Sprinkles is, sadly, delicious

The other day, I made my way to the new NYC location of Sprinkles to check out the competition. I'd actually had a Sprinkles cupcake once before, flown across country by a coworker who had visited LA. It was a red velvet, and it was okay, but granted it was a few days old at that point.

This time, I would have a fresh-as-a-daisy specimen and see what all the fuss was truly about. The Sprinkles store itself is bright, clean, airy, and sort of disorganized. Sure, the cupcakes are all orderly and very attractively presented, but there's no real line-- just some people milling about at the counter. Then you place your order, the person writes it along with your name on a pad and rips off a little slip, then someone takes the slip, fills the order, and puts the order and the slip on a back counter. Then the cashier picks up the bag and the slip, calls your name, and summons you to the register to pay. It's one of those systems that probably works really well when it's absurdly busy, but given that I was the only one ordering at the time and was standing at the counter the whole time, it was about 10 steps too many and sort of silly. Also worth noting is that the cash register is hidden in a tall podium, so to pay you sort of slip around the side where the employees enter and exit; there's a trash can there but no counter or place to set a bag or wallet while you're paying. That seems like a bizarre oversight to me.

My cupcake booty

All right, enough. You want to know about the cupcake, right? Right. I chose a black and white cupcake, chocolate cake with vanilla frosting and tiny square chocolate sprinkles decorating the top. And, much as I'd love to slam Sprinkles as terrible and overrated and all that, it was pretty darn delicious. The cake was strikingly chocolatey as well as notably moist, with a springy crumb that held moisture well. The frosting-- and there was quite a bit of it-- was the perfect mixture of buttery and sweet (erring on the sugary side, as you know I like), and the little chocolate sprinkles added some textural contrast as well as more chocolate flavor.

And it's pretty, too

Cross-section

So, sadly, this was one of the better cupcakes I've ever had. And while it's not cheap--$3.50 a pop!-- it's pretty big as well. Sprinkles, you win this round...

Sprinkles
780 Lexington Avenue, between 60th and 61st Streets
212-207-8375

The classic chocolate cupcake from Billy's

I'm slowly making my way through the menu at Billy's, once again, and I'm reminded every day how freakin' delicious this stuff is. And I'm not just saying that because I'm employed there. I mean, take the classic chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting. Light, fluffy, cocoa-inflected cake, with an appealing darker, almost coffee-like undertone at the exposed lip of the cake. Sugary, pure frosting, dotted liberally with sprinkles for visual and textural contrast. It's baked-good perfection: simple, uncomplicated, and thoroughly, seriously delicious. It may be humble (and bordering on homely, once I squished it beyond recognition in my purse on the way home), but it's a straight-shot throwback to childhood. In the best way possible.

Kinda dented. Oops.

So light and tender!

Billy's Bakery
184 Ninth Avenue and 75 Franklin Street
212-647-9958

Back to the Billy's classics

The other day, after spending much of my day wrist-deep in frosting, I just craved a cupcake, darn it. And even though I usually go for the more exotic offerings at Billy's-- the red velvet, the carrot-- for some reason I just wanted a classic vanilla-vanilla cupcake. And so a classic cupcake I got.

It got a little squished in transit, but it's still so cute, no?

Man, what makes cupcakes so good? Probably the fact that it's just pure butter and sugar, but still. This classic yellow cake was incredibly light, almost ethereal, and the crown of vanilla frosting was generous and lip-smackingly sweet. I gobbled this cupcake in a few bites and could have eaten about three more (but didn't!). Gotta love it.

Lots of frosting there

Billy's Bakery
184 Ninth Avenue and 75 Franklin Street
212-647-9958

Wine and cheese and cupcakes (?) at Wine 30

Thanks to the glories of winter break, my friend SC is back in town, and I was able to glory in her presence early this week with a wine and food fest at Wine 30. We escaped the blustery cold in the warm, dimly lit, and pleasantly chatter-filled room in Murray Hill and were quickly plied with wine-- for the lady, a glass of pinot noir; for me, a glass of a delicious Super Tuscan that surprised me with its lusciousness.

