round 18

I've walked by this bakery numerous times. I always thought it looked pretty enticing.



And look at their logo.




Don't you trust her to bake you something delicious? Well don't. These were some greasy cupcakes. Look at the stain mine left on my napkin.



A cupcake shouldn't do that. I suspected that the bakery might have used lard in their batter but they assured me (when I called after the fact) that they only used butter. I don't know if it was all that butter or what but these cupcakes also gave off a strange smell. I was sitting in front of the container and had to close it after I figured out the cupcakes were causing my nose to wrinkle.

Overall I was disappointed, clearly...



but let's see what everyone else said. A special thank you to our guest judge Erica who stepped in because Isaac was out with his parents, aaw.

18. Make My Cake
121 St. Nicholas Ave

April 25, 2009
$3.50






Cake
tasted fine but too oily
kind of dry but really moist (???)
looks like a cake, smells like a cake and kind of tastes like a cake
nothing special with the flavor but very moist

Frosting
like soft wax
liquidy with little taste
smells and tastes like room temperature maragerine substitute, "I can't believe it's not Frosting!"
has a mysterious unidentifiable taste

Presentation
dullsville
looked like they might be yum delicious
nothing aesthetically interesting
frosting look like a big plop of pepto bismol

Overall Enjoyment
even after 30 minutes and a thorough hand-washing my fingers were still greasy
spent too much money for an unenjoyable experience
couldn't finish, too concernced about the health and welfare of my unborn child
just average, not enough frosting

The Scene
Loved the store, it was bright and clean and pink! A great bakery and coffee shop. Things were a little chaotic inside, there were many women ordering cakes and cupcakes. There wasn't a price list and the employee behind the counter wasn't too helpful. I was annoyed at how much money I had to spend for just 5 cupcakes and there weren't even any chocolate ones, they only had vanilla and red velvet cakes.

round 17

We really like the idea of the Treats Truck. Really. What's not to like about a mobile store that sells desserts? Nothing. Exactly. Unfortunately, we didn't like the desserts. Maybe it was an off day. Maybe it was too hot (it was pretty hot) and their air conditioning wasn't working very well. And it was expensive! Was that to pay for gas? We don't know, but we're sad we didn't like it. Let's just kiss and make up.



17. Treats Truck

various locations, see website

August 20, 2008

$3.25

Cake
fluffy and dry
too airy
dry, drier, driest
wrapped in a dry communion wafer

Frosting

from a Duncan Heines plastic tub
too sweet
my mom who can’t bake could buy better frosting
delightfully chocolaty

Presentation

“oh, it’s in an ice cream cone”
cute concept, easy to eat but sloppy

clever and clean cone
cute but confusing, where did this idea come from?

Overall Enjoyment
headache inducing
not enjoyable
how can a pretty cupcake cause so much disappointment?
would have preferred either an ice cream cone or a cupcake

The Scene
It was a lovely day outside. Tara and I walked through Times Square, chatting amiably and musing about life and stepping out of the way of drunken whores. The Treats Truck drives around the city and parks at certain locations on certain days, so it’s somewhat elusive. This day it was at 45th and 6th Avenue, which is not the most scenic part of town. But, we got in line and waited. We were in the shade, so it was cool. Someone was playing their boombox nearby. People were shouting and rushing by. So, the ambiance maintained by the Treats Truck was not the most soothing. The line moved fairly quickly and a Treats Truck employee came out and took our orders ahead of time. Very friendly and helpful. That's all.

round 16

Whew. You know what? I don't even remember what the hell we were doing on the day we ate these, it was so long ago. I've been sitting on two entries from months ago and haven't entered them. I can't work on these entries so well at home because I don't have Excel and can't update the graphs and I no longer work with the other judges (at the job that did have Excel, I left to pursue a new career). I suppose I could work on an entry at home (new career is very slow in developing into anything) and then just put in the graph when I visit my old job but...well, clearly that didn't happen.



