Best Bakeries in Davis Square

Yesterday I went on a walk to Davis Square as I use my last week of vacation to explore my new neighborhood.  It's a very cute area with plenty of restaurants and a movie theater that serves wine and beer.  Tucked on Highland Avenue are two amazing, but very different bakeries.  I sampled them both.

When Pigs Fly
378b Highland Avenue, Somerville MA
http://www.sendbread.com/home.php

You may have seen When Pigs Fly bread in your local Whole Foods.  They also have several bakery locations in New England including this one in Davis Square.

You won't find any cookies or cakes here - just bread.  But don't let that fool you into thinking there isn't a lot of variety, because there is.  They have sweet and savory breads, the basics and new twists.  I've tried their Raspberry Lemonade bread which has a nice sugary crust and a light citrus flavor with real fruit in it.  They have offerings as exotic as Mango Pineapple Raisin Bread with Toasted Sesame and Ginger right on down to your good old New York Rye.  I purchased the Rosemary Olive bread and got a discount on my Lemon Blueberry Bread Pudding.  They both made excellent additions to that night's dinner.  And this place wins for cutest bags.

Kickass Cupcakes
378 Highland Avenue, Somerville MA
http://www.kickasscupcakes.com/

Here you won't find anything but cupcakes, but you'll find them in super creative flavors.  I got the Pink Lemonade and the Mojito.

They don't post descriptions of the cupcakes, which is sad because when I looked them up online they sounded really interesting, but I'm sure the friendly people inside would have been happy to let me know if I had asked.  The Mojito cupcake had a lime frosting with a garnish of mint and a vanilla cupcake with a hint of rum.  When I bit into the Pink Lemonade cupcake I was pleasantly surprised to find real strawberries inside of a lemon cupcake with strawberry frosting. Both were really delicious with just the right amount of frosting that wasn't overly sweet. 

They also boast really unique flavors like the Lotus Blossom, which has a sake soaked pear center and a lychee frosting.  And then there's the Boston-centric Green Monster, which is a chocolate cupcake with a beer ganache center and a Sam Adams Cream Stout frosting, dyed green of course.  At $3 a pop, these relatively small cupcakes are as or more expensive than better known competitors, but well worth the creative flavor options and great taste.