You've never had an everything bagel like this before

I was on my way to work when I decided to make a pitstop at Cafe Mochiko, in East Walnut Hills. It had been far too long since I’d tasted one of Elaine Uykimpang Bentz's pastries. And when you have access to pastries from a James Beard finalist for Best Pastry Chef in America, you should darn well take advantage of it.

For the uninitiated, Cafe Mochiko operates as a bakery by day and one of the best ramen restaurants I’ve ever known at night. Elaine's husband, Erik Bentz, runs the latter. His Cincinnati chili-style ramen ($17) changed the way I will see our hometown chili forever. But I also love Bentz's broccoli gomae ($7) in which tender broccoli is tossed in sweet sesame dressing. So simple, and yet, so good.

Many of Uykimpang Bentz's pastries are rooted in her Filipino heritage. Her sweet corn bibingka ($4.50) – a moist corn rice cake stuffed with cream cheese and topped with soft curls of shredded white cheddar – is among my favorites. In the Philippines, they're saved for Christmas, but at Mochiko, you can get them every week.

I also ordered an everything cream cheese bao ($4). Unlike a tough, chewy bagel, this variation is made with pillowy soft milk bread stuffed with sweet cream cheese and sprinkled with everything bagel spices. You can eat it like monkey bread, pulling little sections off as you sip your coffee at the cafe or, in my case, driving in my car. I know it’s sacrilege for this former New Yorker to say so, but I would rather eat one of these than a regular ol’ bagel any day of the week.

Cafe Mochiko, 1524 Madison Road, East Walnut Hills. 513-559-1000, cafemochiko.com. Hours: 8 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-9 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 9 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: This Cincinnati bakery has a delicious new take on everything bagels