MÄNI'S BAKERY CAFÉ

07.02.09

Happy 4th of July

Mäni’s Is Open July 4th from 8:00AM to 3:00PM

Mäni’s is open:

Friday July 3rd 8AM to 10PM - bakery counter until 11PM
Saturday July 4th 8AM to 3PM
Sunday July 5th 8AM to 10PM - cafe’s kitchen closes at 9PM

07.02.09

Mäni’s Community Events

Mäni’s wants to be involved in providing a place for your group(s) to meet to start or end an activity or hobby.  If you’re planning a:

• Bike Ride
• Walk
• Visiting LACMA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
• Book or Reading Club
• Or other events
• Weekly meeting with colleagues or co-workers

Email us at to let us know the details of your gathering or event, and we’d be happy to put together a special offer for you and your guests!

You can also call 323 964-0840 and speak to Meredith at extension 11, or Larry at extension 10

06.10.09

Our Online Store Is Growing!

Our online store is growing! Have our famous granola shipped straight to your doorstep, or send it to a lucky someone as a gift!

Visit our online store: http://www.manisbakery.com/page/online_store

Also available in the store is Mani Niall’s new cookbook, “Sweet!”, featuring recipes using the sweeteners we use here in the bakery as well as many other natural sugars. You can also purchase a Mäni’s gift card for the Mäni’s lover in your life.

We’re working on adding more to our store, so that you can enjoy Mäni’s deliciousness in every corner of the country. Check back often to see what’s new!

04.05.09

Mayor At Lunch

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and his daughter have lunch at Mäni’s while a customer sends him a chocolate dipped chocolate chip cookie.

03.27.09

Dine By Candlelight at Mäni’s during Earth Hour LA!

Mäni’s will be participating in in EARTH HOUR Los Angeles by turning off our lights from 8:30pm – 9:30pm on Saturday, March 28th in an effort to raise awareness for global climate change.

This year, the World Wildlife Federation and the City of Los Angeles are coming together to announce an inaugural EARTH HOUR Los Angeles. As a flagship city for this year’s event, LA is creating multiple ways for people to get involved beyond simply turning their lights off for the appointed hour.  One of these is the “Dine by Candlelight” program showcasing local restaurants who would like to support the initiative and the common cause of energy conservation.  To learn more, visit http://www.voteearth2009.org/home/.

We invite you to come in and enjoy a famous Mäni’s meal, made with organic and healthful ingredients, while you dine by candlelight tomorrow (3/28) from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.!

03.21.09

More for No More $$

Just a quick update here to let you know that when you order a Balanced Bites item, such as A Balkan Wrap, Garden Patch Wrap or New Mayan Wrap, and request a side with it, there will be no additional charge.

Our sides include:  steamed kale, steamed spinach, Caesar salad, mixed greens, organic roasted Yukon Gold potatoes, French fries, baked fries, veggie chips, and soup of the day.

Enjoy!

03.17.09

Virgil’s Makes a Splash

Virgil’s soda is now available at Mani’s! Virgil’s Diet Cola is an excellent stand-in for all of those chemically-enhanced diet sodas (you know who you are): it’s sweetened with stevia, and instead of giving you the caffeine jitters, this cola offers an energy-boosting infusion of ginseng, astragalus, and ginkgo, among others.

Also included in the mix are kola nut (for that classic cola-y flavor), clove bud oil, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and citrus oils. Also available is Virgil’s Real Cola, sweetened with unbleached cane sugar and caffeine free.

Try one with your meal today!  Or ask your server for a FREE taste!

03.03.09

Mäniac Value Plates: Breakfast and Burgers Only $9! Cake and Lemonade Prices Reduced!

Mäni’s is offering a special deal on our delicious breakfast plates and juicy burgers (with tofu, veggie, turkey, beef or chicken patty).

Monday through Friday, come in before 11 a.m. and enjoy ANY item on our breakfast menu for only $9!

Sunday through Friday, come in after 5 p.m. and grab any of our burgers (with fries and a refillable drink) for only $9!

While you’re in, take advantage of our reduced prices on your favorite cake and pie slices. A slice of cake or pie is now only $6! Our famous gluten-free Dark Chocolate Mousse cake has also been reduced to only $6.75 a slice. Make it a sweet spring treat with our fruit juice-sweetened lemonade, now only $3.75!

