I love the peanut butter pie at Zoka -
Fruit pies at Irwin's on 40th in Wallingford -
Hand Pies by High 5 Pie (at Fuel Coffee) -
and of course the Coconut Cream at Dahlia Bakery.

More in the Central District I suppose, but Watertown Coffee is dog-friendly!

If I were you (which I am not, but you asked) I would get a nice crusty bread from Boulangerie Nantaise...while they are in Belltown, luckily you can find their wares at Madison Market in Capitol Hill!

OR - you can find Columbia City Bakery Bread at the Sunday Cap. Hill Farmer's market...

OR - oh man, would the savory biscuits from North Hill Bakery pair nicely with chili.

Just saying.

I will confess that I have not tried the recipe myself, but at a recent brunch that I attended I was impressed by some Belgian waffles that one of the hosts had made, and they said that they had used this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Liege-Belgian-Waffles-with-Pearl-Sugar/Detail.aspx -- now, the recipe intro says that these are a little sweeter than the traditional ones, and I don't have a ton of experience with waffles, but I thought I would pass it on.

When I fill my cupcakes, I like an assertive amount of filling, so simply piping into the baked cake generally doesn't work for me. I came across this tip via the website Smitten Kitchen when she posted a recipe for filled Guiness cupcakes: http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/01/car-bomb-cupcakes/ --basically, she suggests using an apple corer or small circular cookie cutter to cut a cylinder of cake out of the middle and scoop it out with a small spoon and then put the filling inside. You just want to be sure that you don't go too deep or the filling may bust through the bottom of your cupcakes (so sad!).

I've also found that if you're pretty delicate about it, you can do the same by gently cutting a hole in the middle with a knife and scooping it out with a small spoon. If desired you could pop a piece of the cake-cutout (although probably not the whole piece, because then it would be uneven) on top once you've filled them so that your frosting or ganache wouldn't sink into the little filled reservoir.

I think that cake pops suit different purposes. They're a great party snack because they're cute to display and easy to serve--and because everyone loves food on a stick (as has been mentioned previously!). They've also gained a lot of popularity because they're a great medium for all sorts of creative decoration--Bakerella, as you mentioned, is the queen of this and in my humble opinion does a great job of making coo-worthy confections. This makes the cake pops appealing not only to bakers but to crafters, too.

There are also some other reasons why they're appealing: they're a great way to use up slightly stale cake, they keep for far longer than cake (up to 2 weeks or so if stored properly), and they're full of fat, and as a saying I love goes, "fat brings 'em back".

Of course, all this having been said, my flavor preference is probably for a delicious slab of frosted birthday cake, but I think there's room at the cake table for these pops too!

This one is 9 inches, but I trust the Cuisinart brand. http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-Classic-9-Inch-Nonstick-Deep-Dish/dp/B0000D8CAQ

Although a quick search on the Sur La Table and Williams-Sonoma sites didn't result in any, this doesn't mean it's not worth stopping by or calling and asking!

People get pretty passionate about this, and most recently I feel that leaf lard has been the darling of the pie crust world. (what is it? Find out here: http://www.seattlemag.com/0p135a1575/key-ingredient-leaf-lard/)

Personally? My favorite (and granted, this is the one I grew up with my mom making, so keep in mind that nostalgia plays into it) combo is half butter, half shortening (but no egg in ours). In my opinion, this combo gives it a sturdy, not-too-shattery texture that still has a good flavor. Plus, in my kitchen these ingredients are far more likely to just be around anyway.

Oh, one of my favorite types of frosting! I call them "frosting gravy" because of their similarity (in process, not flavor) to making gravy.

First: Read Megan's answer, she's got some good ideas.

Another thought is that maybe the recipes aren't giving you enough information. I tried this recipe not long ago http://www.cakespy.com/blog/2010/6/23/america-the-sweet-united-cakes-of-america-and-hartford-elect.html (scroll down for the frosting recipe after the cake) and it turned out absolutely beautifully. One of they keys to its success though was letting the milk-and-flour mixture cool before combining it with the other ingredients--it did get a lot thicker during this phase, so perhaps that could help you out!