A most special birthday for Diana

Yes, it was finally time for the big one, the landmark birthday, the one everyone's been waiting for. It's been a long time coming but our very own Diana D'Angelo has hit the big twenty-one, and is ready to take a few writers out for drinks. As you can see she was grinning ear to ear for the occasion:


Here's Diana as she got ready to blow out her birthday... well, pastry collection, which may be a first for an afternoon Shore Fire birthday celebration, flanked by the front of Chris Taillie and the back of Andy Silva. The pastries were spread among the staff with joy, partly aided by the intrepid tong-wielder whose prominently displayed arm is obscuring Mark Satlof, just after bestowing some morsels on Matt Hanks, seated to his left.


And as the sugar and good conversation sets in, the staff eases back to celebrate another wonderful year with the lovely Ms. D'Angelo, at far right, with (counterclockwise) Chris Taillie, Carrie Tolles, Nora Lyons, Rob Krauser, Mr. Hanks, Mr. Satlof, and a glimpse of our fearless leader, Shore Fire President Marilyn Laverty, peeking into the photo at far left:


Happy Birthday Diana!!

Cups & Cakes For Lauretta's Birthday

The battle for the honor of best cupcake in the city has become a serious NYC pastime, with fierce advocates and strong opinions, and Sugar Sweet Sunshine has been chronicled here as an office favorite on multiple occasions. But Lauretta Charlton's birthday celebration marked the debut of a new contender -- Brooklyn's One Girl Cookies -- that might just have a shot at the title. Here's Lauretta making a wish flanked by Mark Satlof, Elizabeth Lutz, and Matt Hanks captured in mid-applause.


The huge smile says it all, it's a hit. Here's Lauretta with (from right to left) Elizabeth, Mark, Nora Lyons, Diana D'Angelo, Carrie Tolles, and Matt. Happy Birthday Lauretta!

Happy Birthday, Nancie!

Last Thursday we celebrated the fearless, ever-fashionable Nancie S. Martin's birthday here at Shore Fire with Crack Pie from the venerable Momokufu (please, no jokes, please).


It does not look menacing, but the Crack Pie is nothing to be scoffed at; it is SO good that the tiniest slice tastes like a week long vacation in heaven, all expenses paid. (Our Brendan Gilmartin, right, looks on skeptically while Nancie, the only person who had had the pie before, looks perfectly serene.)


Here's Nancie, making the wish.


And here's the gang after the hit. You'll notice several of us already showing symptoms of withdraw!

Happy Birthday, Nancie! See you in rehab!

CKB's Sugar Sweet Sunshine Selection

Cupcakes this time, a selection from Sugar Sweet Sunshine, for Director of Operations and Shore Fire stalwart Chris Brudzinski (known around here as CKB). I can't say anyone complained 'cause within five minutes all the treats were gone! Happy Birthday Chris!

Chocolate Cake for Lutz B'day Fest

Yup, that's a killer flourless chocolate cake from Cousin John's Cafe in Brooklyn's own Park Slope that's about to be devoured in celebration of Elizabeth Lutz's Shore Fire birthday celebration...Happy Birthday Elizabeth!!

Breakfast Spread for Chafin Celeb.

Our reliable local deli Lassen & Hennings delivered a tasty breakfast spread this morning for our celebration of Chris Chafin's birthday. He stuck a candle in his Danish and called it Happy Birthday! That plus a gallon of coffee made for a great Monday morning start to our busy work week. Happy Birthday Chris!

No "Loss" But Good "Eaton" At Nick's Birthday Party

It's a June birthday for Nick Loss-Eaton, who celebrated at the office kitchen table yesterday with an exquisite offering from Teany Cafe -- a scrumptious vegan Vanilla Raspberry Buttercream cake...Happy Birthday Nick!

Cupcakes, Cupcakes Everywhere, With A Few To Spare

We all raised a cupcake in honor of Nora Lyon's birthday yesterday. Nora picked a selection from Sugar Sweet Sunshine, which regular Suite 16 readers might recognize as a staff favorite. As Lauretta Charlton observes elsewhere here on our blog, we all love quality baked goods!

Here we dig in:


Heer's Nora with a little bit of Elizabeth Lutz peeking in from the left, and a bit more of Diana D'Angelo on the right.