02.24.09

Cake and Pie Prices Lowered

As part of Mäni’s ongoing effort to deliver value to our loyal customers, we’ve just lowered the prices for pies and cake slices!

In these difficult times, something as simple as a delicious slice of cake (made with organic flours and alternative sweeteners, mind you) is enough to soothe your troubles. And we’re here for just that!

Cake and pie slices are now only $6! Think your friends and loved ones might need that extra bit of delicious comfort as well? Whole pies are ready to take home for as little as $22. That’s a reduction of almost 33%!

Let Mäni’s delicious cakes and pies sweeten your day (and your wallet will be happy, too!).

02.21.09

What Happened to the Peanut Butter Bites??!!

Many have been commenting on the missing peanut butter bites.  After the Salmonella scare from the peanut processing plant in Atlanta last month, the country’s supply of peanut butter, especially for commercial use has all but vanished.  Our supplier has estimated we should begin receiving product again within a week or so.  We’ll keep you posted.

02.19.09

Response to Customer Comments

In January I wrote a post on this blog for the purpose of letting you, our valued customers, know that Mani’s has been significantly affected by the economic downturn, as many businesses and restaurants have been.

Many of you let us know how much you appreciate our bakery and café and some excellent suggestions were offered, with good intentions to help us through these tough times. We truly appreciate the time you took to let us know your views, both positive and negative.

This post was written for our customers who’ve opted in to be notified about the goings on at Mäni’s.  It is fairly well known in Los Angeles that we cater to those who appreciate foods that are less refined, using alternative ingredients in both our baking and café foods.

Earlier this month, the popular LA eater blog picked up our story and to our dismay, many of their readers voiced their dissatisfaction with our eatery.

A few years ago when we started our blog we understood we would become more transparent to the community.  We embrace this form of communication because it helps us stay in touch with our customers and has opened up a new avenue of communication. That being said, it also exposes us to negative comments and viewpoints.

That’s OK. Our regular customers understand we cater to a niche market:  those who seek healthier versions of food and baked goods.  We understand not everyone appreciates the style of food and bakery products we’re famous for, and after 20 years in business, we have a following with tremendous support for what we do best. We also know there’s always room for improvement and welcome constructive feedback.

The bottom line is that since we shared our story last month, we’ve enjoyed increased traffic and sales both in our café and bakery and many positive comments as well. We appreciate LA Eater for reposting our story and bringing our attention to some issues we need to take a close look at in order to keep improving our business.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be following up with posts addressing some of the legitimate feedback we’ve received about Mäni’s Bakery Cafe. 

As always, we appreciate your support and feedback and look forward to serving you for many more years to come.

02.11.09

Customer Survey Completed

Just a quick update to thank you for participating in our recent customer satisfaction survey.

Please come by to claim your $5 gift card if you haven’t done so yet!

02.09.09

Sweetheart Treats for Valentine’s Day!

We’re excited to present a few moderately priced Valentine’s treats for sweethearts on a budget! Check out our delicious Chocolate Raspberry Passion cake (only $14), a vegan delight just big enough to split, and our insanely popular Chocolate Truffle Heart Cookies (just $5). Our pastry cook, Leslie, whipped up some of these adorable chocolate-covered hearts, made of flourless chocolate cake and topped with a raspberry ($6). We’ll also have a few more yummy treats in the case this week, so come by to indulge!

01.11.09

Update On Surveys

Many of you have already completed our ">Customer Satisfaction Survey.

However about 80% have not yet redeemed their FREE $5 Mäni’s Card. 

We just want to remind you to come by and pick up your FREE Mäni’s Card anytime, but come by soon!

01.06.09

If You Enjoy Mäni’s, PLEASE READ!

Thank you all for enjoying our bakery and food for since 1989!  And Happy New Year.

As you know, 2008 was a year like no other in our lifetimes. 

Some industries and segments of our society have been greatly affected by the economic downturn. We all know about the financial and real estate sectors, but many don’t know about the impact of the economic belt-tightening on many restaurants and bakeries, especially in the last few months.

Unfortunately, we face the very real possibility of not making it through 2009, unless we can modify our business to function more efficiently in today’s environment.

We need your help to continue.  We need your support.  If you want to see Mäni’s stay in business, we need your economic support and feedback.  Even if that means just coming by for a single cookie, or bringing your friends for a snack, breakfast, lunch, tea or dinner.