Super!

We also ordered some food, of course, to have something to do between sips. SC ordered two small plates: first a beets/walnuts/goat cheese crostini, which provided two hearty toast planks for $6. She augmented the crostini with a butternut squash salad (butter lettuce, pickled red onions, roasted pumpkin seeds, balsamic, $9). Upon SC's proclamation that the salad was delicious, the table next to us ordered it as well.

Pretty crostini

Homely but delicious

My choice was a cheese. After a bit of debate with the server, I chose the "kunik," a goat's cheese that's described on the menu as "buttery, unctuous, silky, tangy, musky." The first bite was almost overwhelmingly funky, but the accompaniments-- walnut-raisin bread, apricot marmalade, slivers of dried fig-- tamed down the funk to make the cheese simply pleasantly creamy. I wouldn't necessarily order this cheese again, but it was interesting to try once.

Lots of accompanying bread

Wedge o' cheese

SC closed out the meal with one of their special desserts: red velvet cupcakes. There were four tiny mini cupcakes to an order, and while I can't comment on the presentation of the frosting, SC said the cupcakes themselves were quite good. As a nondenominational cupcake supporter, I was glad on her behalf.

Little dollops

And so we ate our food and drank our wine, and we were not hurried in the slightest when presented with our bill. While Wine 30 is certainly not cheap, it errs just on the side of not-a-ripoff. Prices are just a dollar or two higher than they should be, and portions are just an ounce or two smaller than they should be, but it's not egregious enough to prevent a return a visit. And in fact, the food was delicious, the wine tasty, the atmosphere welcoming, and the company superb. What more could you ask for in a wine bar?

Wine 30
41 E. 30th Street, between Madison and Park Avenue South
212-481-0197

Pumpkin goods (and me!) at Billy's Bakery!

Readers, I am proud to announce that I have returned home-- that is, to Billy's Bakery. After a year or so hiatus, I'm back in action at the beloved bakery, making things happen (or, hoping to) behind the scenes.

What does that mean for you all? More Billy's baked goods, of course! And why not start now? The other night, in my first official post-employment Billy's bite, I chowed down on a duo of pumpkin treats.

First, there was a pumpkin cupcake. Incredibly light and fluffy spice cake crowned with a swirl of creamy, tangy cream cheese frosting-- it's not strongly pumpkiny, only autumnal and delightful. This puppy goes down like water.

Isn't she a beauty?

Then, there was the pumpkin whoopie pie. It's a baseball-sized confection, definitely designed for sharing. Two halves of pumpkin cake-- a bit more substantial and cookie-like than the pumpkin cupcake's version-- are anchored together with a smear of sugary-sweet icing. It's a gut-bomb, for sure, and especially so after a whole cupcake, so I only managed a few bites. But since this is only a rare guest star in the cupcake case, it's definitely worth getting if they're on sale when you visit.

Whooooopie!

And that's that. What else is there to say? Pure fall happiness, courtesy of Billy's. It's great to be back.

Billy's Bakery
75 Franklin Street, between Broadway and Church Streets
212-647-9958

Baked & Wired still the best

After my second evening at Proof, I headed back to my hotel room to indulge in something I'd been waiting for for a very, very long time. No, not that. No, not that either. I'm talking cupcakes, people; specifically, cupcakes from Baked & Wired. After work that day, I'd walked all the way to B&W's shop in Georgetown to pick up a Karen's Birthday cupcake-- chocolate cake with white frosting. I carried it with me all the way to Proof, kept it safe through dinner, and then went to town back in my room.

After the Georgetown Cupcakes/B&W head-to-head taste test last year (wherein B&W won handily), I'd been craving this cupcake on and off. And unwrapping it this time around, I was looking forward to the magic. While the experience was slightly different this time around, it was still seriously good. First, there was some interesting marbling going on, as if some dollops of vanilla cake accidentally made its way into the batter.

