In honor of 'National Cheesecake Day' (apparently, July 30th), we decide to try a new cheesecake joint in Chinatown. It's called "Otto Cake" and is located at 1160 Smith Street, in a less intimidating area of old Chinatown.
The grey building with it's red framed windows and colorful hanging flagged banners is most welcoming and playful, with its simple black and white signage "OTTO CAKE".
When you enter the small shop, you feel as though your in the refreshment area of a kids theatre. There's a glass refrigeration unit with five kinds of cheese-cake on display. Today's selection~mango cheesecake, lemon cheesecake, maple cheese-cake, blueberry cheesecake and plain cheesecake. It's that simple. You can also order a whole cheesecake 24 hours in advance~there are 86 kinds of cheesecake flavors to choose from.
Next to the refrigerated cheesecake is a red and white checked covered table, that holds a bright red cash register. The walls are painted white with colorful billard-like cue balls, sans numbers, plastered on the walls. The multi-colored diamond shaped pattern of the velvet curtain hangs as a room divider with the baker's lair behind it. A handwritten menu of coffees is posted on the wall along with a few knick-knacks.
Otto, whose real name is unknown, is a bassist in a punk rock band called "The 86 List", therefore, 86 flavors of cheesecake. He's also an actor (Hedwig in his own production of "Hedwig & The Angry Inch") and was some kind of champion roller skater. But don't let all his cool credentials fool you. He's been baking cheesecakes for over 20 years! Hell, it is the tastiest and creamiest cheesecake I've ever eaten. Sorry, New Yorkers! And he makes these cheesecakes for the love of his mother~it's her favorite. And that's what makes Otto Cake so special!
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