Before we left for Charleston last week, I turned to the internet for carrot cake advice. I love carrot cake, see, and I’m trying to find the Very Best Carrot Cake on Earth. (You can see my top picks thus far over in the left-hand sidebar.) The people at Trip Advisor gave the carrot cake at City Lights Coffee pretty good marks, so that’s where I went.

It’s is a very cozy spot — read: it’s tiny — and its customers were clearly loyal. Everyone who was already there when I walked in seemed to know each other, and they also knew the other three people who came and went while I was there. I’m sure that’s a wonderful feeling for the regulars, being where everybody knows your name, but it was a little off-putting being an outsider in such confined quarters.

But we’re not here to discuss ambiance. Let’s talk cake.

The carrot cake was pretty, with a lovely autumnal color and visible flecks of carrot. The cream cheese frosting was silky and had a nice buttery flavor, but the cake itself wasn’t impressive. In a blind taste test, I’m not sure I would’ve pegged it as carrot cake at all. It didn’t have a distinct flavor at all. On the plus side, it didn’t have raisins in it. Sadly, the City Lights Coffee carrot cake doesn’t even crack my top five. I spent the last $5 in my wallet on it, too, which compounded the disappointment.

Do you know where the Very Best Carrot Cake on Earth can be found? I probably won’t hop a plane immediately, but I’m definitely keeping a list of places to try.