Little bits of vanilla in there?

Second, the cake wasn't quite as deep and fudgy this time around; more fluffy and springy, it still packed a powerful chocolate taste and a moist-enough texture. The frosting, as I had remembered, was my favorite kind-- vanilla, sugary, and perfect with the cake. And even the cupcake paper, which gives some extra nooks and crannies to the confection, added to the experience.

Like a beautiful rose

Baked & Wired is seriously good. The cupcakes aren't cheap (almost $4, as I recall), but they're completely worth it. Next time I'm in town, I'll absolutely be back. And who knows-- maybe I'll even make some excuse to go to DC simply for the cupcakes. Stranger things have happened...

Baked and Wired
1052 Thomas Jefferson Street NW
Washington, DC
202-333-2500

So long, Chicago: Some Sugar Bliss to see me off

My final post from Chicago, fittingly, ends on a sweet note. My last day in the city had culminated in a stroll downtown on a brisk but bright day. And lo and behold, where should I find myself (completely coincidentally, of course...) but in front of Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique on Wabash. Well, I had to get something, right? Right?

So get something I did. They had a tempting away of cupcakes, both full-size and mini-size, and I almost went for an assortment of the minis. However, the one flavor I really did want to try was the chocolate cake with white frosting, and sadly, they were out of that mini version. Guess I'd just have to man up and get a full-sized cupcake.

After carting the precious thing around all day, trying desperately (and largely successfully) not to crush it, I got the little bugger back to my hotel room and tucked in. And boy, was it good.

Only a bit worse for wear!

The chocolate cake was fudgy and moist while still being light-- not sticky but not fluffy, occupying that hallowed middle ground in between. It was incredibly, incredibly satisfying. The frosting, piped in an attractive daisy pattern crowned with a small chocolate button, was smooth and creamy; while it wasn't greasy, it had a bit of a shortening mouthfeel and aftertaste to it, which prevented it from being truly stellar. Regardless, the combination of cake and frosting certainly got the job done.

Mmm, devil's food chocolate cake

Yes, Sugar Bliss is currently over a thousand miles away from me, but next time I'm in town you can bet I'll stop by. And if you're anywhere closer to Chicago than I am, I encourage you to do the same.

Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique
115 N. Wabash, Chicago
312-845-9669

A new kind of cupcake from Billy's

The other day, I had the distinct pleasure of helping man the Billy's Bakery booth at the NYC Wine & Food Festival. I dusted off my rusty cupcake-frosting skills to help feed the hungry (and tipsy) sweet-seeking masses. And in return, I got to taste a few of Billy's more unusual creations.

My favorite this time around was a twist on Billy's traditional chocolate-vanilla cupcake. This was a traditional chocolate cake base, but the frosting was vanilla bean-white chocolate buttercream, and there were a few Godiva white chocolate pearls dotting the top. The frosting was creamy and sweet without being cloying, and the real vanilla bean added nuance to keep the concoction from being one-note. It was the perfect foil for the fluffy chocolate cake.

I frosted this beauty myself!

It was delicious. And classy. The best of both worlds.

Billy's Bakery
184 Ninth Avenue and 75 Franklin Street
212-647-9958

The Bryant Park is tasty in cupcake form

Lately, as I mentioned previously, my cravings have shifted away from the frozen treats realm more towards the pastry realm once again. It's a seasonal change, for sure, brought about by the lack of 100-degree temperatures that make ice cream almost a life-giving elixir rather than an optional indulgence. Maybe it's also due to the fact that I haven't been sleeping well. But I've gotten back on the cupcake train, and that train was making frequent stops at Crumbs.

This time, I was lured in by their cupcake of the week, the Bryant Park. A massive stump of chocolate cake, this confection is filled with chocolate mousse and frosted with white chocolate cream cheese frosting. There are white chocolate curls and chocolate cake crumbs to provide subtle and classy decoration. But how does it taste?

