By Amy Van Veen (Contributer) – Email
Tracycakes Bakery Cafe has three locations across the lower mainland. In White Rock, it’s nestled on Marine Drive overlooking our little corner of the Pacific; in Fort Langley, it has taken up residence in an old home on 96th Ave just off the main drag; and in Abbotsford, it takes up one of the renovated spaces in Downtown Abbotsford on Montrose Ave. Tracycakes lives up to its name: it is an extraordinary bakery with homemade treats ranging from miniature, single serving apple pies to freshly baked scones and muffins filling its locations with a cozy aroma eliciting thoughts of maternal domesticity.
Tracycakes doesn’t just offer homemade treats; their menu is also filled with some sandwiches, salads, and a soup of the day option to satisfy that pre-dessert meal that society has deemed necessary. The prices range from five to ten dollars. Even though they offer the options, their entrées do not offer the same abundance of flavour and childhood excitement that their cupcakes do. I had the Ham, Swiss, and Tomato Panini that was perfectly satisfactory, but nothing more. When it first came, I assumed I could dive in to its combination of pesto sauce and melted cheese, but, in lieu of two pieces of bread, it was encased in a tortilla-like wrap which made the entire sandwich flimsy and required a knife and fork for consumption. Their “side of vegetables and dip” only consisted of three baby carrots, two slices of cucumber and a thimble of ranch dip. They do serve Mighty Leaf tea with their meals, which is possibly one of the tastiest lines of tea I’ve had, but even that couldn’t save the lunch from being dull.
Fort Langley’s location is adorable and quaint, which also means incredibly small inside. Though this little heritage town by the river is known for its diminutive qualities, the fact that this location fills an older home means that I felt like I was eating lunch in someone’s hallway while a couple next to me had their lunch, and hushed conversation, in the living room. They’ve put in quite a bit of effort in hiding the claustrophobic feeling by painting all the walls white and offering their customers a trip into a black and white world of adorably classy dining, but it is still so small. The Abbotsford location is a little better with all the tables in one large room, instead of a couple of small ones connected by a hallway, and the décor at each location ties them together, offering a branding that is neither tacky nor overdone.
If in the mood for a tasty and sugary concoction, I would recommend any number of the cupcakes (or if a whole cupcake seems out of the question, they have all of their flavours in “Babycake” options for $1.40) or their single serving Turtle cheesecake, but if lunch is what you’re craving, find more satisfying pastures.
