this little storefront, sandwiched between CVS and Kroger's, for months before I finally ventured in. (I mean, the name Hot Cakes? Oh, baby.) I had written it off as a greasy spoon, and I couldn't have been further from the truth.

Yes, Hot Cakes has cakes. Fancy ones. Along with single-serving desserts: Napoleons, carrot cupcakes, eclairs, lemon bars — more specialties than I can recall.


My pal Alexis smartly ordered a fruit tart the other day, and it was the best fruit tart I've ever had.

I tried out the quiche and mixed salad for $6.99. The salad was a grade above your typical bland selection, and the quiche very yummy.


Hot Cakes also serves lots of selections by weight — I'll get a quarter of a pound of fresh fruit, or a third a pound of avocado-tomato-hearts of palm salad for a reasonable few bucks. ($14.99 a pound seems outrageous, but it's not. You won't eat that much. Trust me.)

In fact, my only hesitation in writing this is that Hot Cakes will become overcrowded, too popular for its own good.

Ah, well. They deserve the business. That's a risk I'll take.