The story of Sweet Revenge begins in the cramped kitchen of Marlo Scott’s West Village studio, where the part-time baker and full-time corporate employee spent her nights making cupcakes and dreaming of exacting revenge on her bosses. In what she now describes as “a stroke of utter luck,” Marlo was laid off in 2007 and granted the opportunity to finally live out her dreams. Happiness, she would soon find, is the sweetest revenge. Before long, Marlo had acquired a charming spot on Carmine Street, complete with peeling paint and two expansive bay windows. She renovated the place and transformed it into the aptly named Sweet Revenge. Internationally inspired cupcakes and savory cakes take center stage on the lunch and dinner menus, which incidentally reveal the bakery’s secret weapon: it’s also a wine bar. For something you likely won’t find anywhere else, take a look at the menu of cupcake, wine, and beer pairings. Marlo’s signature Sweet Revenge flavor—a peanut-butter cake with a ganache center—pairs with a Malbec from Spain, and her Crimson and Cream cupcake can be dipped in a raspberry Bellini or stuffed into a bottle of imported pear cider.