Please understand we will not be able to continue as we were.  We will have to reduce the bakery selections.  This is your opportunity to let us know what you really like, not only by telling us here on this blog, but with your purchasing preferences.  We will be closely monitoring selections during January 2009.  And we will also be watching our overall sales volume.

Just to let you know, December was the weakest sales Mäni’s has ever had.  At this level we will not be able to continue.

As with many businesses, our operating expenses are fixed.  Some have increased dramatically, such as our rent which has risen 81% in less than two years.  Others are fixed contracts.  We have reduced staff, which was painful, but if we can’t improve sales, we won’t be able to cover our expenses.

Please let us know how we can provide the products and service you’d like now.

Thanks in advance for your continued patronage, ideas and support!  We look forward to seeing you at Mäni’s soon.

Larry Maiman
Founder

12.18.08

Enjoying Tea and Truffles

How nice to see a lovely couple enjoying a selection of Mäni’s barley malt sweetened truffles.  Seems like the almond dusted amaretto ones raised a bit of a controversy with yours truely.  I had forgotten we had changed the recipe on these and added the amaretto!

I didn’t ask their names, but maybe they’ll comment on the story….

11.24.08

Fun at Mani Niall’s Book Signing

Thank you to everyone who showed up for Mani Niall’s book signing last Saturday.  We all had a great time, reminiscing and catching up with Mani and his friends and all the customers.

Picture is Mani Niall and Meredith Cella with Mani’s latest book,

‘Sweet!‘

Mani was kind enough to autograph several dozen copies of ‘Sweet!‘ for customers.  Copies are now available for purchase at our retail bakery restaurant at 519 South Fairfax Avenue in LA.

Mention of Mani Niall and his new book was made at Stacie Stukin’s blogsite, Yogajournal.com a wonderful blog for Yoga enthusiasts.

11.15.08

Mani Niall Co-Founder of Mäni’s signs his new book at Mäni’s on Fairfax

Come to Mäni’s on Fairfax this Saturday, November 22, 2008 between 3:00PM and 5:00PM and purchase your own autographed copy of Sweet!

Sweet!, by Mani Niall, co-founder of Mäni’s Bakery Cafe on Fairfax, is his newest book on baking sweeteners.  Sweet! is “an essential guide for home cooks curious to experiment with dozens of traditional and alternative natural sugars and sweeteners.  From agave to turbinado, home baking with every kind of natural sugar and sweetener.

As many of you know Mani Niall and Larry Maiman (owner & operator) started Mäni’s Bakery in its original location on South Fairfax in 1990.
Chef Mani now lives in Northern California and is Executive Chef at Just Desserts.

Mani will be signing copies of this delectable new book specializing in dessert recipes that use alternative sugars and sweeteners such as agave, honey and organic cane sugar. Mani Niall’s fun and whimsical tone invites you to try these new and alternative sweeteners for either old classics or new avant-garde desserts.

“I learned how to bake using honey and maple syrup in natural foods restaurants; drank chai in India sweetened with jaggery and gur; spent a summer in England where I was introduced to earthy Muscovado and golden, toffee-like Demerara and Turbinado sugars.  Now with organic and fair trade sugars, honeys and agave syrups on the market, I was inspired to create these recipes and compile these traditions from the countries which produce sugars into a book form.  Sweet! is the culmination of my 25 years as a baker.”

If you have either of Mani’s other books, Sweet and Natural Baking or Covered in Honey, bring them by and get them signed as well!

Please come early and get your copy of ‘Sweet!‘
Quantities are limited

08.28.08

Peach Season Is In Full Swing!

Peach Season Is In Full Swing!
In celebration of this wonderful time of year, we have created the Fresh Peach Tart for you to enjoy.  But you better hurry!

Peaches are thought to have originated in China, which is still the biggest producer of peaches worldwide.  In this country, Georgia claims to be the “Peach State”, but California produces the most peaches in the United States.

Peach season locally runs from early June until late October, but we think they are at their sweetest and juiciest right now.

Our Fresh Peach Tart has layers of vanilla pastry creme and peach puree inside of our almond shortbread crust.  The whole thing is topped off with lots of farm fresh peaches. 

It is a work of art showcasing the freshness of the summer season.  But it won’t be around for long, so come in and try one today.

08.06.08

New Menu Rookie Plates: Friend or Foe?

