Eating

Luigi's Italian Pastry & Wedding Cake Center

4090 Main St.
Bridgeport, CT
(203) 374-4225
www.luigisbakery.com

Bridgeport has a sizeable Italian population and Italians - shall we say - aren't exactly known for low-key celebrations. That explains some of the success of the ever-capable Luigi's Bakery, which has provided truly stunning cakes for birthdays, baby showers, confirmations, graduations and weddings for the last 40 years. From photo cakes, with a snapshot lovingly recreated in frosting on top; to cannoli cakes, with a flaky, Napoli crust; to fonton cakes, with the decorative flowers carved out of gum -- if you've seen it in a food magazine, Luigi's owner John DiMarco can make it. And the showy products still have all the basics of authentic baking. "We use real butter, real eggs and real milk," says DiMarco. His accomplishments include a 12-foot tall wedding cake, made of individual cakes connected by wedding falls and ladders, which served 635 people, and a cherry pie eight feet and four inches in diameter and weighing 2,500 pounds, which the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce used to mark George Washington's birthday in 1997. It was eaten in 55 minutes. For something less filling, try the cookies, miniature pastries and the cannoli, which was selected by Connecticut Magazine three years running as the best in the state.