Check out some gorgeous work below and hop on over to the Flickr group for more. Stay tuned for details about the next meetup, which I’m super excited about!

“Valentino Pier,” by Josh Derr:

Untitled, by Barry Yanowitz:

A collection of shots by Michael Pearce:

“Red Hook Cranes,” by Alvim Gimarino:

“Sunny’s Bar,” by Josh Derr:

“Rollin’ By,” by http://www.flickr.com/photos/54729663@N04/ and Untitled by Oscar Rivera:

“Fort Defiance,” by Josh Derr:

Untitled, by Barry Yanowitz:

The outcome? Brooklyn’s own Baked NYC won in a “seriously close call,” after beating out more than 47 bakeries and 60 flavor combinations!

To the uninitiated, Baked NYC seems like a hole-in-the-wall bakery (in a former storefront church!) on Van Brunt Street in Red Hook. Its humble, cozy space isn’t large, but it’s all about the bold flavors. Serious Eats had this to say about the winning ‘cakes:

But Baked stood out among all the contenders for their consistently moist cake, good cake-to-frosting ratio, and interesting flavors that highlighted the title ingredient. The lemon drop cupcake was one of the overall favorites of the tasting, with bright flavors that reminded us of summer citrus and not jarred lemon curd. The vanilla cupcake was a big pick for best of its category; it “tasted like vanilla,” rather than just a neutral flavor, and had a light, fluffy texture. Though its somewhat inconvenient location in Red Hook, Brooklyn, makes these cupcakes tough to reach for some, the tasty treats at the end of your long trek will be well worth the effort. I promise.

To help celebrate this sweet victory (and sample some of their non-cupcake delicacies), I took visiting friends to Red Hook this weekend for a divine breakfast of sticky buns and lattes. Not only were they impressed, but fell in love with the space as I have in the past. Check out a few shots of the bakery below, or pick up their beautiful cookbook to try one of their recipes at home!

Hmmm… maybe we need to visit some of the other bakeries on the list, too… you know, for research purposes.

It’s no secret that one of our favorite Brooklyn-based blogs is Brownstoner. Their coverage of borough news, history, and real estate is always thorough and entertaining — plus the comments can be downright hilarious. But I will be forever indebted to their fantastic coverage of local photography, for it is through Brownstoner that we here at For the Love of Brooklyn are introduced to new artists every day!

Lately, it’s been exciting to watch as some of our Featured Photographers are getting the attention they deserve – the beautiful shot of Coney Island (above) was taken by none other than our contributor Pete and featured on Monday. The shot below of a rusting cable car in Red Hook, also featured Monday, was taken by our blogger Matt.

The spectacular shot below of the downtown loop of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, from fave photog Barry Yanowitz, was also recently featured. And last night’s Brownstone blogwrap post, featured one of my own recent shots from DUMBO.

A big shout-out to these photographers for their continued inspiration!