While we are over-indulging in our new menu’s offerings (mmm…tempeh bacon…), we know that some of our rookie plates had a rough takeoff.

Not to be discouraged, we took a glass-half-full approach with the constructive criticism we’ve received by realizing our devoted customers care enough to let us know where our shortcomings are.

One customer told us via blog comment that she was disappointed by the Vegan Black Bean & Plantain Quesadilla. Not satisfied by the consistency or moisture of the plantain, this customer’s high hopes for our new quesadilla were a bit dashed. In the same letter, she wrote that our veggie patty was not cutting it. It “used to have a nice ‘meaty’ consistency, with great flavor”, she said, while she’d experienced our new patty to “mush and crumble meekly out the side of the bun”.

Her comments were a buzz through the cafe this morning, and immediately ideas were exchanged. What can we do to make sure the plantain in the VBBP Quesadilla is consistently delicious? What’s up with the veggie patty, and how can we fix it? While opinions were voiced and potential changes were planned, we realized this customer’s insights (like many we’ve received from you) were just what we needed. It still stings a little to hear a customer’s tale of an unsatisfactory meal, but we can take it!

Your input helps us focus on what you want for your next Mani’s meal. So let us know; don’t hold back. The good and the bad, we want to hear what’s on your plate.

07.31.08

Blueberry Cheesecake Tart

Celebrate Summer - Two Weeks Only

We’re at the end of an excellent blueberry season.  While they’re fresh, with a slight tang and lightly sweetened with our famous fruit juice reduction.

Starting this week-end at Mäni’s on Fairfax.

From the kitchens and pastry chefs come a taste delight, our new Blueberry Cheescake Tart.
Only one word…. A M A Z I N G ! !

07.24.08

Mäni’s Introduces Online Ordering, Delivery and Pick Up Service!

Our new menu has garnered such rave reviews from our customers that we decided to make ordering available online!

Mäni’s new service invites you to order online for pickup or delivery. It’s fast, convenient, and above all, delicious!

We’re excited to offer the speedy delivery of your favorite Mäni’s meals and bakery products right to your home or office.

Visit order.manisbakery.com to place your order. When we call to confirm your order, mention this email and receive a complimentary cookie of your choice.

07.22.08

New Items From Our New Menu

Our new menu polished off its first week of residency with flying colors! We’ve received a lot of great feedback about the bevy of new flavors on the table.

A new favorite is the Quinoa Tabouli & Roasted Garlic Hummus Mini-Wraps. So refreshing and so healthful, these little bites have won rave reviews so far!

The BBQ Ranch Salad is making waves. Creamy and tangy with those crunchy baked tortilla strips atop, this salad has been a hit with the Mäni’s team and customers alike. In fact, all of the salads (like the vegan Caesar Salad) are experiencing a Renaissance in the café thanks to the crunchy, zesty crackers in the bowl (not to mention our new vegan tempeh and seitan options).

We’ve also had great reviews of our new Balkan Wrap. The combination of creamy Feta crumbles with our savory Black Bean Hummus is a longtime favorite; formerly the Pita Stop, we gave it a makeover to meet your requests. It has been flying out of the kitchen!

So, all in all, we think the new menu had a pretty fabulous debut. We love to hear from you! Email us or comment here to tell us about your experience with the new menu!

07.15.08

Summer Menu - N E W ! ! !

Spring brought us inspiration in the kitchen, and we began dreaming of fresh new ingredients and flavors. Soon our dreams materialized in the hands of our skilled chefs, and a new Mäni’s began to emerge.

We’re excited to pioneer a new menu that continues our focus on fresh, organic ingredients and comforting, classic tastes. Most of your old favorites, our signature dishes, are still on the roster because they’re too darn tasty to let go. We’ve also introduced new combinations (like vegan seitan and tempeh in our sandwiches and salads, for example) to further our quest to serve delectably healthful food to our diverse fans.

Come by and check it out, and let us know what you think!

06.14.08

California Gets A Boost From Same Sex Weddings

Some of you may remember back to 2004, when I was fortunate to marry my partner of 14 years in San Francisco.  Since the courts then invalidated that marriage, we’ll be getting married again this summer along with thousands of others who live in California and even more coming to visit California and getting married here.

It’s an exciting time to be in the hospitality business, and especially the bakery business.  And it’s especially exciting if you have gay and lesbians in your family and friends and are attending their wedding.

