Cupcakes make everything better. Cakewiches make everything utopian.

One can discover a lot by aimlessly walking around. In St. Louis, one street can lead from an old, rundown neighborhood, to the center of an art district, to the nation’s best antique shop-all within a three block radius. Avoiding the mundane and looking for the unusual is something that is not often done. Routines are built, comfort zones are mapped out and people shy away from things that they do not know. Shying away can, however, turn into completely missing out. Adventures will not be had, memories will not be made and, in the case of the Central West End’s best kept secret, the city’s best cupcakes will remain uneaten.

Hidden in the depths of St. Louis’ Central West End lies a secret alley. The cobblestone pathway located just off the corner of York and Maryland, and right behind the custom boutique, Girl, could be something out of a children’s novel. It could also be the perfect setting for an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, depending on the weather patterns of the day.

On a cloudy afternoon, the alley is lit only by leftover Christmas lights on the miniature trees aligned on one side of the road. On the other side hang old-fashioned lanterns intertwined with flower-filled windowsills. With a piano solo playing quietly in the distance, looking down the straight and narrow alley is like looking back in time at an old European, road. The only thing missing from the apparent horror movie is a translucent figure of a young girl slowly floating by.

Once past the initial awe of stepping out of St. Louis and into some sort of ’90s television horror scene, you find the main attraction, the holy grail of all that is dessert cakes-the entrance to The Cupcakery.

Residing as St. Louis’ first and only gourmet cupcake shop, The Cupcakery is every 7-year-old’s dream. The store specializes in cupcakes, making everything from scratch. Flavors like double chocolate, peanut butter cup and tuxedo line the glass case; large, beautiful cupcakes waiting to be enjoyed.

The small coffee shop feel of The Cupcakery is welcoming, including a bar area for the most dedicated of cupcake patrons. Monogrammed photo albums filled with pictures of decorative cakes lie on circular wicker tables, centered between large armchairs. There is no escaping the pretty in The Cupcakery, no matter how hard you try to avoid the sugary wonders.

Even the plates are precious. The bright green dishes match almost perfectly with the green umbrellas shading the patio area, proving that color coordination is anything but pass?.

There is only one task more daunting than finishing the cupcake, gigantic in both size and flavor. For the real cupcake connoisseurs, the challenge lies in indulging in the cupcake’s delicious cousin-the cakewich.

With icing substituting for condiments, and cake substituting for slices of bread, the cakewich is anything but your average, run-of-the-mill lunch item. Always warm from the oven, the cakewich is something to be enjoyed. Coupled with a reasonably priced iced chai tea latte, the cakewich brings one as close to heaven as humanly possible.

Even if chai is not your cup of tea, The Cupcakery offers other coffee drinks to accompany your cupcake. Between the drink choices, cookies, muffins and ever-changing special cupcake flavor of the week, one could visit the eatery weekly and seemingly never purchase the exact same meal. The possibilities are endless.

Walking aimlessly leads to many things. It is in those random trips that you find the most memorable places, that you step out of St. Louis and into a very special episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? So put on your shoes, grab a cakewich for the road and start exploring.