Clarifying my beef with Instagram, and a love letter to my favorite LA bakery
I have some explaining to do.
If you’ve been here long enough, you’d know that over a month ago I made a post entitled “My beef with Instagram.” In said post, I talked about the social pressures and expectations that come with the app, and why I finally reached my end with it after nine long years. I still fully stand by that opinion, but feel it deserves some deeper clarification.
I have countless issues with the app. From the fact that it’s just a carefully curated highlight reel of peoples’ existences, to the social contract that comes with a mutual following, to the way activism has become watered down by infographics lacking true substance or knowledge, I still firmly believe that the platform has incredibly negative civic effects. Aside from society as a whole, the app and my personal corresponding profile just absolutely rub my social anxiety the wrong way. So I kindly say “Thanks, but no thanks.”
What I do know, though, and what I briefly touched upon in my first post, is that there is more to Instagram when the pressure of having your own personal presence is taken out of the equation. One of the biggest takeaways is that you’re exposed to so much information at once, it’s inevitable that you will learn at least one thing of value.
And I’ve learned a lot from my continued lurking via an account that doesn’t bear my name: fun facts about my favorite bands, tips on how to manage anxiety, new recipes to make for my next dinner. I’m also able to stay connected to the lives of those YouTubers, chefs, or musicians I love and not feel out of the loop. How else would I know that Molly Yeh is releasing a new cookbook in 2022 without seeing the post on her story of the completed first draft? Or that Maddi Bragg uploaded a new YouTube video about her trip to Cabo? These updates may sound superficial, but they are the things that I care about and want to see when I log onto any social media. I could not care less about your night out at the bars, but I love seeing that Sohla El-Waylly has a new video up with Food52.
The thing that truly does amaze me about Instagram, though, is what it can do for businesses. This is especially true for the food industry. The way in which a perfectly captured foodstagram can go viral and skyrocket a restaurant or blogger is something I’m still trying to wrap my head around. This is especially incredible to see when you follow an account just before the takeoff. I’ve watched restaurants add hours, create corresponding food trucks, and put extensions on their kitchens to meet the rising demands that Instagram brought them. I’ve seen food bloggers soar into stardom and chefhood just by having one reel go viral. I’ve also seen specific grocery store items fly off the shelves due to different shopper and food news accounts’ new product announcements.
I’ve come to appreciate the platform that Instagram provides for these creators and businesses. It’s like word of mouth on steroids. All it takes is one photo, one repost by one specific person, or landing on the right person’s explore page for an account to rise into a new tier of following.
I’d now like to take the time to talk about one of my favorite places that Instagram has given me, once again highlighting the power the app has in the culinary space.
Just What I Kneaded is a vegan bakery in Frogtown, Los Angeles. Originally started by baker Justine Hernandez selling goods out of her home in 2017, the establishment moved into a standing location a year ago and has taken off ever since. The bakery came up on my Instagram explore page one day in April 2021, and it got an immediate follow after I saw the words “VEGAN/GLUTEN FREE” next to a photo of a poptart the size of my head. I’ve now visited twice, once in early May 2021 and the second time earlier this week. In that time between my visits, they’ve put an extension on their kitchen, added more staff, and heavily expanded their menu. The bakery now has 17.5 thousand followers on Instagram, and though I can’t recall what it had when I first followed, I know that it has only been leveling up in recent months. I look to the account’s stories every day to see updates on what’s new in the pastry case, and what special bagel or gluten-free biscuit sandwiches they are offering.
I’m also getting my birthday cake made by them, so it’s clear there’s a true love affair going on here.
I went the first time before receiving my second COVID vaccine as a way to celebrate and also get my blood sugar up before the big shot (code for: I hate needles). It also just so happened to be Cinco de Mayo, so I got a special Mexican chocolate cinnamon roll, a Cinco de Mayo decorated strawberry poptart, and a blueberry galette to round everything out. My boyfriend also got their “Joe Cool” bagel sandwich which is an everything bagel with impossible sausage, tofu scramble, gouda (made from plants), and jalapeno aioli. We excitedly stuffed our faces in my car parked down the street before venturing off for our shot.
Automatically, I was amazed by the layers in the pastry of the galette, and the fact that they’re achieving those without real butter blew me away. The poptart was the perfect grown-up rendition of my favorite elementary school breakfast, and I loved it so much that I didn’t even mind the warm and not-too-sweet strawberry filling dripping down my hands and all over my car. The cinnamon roll was chocolatey but not in your face, and definitely had the ones you get at the mall beat. The bagel sandwich had a really unique and savory umami flavor to it, and while I still can’t quite place what it was, the taste lingered in my mouth in the best way possible.
Since that day I first visited, I had yet to stop thinking about when my next trip would be. Every morning my mouth would water at the videos of fresh pastries coming out of the oven, and I was always excited by the new creations that would pop up. Trying to have some self control, I wanted to save my next visit for a special occasion. Although I knew I wanted to go to them for my birthday cake, I knew I couldn’t wait until the middle of July, and I was trying to find a middle ground on what constituted a ‘special occasion’ enough to justify making the semi-annoying drive to Frogtown.
And then, last Wednesday, I had a bad day. I’m talking crying-on-my-front-stoop-so-all-my-neighbors-see, dehydrated-from-crying-so-much bad. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to make myself feel better. I tried to brush it off and made myself a comforting dinner (vegan cacio e pepe, and it was wonderful, but more on that another time), but I still couldn’t shake my blues.
Hoping I would sleep it off, I woke up Thursday morning disappointed that my gloom persisted. Taking to Instagram for my morning dose of updates, Just What I Kneaded was the first story available. Cinnamon rolls, blueberry strudels, galettes, biscuits, and cupcakes were immediately thrown in my face. I knew right away that that was what was going to get me out of my funk. I determinedly drove the 20 minutes east, picked up a box of everything that looked good (and another “Joe Cool” for my boyfriend), and booked it back home. I set myself up at the dining room table with a fancy little tasting of everything I bought: a blueberry strudel, a peach frangipane galette, a strawberry kolache, a cinnamon roll, and, of course, a strawberry poptart. I danced in my chair as I ate, shoving pieces down my boyfriend and roommate’s throats so we could all share the joy of the pastries together. My mopiness was gone and I was satisfied and happy, bouncing off the walls from my first sugar high since childhood. Once again, everything was spectacular. So spectacular that as I’m writing this my mouth is watering and my brain is trying to think of an excuse to go again first thing tomorrow morning.
I share this story because although I hate what Instagram stands for from a social standpoint, I love what it’s exposed me to otherwise. If I wasn’t lurking on my unassuming account’s explore page, I would have never been aware of the wonders of Just What I Kneaded, or any of the other restaurants, chefs, or grocery store items that are now on my radar.
Thanks to Instagram (and of course, Justine and the rest of the staff at Just What I Kneaded), I had the perfect solution for a bad mood readily at my disposal, and have a vegan strawberry shortcake birthday cake in my semi-near future.