For every same sex wedding cake ordered between now and November, we’ll donate 10% of the sale to Equality California to help defeat the November ballot initiative meant to take away the right to marry just awarded the gay community by the California Supreme Court last month.

We’re doing all our custom wedding cakes as usual and including more diversity along the way.

Pictured below was a quick wedding cake for my first marriage in 2004.

We’re now offering catering for corporate events and special events.  So call us for a consultation on any upcoming event:  Kristina, Senior Pastry Chef 323 964-0840 ext: 19

06.06.08

Help Us Decide on Our New Eco Friendly Bag

Mäni’s is creating our very own eco-friendly reusable shopping bag! Since your input is so very important to us, we would love your help deciding which one to make!

Which of these two bags would you be more likely to sport all over town? Are you a circle or stripe? 

Click on Comments below and tell us your choice!

05.28.08

Tofutti Is Replaced

We’re proud and excited to be using Follow Your Heart brand Vegan Gourmet Cream Cheese.  It’s an excellent product and great tasting, according to our customer feedback:
“The apple cake is my favorite thing on the menu!  I think it actually tastes better with the new cream cheese.“  Comment by Rebecca
Come by and try it yourself and let us know what you think. To read more about the Carmelized Apple Cake

05.23.08

Important Change to the Carmelized Apple Cake

This cake is now made without tofuti.  That’s been replaced with a new wonderful soy cream cheese.

btw, we don’t use tofutti at all here any longer!

05.22.08

New at Mäni’s - Meredith and Her New Lemonade

My name is Meredith and I am relatively new to Mäni’s. I have a background in vegetarian and vegan cooking, and am interested in creating deliciousness for special dietary concerns across the board. So, naturally, Mäni’s was a destination for me when I moved to L.A. from Chicago in January, and I was lucky enough to be brought on to work in the kitchen and in the bakery. I’m currently making my way through culinary school, and am having an amazing time with all of the immensely talented people here.

I’m blogging it up today to tell you about a change to our lemonade recipe. As with many of our other signature menu items, we’ve striven to take a classic recipe and update it with a more healthful touch. As summer approaches, we’re drinking a lot of our fresh-squeezed lemonade and one day we took a long hard look at the glass. Then we looked at our supply of fruit juice reduction. And then a light bulb went off! “Eureka!” we cried.

And thus, friends, our new classic lemonade was born. Out with the old (organic cane sugar) and in with the new (fruit juice reduction). The fruit juice reduction lets our lemonade be sweet without the excess sugar content. It’s a little tart, more like an old-school lemonade recipe where the lemons really pack a punch, and less like the powdered stuff that comes in a plastic 25-pound jug. We think you’re going to like it, but we want to hear what your taste buds have to say. So log on and let us know!

05.01.08

MONTHLY SOUP SCHEDULE May 1st to June 1st 2008

Monday:
• Chicken Noodle
Ingredients: Chicken broth, Chicken Breast, Onions, Carrots, Celery, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Chives, Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Egg Noodles.

Tuesday:
• Chunky Vegetable W/Tofu
Ingredients: vegetable stock, onions, carrots, celery, Zucchini, Spinach, Tomatoes, yellow corn, green cabbage, tofu, thyme, sage, oregano, sea salt, garlic, tamari.

Wednesday:
• Cream of Asparagus
Ingredients: Vegetable Stock, Canola Oil, Asparagus, Celery, Yellow Onions, Spinach, Sea Salt, Tamari, Soy milk.

Thursday:
• Tomato Lentil
Ingredients: Vegetable stock, Green lentils, Cilantro, Celery, Cauliflower, Zucchini, Onions, Tomatoes, Garlic, Canola oil, Sea, Salt, Black pepper.

Friday:
• Light Tomato & Basil ( NEW )
Ingredients: Tomato Stock, Olive Oil, Onions, Celery, Tomatoes, Tomato Sauce, Basil, Sea Salt.

Saturday
• Black Bean
Ingredients: Vegetable Sock, Canola Oil, Tomatoes, Black Beans, Carrots, Celery, Onions, Garlic, Cumin, Cayenne Pepper, Jalapeno Pepper, Chili Powder, Cilantro

Sunday
• Zucchini & Spinach Bisque
Ingredients: Vegetable Stock, Celery, Onions, Zucchini, Spinach, Garlic, Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Cashew Cream.