Anyway, I heard that someone beside me, the other judges, and my sister have read this so I figured I better at least put on the places where we've already been. I don't know when entries after that will be posted since it's much harder now to get the judges together but hopefully we'll still find some time to stuff our faces.

A little note from me. You may notice some peculiar capitalization in the name of this place. I did not make an error, this is how it's done all over their website. I must say it's sort of cute but also unnecessary. I would have preferred all lower case instead. Just sayin'. Also, the comment colors are a bit off because to coordinate them with the graph colors made them too hard to read. I'm sure you can still figure out who said what.

16. sugar Sweet sunshine
126 Rivington Street

July 16, 2008
$1.50 each

Cake
dense and moist
soft and just enough
impressive stand-alone consistency and flavor
eh

Frosting
like many others but lighter and less cloyingly sweet
reminiscent of ice cream
little bit of almond extract goes a long way…way too long
absolutely delicious, nutty-salty

Presentation
home made look

Barbie birthday pink
demure

charming

Overall Enjoyment
after such a long break, a good reminder of why we started
affordable, enjoyable, funable and many other ables
thank god for American capitalism

just right

The Scene

Pleasantly close to a subway stop, particularly in a relatively inaccessible neighborhood (for us anyway). No spectacular discernability, I probably would have walked by if it weren’t for the sandwich board outside. The inside was claustrophobic, narrow, short-ceilinged and dark, like an Amsterdam “coffee” house, only with “joy”-infused cupcakes. The employees were pleasant enough, mostly business but still helpful.

Bonus Round!

Seattle! Family! Cupcakes!

I was in Seattle a little over two months ago to visit my family and also help out my boyfriend for a fundraiser he was doing. While there I of course had to sample some of the local cupcakery, particularly since my sister had been frequently buying them and emailing me pictures and comments on how good they were. So even though this place doesn't technically count in our competition (it being across the country from New York and also our regular quartet of judges wasn't present) I'm still including it because you know what, those cupcakes were good! The judges for this place included me, my sister, her husband, my other sister and her friend. At first everyone was rating their experience pretty haphazardly until I explained the rigorous judging we put the other stores through. Then they buckled down and got serious. Even so, this place still rated pretty high. I really want to go back. Right now.

Trophy Cupcakes
1815 North 45th Street

April 5, 2008
$2.99 each






Comments on Cake
-moist with nice crunchy rim
-dense, rich and moist without being choking hazard
-light and fresh
-fantastic consistency
-yummy crusty top

on Frosting
-sweet, smooth and thick
-creamy and flavorful
-light, creamy and fresh but a little too much
-overpoweringly sweet
-the powdered sugar isn't blended in well enough

on Presentation
-traditional but cute
-nice signature swirl
-special with sparkly jimmies but they didn't make me feel like it was my birthday
-good flair but pretty standard
-can't defend a score of 9 but still pretty great
-looked fine but could be cuter

on Overall Enjoyment
-cake and frosting were delicious together, very satisfying
-everyone's always excited to eat them which makes the experience great
-fulfill the role of a guilty pleasure
-small in size but substantial in enjoyment
-feels like a full dessert
-pretty good

on The Scene
The bakery's located in an old school with lots of different shops so it's nice to walk around. It also leaves plenty of room for long lines and you won't need to ever wait outside. The cupcakes are kept behind a glass wall on sliding racks so the employees put them in a box for you, no other customer gets to be all grabby with your future treat.

They have the current available flavors of cupcakes listed behind the display so you can figure out what you want before getting to the front. It's too bad they don't ask if you're going to eat them right then or not, they just put them in a box immediately. That left for a lot of trashed boxes right at the first garbage can, which is a waste of cardboard. There's not a whole lot of room to sit either.

