A Visit to Carlo’s Bake Shop – Hoboken Baby!

That’s right – we took a trip to Hoboken to visit Carlo’s Bake Shop – made famous through the television show Cake Boss.

The show has been a family favorite for sometime and since we were visiting friends in New York it seemed like the perfect time to go. It was definitely an adventure. Pouring rain, a line over 2 hours long and was it worth it – yes.

We built a family memory to last a lifetime, met wonderfully friendly people in line (after all we were all in this together), had a few celebrity sightings and we would do it all over again!

Here is what we learned during our visit that will make your trip to visit Carlo’s Bake Shop smooth as molasses!

• Dress for the weather – you will be in line – make it as comfortable as possible with the right shoes, jacket, umbrella, etc.
• Bring quarters – parking in the area is metered. We were able to stuff the meter and leave the car worry free a few blocks over
• Bring your camera – you never know who you will see! We spotted Mauro Castano going into CVS while we were there! Take pictures – this trip made for a great scrapbook page.
• Be patient – the line does move – they have plenty of staff working the counters and keep the line moving
• Make a plan – Walking in the store can be overwhelming – and hard to see for the little ones. TIP – Talk in line about what you are going to order – I wish we had. We walked in asked the kids what they wanted to order and the response was 2 chocolate chip cookies from our son and an M&M cookie from our daughter!
• Souvenirs – They have these at the front of the shop – after a cold wet couple of hours in line I had my eye on hoodie sweatshirt!
• Smile – you could be on camera. There was no filming going on the day we were there but it is a regular occurrence
• Bathroom breaks – every parent needs to prepare for this one – chances are someone will need a bio break while you are in line – just down the street is a Dunkin Donuts with a bathroom – the catch, you need to make a purchase – the irony, you are waiting in line to go to a famous bakery and buying donuts for your family from Dunkin Donuts while you wait – although having a clean, convenient restroom we know is priceless

My husband and I got ‘Lobster Tails’ and they were incredible. The kids loved having their own bakery box and their cookies. We had a great visit and hope you do to!

Check out our other adventures in the area – we headed to the American Girl store in New York (Part I, Part II and Part III) and took in a show on Broadway!