And yet, in a city that has built billion-dollar platforms to deliver everything from burritos to boutique dog food in under thirty minutes, getting a quality slice of cake delivered remains weirdly complicated.

One SF resident recently summed up the struggle perfectly, asking where to find "the best slice of cake — preferably fresh cream and berries — from a delivery app rather than having to call." The fact that this question even needs to be asked in 2025 San Francisco tells you something about the state of our food delivery ecosystem.

Here's the thing: we live in a city absolutely loaded with phenomenal bakeries. Tartine, Schubert's, Yasukochi's Sweet Stop in Japantown, Arizmendi if you're feeling cooperative — the list goes on. But many of these spots either don't appear on the major delivery apps or only offer a fraction of their menu when they do. The apps have optimized for speed and scale, which means your pad thai arrives in twelve minutes but a proper cake with fresh cream? Good luck.

This is actually a decent microcosm of a broader problem with the platform economy. The delivery apps take a 15-30% commission from small bakeries, which means many of the best spots simply opt out. The ones that stay on the platforms often raise prices to compensate, meaning you're paying a premium for a worse selection. The free market works — but only when the middlemen aren't squeezing everyone dry.

Our unsolicited advice? Skip the apps. Call the bakery directly. You'll get better cake, the shop keeps more of your money, and your friend gets something that wasn't sitting in a DoorDash driver's backseat for forty minutes. Sometimes the most libertarian thing you can do is cut out the middleman entirely.