Camouflage cupcake

Delicious, in a completely overkill kind of way. Crumbs' chocolate cake is actually quite good; it's delicious, springy cake that's rich without being dense or greasy. Paired with the white chocolate cake, it's a classic chocolate-and-vanilla pairing. The chocolate mousse filling, a surprisingly hefty dollop in the center of the cake, is unnecessary, in my humble yet completely correct opinion. Granted, I'm generally not a fan of chocolate-on-chocolate desserts (I need the balance of vanilla or cream), but I scooped pretty much all of it out. I really liked the white chocolate shavings, though; in fact, the top section of this cupcake was a true delight.

Check out all that mousse!

Make no mistake: this is a gutbomb of the highest order. Don't even think about eating the whole thing yourself; even taking down half of this probably takes years off your life (delicious, delicious years). But when you need a cupcake, you need a cupcake. And the Bryant Park delivers.

Crumbs
Locations throughout Manhattan

A brief break from ice cream: Cupcakes!

The other day, for some reason I got the craving for a cupcake. Maybe it was that I was having a rough day; maybe it's that I hadn't had a cupcake in quite a while. Whatever the reason (his heart or his shoes... anyone?), I wanted a cupcake. And when Crumbs tweeted about its cupcake of the week, the "Big Apple," I was sold.

A quick midafternoon walk to the nearest Crumbs, and I had my treat for the day. After dinner, I cracked it open, and this is what I saw:

Electric!

It's the traditional (enormous) Crumbs size. I took it out of the packaging and thumped it on a plate, then, as is customary, cut it in half. Behold, the chocolate buttercream filling inside the vanilla cake:

Kinda almost looks like a real apple. Kinda.

The cake itself is moist, verging on greasy, and tastes just like boxed cake mix. The vanilla buttercream is whipped and exceedingly light-textured, with a bit of a shortening mouthfeel. The chocolate buttercream filling is almost an afterthought, since the chocolate flavor is so incredibly retiring. The pretzel stem is a nice touch, but the surprising star of this whole concoction is the blanket of red crystal sugar coating the frosting. It lends sweetness and needed texture to the otherwise soft and mushy affair.

As always happens with Crumbs, even though I didn't eat the whole thing, I felt slightly sick afterwards. But it's a satisfying kind of sick, that sick that proves you just ate something totally bad for you but totally yummy, like fried dough. Suffice it to say that it cured my cupcake craving for the time being.

Crumbs
Locations throughout the city and beyond

A birthday cupcake tableau

This year, for my birthday, I received two incredibly thoughtful cupcake deliveries. The first came late on my birthday evening, courtesy of my Dad: two Red Velvet monsters from Crumbs, packed sweetly in a little twin tin. I tucked in happily the next day.

Get your mind out of the gutter!

These were bright crimson cake bases, the traditional softball-sized Crumbs indulgences, slathered with cream cheese frosting and decorated with white sprinkles and more red cake crumbs. While the cake wasn't really moist at all (perhaps due to the fact that it was a day old by the time I ate it, so reserving judgment here), I give Crumbs major props for the fact that it actually tasted like chocolate. Most RV cupcakes these days only taste like food-colored vanilla cake, but there was definitely cocoa in this batter.

Ready to go

The frosting was also delicious-- not really that cream-cheesy, but smooth and decadent and really bad for you in that honest, straight-up way that frosting has. The sprinkles added a tiny bit of texture and not much else. I ate about 2/3 of this cupcake and felt pretty sick. And then I went and played wiffle ball. My team lost.

Really really red

When I returned that evening, I was greeted by cupcake delivery #2: A dozen Billy's Bakery gems, courtesy of my employers and the rest of our team in London! Oh man, what a treat. The following day, I had a banana cupcake, my favorite. It was the traditional real banana cake, tender and delicious, beautifully frosted with the signature Billy's cream cheese frosting that may be may favorite thing on God's green earth. Thank you, AY and DL and the rest of the team, for such a thoughtful gift-- nothing makes my day like a big bunch of Billy's.