Breakfast Spread for Brendan's Birthday

We stuck a candle on a danish and called it a birthday last week, celebrating Brendan Gilmartin's big day with a big and welcome breakfast spread. Hot coffee, cold fruit...a great way to start the day and a big congrats to Brendan.

Triple the Fun

It was all guys yesterday: we celebrated the birthdays of Andy Silva, Michael Lavigne and Chris Thieke around the kitchen table with a fresh breakfast spread, a welcome and fortifying break in the day. A hearty Hey -Yo to the three fellows.

Dollars to Doughnuts it's Diana's Birthday

Diana D'Angelo picked a big spread of offerings from the Lower East Side's popular spot the Doughnut Plant for her birthday party yesterday. Cut in pieces, the assembled staff made short work of the delectable array...take a look at the remains. Happy Birthday Diana!

Birthday Cake Cage Match: Old School vs New School

In the left corner, it's Lauretta Charlton, with a Fruit Surprise cake from the venerable East Village bakery Veniero's squaring off with Maggie Poulos and her L.E.S. upstart Babycakes' vegan, everything-free-but-the-taste chocolate cake. The winner? All of us here at Shore Fire who got a flavorful and sweet start to the new year courtesy of these two birthday girls. See the action shots below.

Krauser's Karrot Kake...

We crowded around The Kitchen Table -- the animated staff discussing Main Street vs. Wall Street - while Rob "Joe Six Pack" Krauser winked at us all, gathered his breath, and blew out the birthday candles on a delicious carrot cake:

Here's Rob preparing for the first cut

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!

Usually our fearless vice president Mark Satlof posts the Shore Fire birthday blog entries. As he is enjoying his sabbatical, I have the honors this time.


That's the birthday girl, Elizabeth Lutz, looking smashing in orange with Shore Fire president Marilyn Laverty to the right, Nora Lyons on the left and Rebecca Shapiro in the foreground.



And what would a birthday celebration be without a delicious cake? Elizabeth chose a decadent black forest cake for her birthday. Here she is blowing out the candles before we all dig in. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ELIZABETH!

Flash: Laverty Celebrates B-Day with Ice Cream Bash

The whole staff -- 20+ -- lined up yesterday for an ice cream smorgasbord to celebrate Shore Fire President Marilyn Laverty's birthday. July 4 is always an extra-festive time for us here, coinciding as it does with Marilyn's July 3 birthday.

A Sugar Sweet Sunshine Birthday

Earlier this week we gathered 'round the table for cake in honor of Nora Lyons' birthday. We spend many a night on or around Ludlow Street, where our clients often play at clubs like Arlene's Grocery and the Living Room. So we're well acquainted with the L.E.S. cult baker Sugar Sweet Sunshine. Well at least Nora is, because she chose a dense and not-too-sweet Red Velvet cake for her blow-the-candle-out moment. Happy Birthday Nora!

Happy Birthday, Nick!

Today is Nick Baily's birthday, so in celebration we had key lime pie and musical mockery yesterday afternoon.

And I learned something new about Nick: his favorite sport (besides the Redskins) is shark-jumping!


Here's Nick after triumphantly blowing out his candles. In the background, from left: Abby Johns, Will Dukes, Nora Lyons, Rebecca Shapiro (seated) and Nick Loss-Eaton. (Photo credit: Carrie Tolles.)

Birthday Girls

Cali Green (at left in photo) and Abby Johns both celebrated birthdays last week, so of course there was cake - pumpkin with delicious frosting, from Sugar Sweet Sunshine.

Sadly, this photo makes the cake look good, but doesn't do justice to either of the lovely celebrating humans.

Another Great Pie. Oh, Also Matt's Birthday

Here's an action shot from last Friday's celebration of Matt Hank's birthday. Matt picked a food-coma-inducing peanut butter pie. Better yet, he got two of 'em. A big chunk of the second made for great lunch today!

Everybody Loves Chris. Happy Birthday!

Today we celebrated Chris Brudzinski's birthday. With a record player in his office and probably the only SF staffer with a stage name, Chris is one cool cat.

Here he digs into a Junior's famous strawberry cheese cake- yum!