So pretty!

Yum yum

Crumbs
Locations throughout Manhattan

Billy's Bakery
184 Ninth Avenue and 75 Franklin Street
212-647-9958

LWF&D returns to the country

Over the weekend of the 4th, I ducked out of the city for a brief jaunt to the Berkshires to see the parents. After I arrived on Saturday afternoon, Mom and Dad headed out to the James Taylor concert, so I was left to fend for myself for dinner (and dessert). Off to Great Barrington I went.

First up, a visit to Napa, which I'd been to once last year. I took a seat at the bar and ordered their beet and goat cheese salad. It was quite good: a layer of thinly-sliced, tender red beets covered in a lightly dressed tangle of mesclun, all accompanied by two small pucks of fried goat cheese. The most remarkable part of this salad was actually the mesclun-- it had flavor. Bitter, sharp flavor. Guess that's what real fresh lettuce can do!

Vivid salad

After dinner, I ducked across the street to SoCo Creamery for some of the best ice cream in the world. I've been craving their cookies & cream ice cream ever since the last time I had it, and a small portion (which is huge) this time didn't disappoint. It's pure, fresh, sweet cream, packed with huge chunks of Oreos-- pretty much the perfect combination. SoCo is neck and neck with Thomas Sweet in my own personal Best Ice Cream rankings. Which are highly prestigious, of course.

Heavenly

To round out my Berkshire food tour, the next day Dad and I stopped into the newest sensation in town: Barrington Bites, a tiny little cupcake kiosk tucked into a kitchen supply store on Railroad Street. It's provisioned and staffed by one woman-- Wendy Weinberg, as the business card states-- and it traffics exclusively in mini cupcakes. Dad and I shared a "blue velvet," each getting one bite of the cream-cheese-frosting-covered red velvet knockoff. The frosting here was quite good, definitely tangy and not too sweet. The cake was very moist, which is sometimes hard to pull off when making mini cupcakes (they tend to dry out very quickly in the oven), but it didn't taste at all like cocoa. It seemed pretty much like an oil-based plain vanilla cake, but regardless, it was a suitable vehicle for the delicious frosting.

It's patriotic, on account of the birth of our nation

And there you have it. Less than 48 hours in the country, and I was back in the sweltering, 98-degree city. Back to reality!

Napa Wine Bar and Eatery
293 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA
413-528-4311

SoCo Creamery
5 Railroad Street, Great Barrington, MA
413-528-9420

Barrington Bites
33 Railroad Street, Great Barrington, MA
413-528-0660

Cupcakes & cocktails at Sweet Revenge

Last week, I met up with JR for a LONG-awaited catch-up. We decided to convene at Sweet Revenge in the Village for some drinks and some sweets. And lots of chatting.

Sweet Revenge is a cute little place, part cafe, part bar, part cupcake shop. There's a totally laid-back vibe, and you can chill at the tables or take your treats to go. They sell frosting martinis--that's just frosting in a glass-- and that's pretty much all you need to know. JR and I parked ourselves at a table, and while sweating profusely, we made our decisions.

For JR, there was a cupcake pairing: Crimson & Cream cupcake (that's raspberry red velvet for the uninitiated) and raspberry bellini. The drink was so cute and pink, it was irresistible. And the cupcake itself was no slouch-- sweet, tender cake, more sugary than chocolatey, and a smooth cream cheese frosting. No losers in this bunch.

Awwwww, innit cute?

Rasssssssspberry!

For me, I went with the iconic Sweet Revenge cupcake, a peanut butter cake with a chocolate ganache center and peanut butter fudge frosting. This cupcake was, in a word, excellent. The flavor profile was like a sophisticated Reese's PBC: the peanut butter was definitely present but not heavy or overwheming, and the chocolate was a welcome accent. The cake itself was moist and light, the frosting smooth but not too buttery. And if you manage to get a bite with a bit of cake, a bit of ganache, and a bit of frosting, well... you're in luck.

Mmmm, peanut buttery

There's a prize inside!

Sweet Revenge makes one of the best cupcakes in town. At $3.50 apiece, they're not cheap, but they're not small either. Their regular vanilla ("Pure") and chocolate ("Dirty") cupcakes are equally stellar. If you like cupcakes, you should get yourself down to Sweet Revenge, stat. A cupcake, a drink-- what more could you want?

Sweet Revenge
62 Carmine Street
212-242-2240

LWF&D goes back to Billy's for some cupcakes

Last Sunday, I stopped by Billy's Tribeca to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the location. To commemorate the event, they were selling $1 cupcakes, so I bought two. And then I ate them for dinner. Oops?

First up: a red velvet. Still delicious, if a little bit TOO red for my taste (I think it would be just as delicious without the dye). The cake is tender and you can actually taste the cocoa, and the cream cheese frosting is still my kryptonite, just as I remember it.

Appetizer

Next, I proceeded to a carrot cake cupcake, perhaps my favorite of Billy's creations. The cake is just so moist, packed with nuts and coconut and crazy deliciousness. Combine that with the same cream cheese frosting, and... well... we're done here.

Entree

You know I'm not exactly unbiased, but I do love me some Billy's, and I miss eating the delicious baked goods every day. Well, my arteries probably don't, but my taste buds sure do...

Billy's Bakery
75 Franklin Street, between Broadway and Church Street
212-647-9958

LWF&D soaks up the Limelight

Saturday, after a delightful brunch with PR (more to come on that), the two of us made our way from West to East Chelsea to check out the new Limelight Marketplace. Housed in a former church-turned-nightclub on the corner of 20th Street and Sixth Avenue, the Limelight just opened. Neither of us was sure what to expect, but suffice it to say that it's an interesting place.

The marketplace has three floors and lots of little warrens and staircases and mirrors, so it's very easy to feel that you've somehow gotten lost in a cross between an Escher drawing and Candy Land. Every shop has a small bit of real estate, whether it's a tiny shop-like nook or a cart or a stand pretty much in the middle of the floor. Everything is very precisely displayed, as though an interior decorator was unleashed with free rein on the space .There's loud music. The lights are bright. There are crowds. It's pretty much sensory overload.

The view from just inside the 6th Avenue entrance

But if you can focus on what's on offer, there's really some cool stuff. Yes, there is real merchandise for sale (leSportSac, Hunter boots), but more importantly, there's lots of food. And even MORE importantly, there's lots of sweets. Below, a pictorial journey of some of what you'll find there:

The MarieBelle cart, with their signature truffles. They also have a chocolate shop and bar on the second floor.

It'Sugar, if you want to go for the straight-up candy.

The obligatory frozen yogurt stand. Although at 5.25 for a small, this is some of the most expensive frozen yogurt I've ever seen.


The Cupcake Stop's brick-and-mortar outpost! I was tempted by the Nutella Crunch cupcake...


...but I ultimately went for a mini cake at Butterfly Bakeshop. Full post on that to come.

There was a significant line at Baci gelato, to be expected on a 70 degree day.

Oh yeah, there was savory food, too. Check out that cheese case! Beyond it there was a bread counter with some sandwiches that looked pretty delish.

But back to the sweets. Wanna Hava Cookie had some nice-looking whoopie pies, but at more than $3 each, they were a little too dear for me.

And to cap it all off, one of the most...interesting concepts I've seen in a while: The Little Candy Cake Co. And yep, it's pretty much true to its name: there are little mini wedding-cake type things that are made of chocolate. So little candy cakes, I guess. Other than for wedding favors, I can't quite think of an exhaustive list of occasions that might necessitate a little candy cake, but just in case you ever have a yen, now you know where to find them!

And that concludes our preliminary tour of the Limelight Marketplace. Check it out if you're in the mood for a whirlwind, somewhat food-centric adventure-- it's a nice way to spend an hour on a Saturday afternoon.