What's great about this place is the selection of cupcakes they offer. They have a daily rotating selection of types listed on their website so you can plan your trip accordingly. We bought several different kinds and shared them. We tried (that I remember): triple chocolate, red velvet, lemon, carrot cake, cafe au lait and at the last minute chocolate graham cracker. The owner had apparently created the chocolate graham cracker cupcake to submit to Martha Stewart in a cupcake contest and they just happened to start serving them the day I was there. Let me tell you, it was one of the best cupcakes I'd ever had. Really, it was that good. It's a chocolate cupcake with graham cracker pieces inside and a toasted marshmallow frosting on top. So good. I want one right now. The other cupcakes held up pretty well to except for we would have been happier if the triple chocolate lost one chocolate, the lemon had a little less lemon and if we just didn't buy the cafe au lait. That one was definitely the downer of the group. Luckily all the others were good enough to make up for its ickiness. We really went after them.

And all got headaches afterward. The coffee probably didn't help.

*Ah crap. I've been informed of a misspelling. 'Shawn' should actually be 'Sean.' Ordinarily I would immediately change it but since it's misspelled in the graph that means I would have to change first correct in in Excel then insert a new picture into Blogger and I hate adding new pictures to my blog. For some reason it always messes up the spacing and then I have to spend more time fixing everything and it's a pain in the buttmunch. So sorry Sean, you'll just have to deal, for now. Soon I might be bored enough to actually go through all that. But for now I have some knitting to keep me busy.

round 15

More disparate comments on this place. As you can see, Isaac was in love.


He even went so far as to say they may be better than Magnolia. And he loves Magnolia. tarak and I had a different reaction.


These things were frickin' messy. They were such a bitch to eat. I'm talkin' 'bout:

15. Amy's Bread
672 Ninth Avenue

February 23, 2008
$2.95 each

Comments on Cake

-pretty dry

-immediately stuck to my teeth

-moist but grainy-ish

-crumbly and crumbly and crumbly

-moist, buttery, delicious

on Frosting

-creamy

-nicely sweet

-surprising with a nice hint of coffee

-sweet, soft, sensuous

on Presentation

-points for interesting cylindrical shape but a little sloppy

-looked good but was extremely difficult to get out of the wrapping

-nothing special

-presentable

-perfect size

on Overall Enjoyment

-good enough to eat but not good enough to enjoy

-wasn't a bad tasting cupcake but trying to eat it was a terrible experience

-it wasn't worth the wait since the last judging

-cake and icing were both enjoyable

-eater's remorse was minimal

on The Scene

The bakery feels 10 times longer than it is wide. The glass case is filled with cakey goodies (brownies, cakes and cupcakes). The long counter is stacked with savory items such as biscuits and sandwiches. The wall behind the counter is a row of built in cabinets filled with a large variety of freshly baked breads. There is a very homey feel to the place. Because of the narrowness of the bakery, it always seems more crowded than it actually is. There are a few tables in the rear of the bakery. The staff was nice, but they meant business.

And just two more pics to wrap things up.

Before

After

round 14

Tarak and I rated this place on our own. We were pretty excited but none of the other judges (or non-recorded participants) seemed to share our enthusiasm for a green tea cupcake. Yep, there were only two options here: green tea (GT) or chocolate soufflé(CS). Notice that the comments and charts are divided between the two types, there was a pretty noticeable difference.

14. Kyotofu
705 Ninth Avenue

January 20, 2008
$3.50 each






Comments on Cake
-what's the difference between a cupcake and a muffin?
-green and dry
-nicely sweet but didn't taste like green tea
-tasty, moist and very soufflé-y
-rich and moist

on Frosting
-no frosting
-no frosting?!

on Presentation
-unique and chic
-enjoyed the vibrant green color
-rich and enticing

on Overall Enjoyment
-no satisfaction post-consumption
-like sex with a cute guy: the idea is more exciting than the event
-really missing that frosting, which would have gone wonderfully with such a yummy cake
-really good cake but why did it win New York Magazine's best of 2007?

on The Scene
The location was easy to find but because there was no awning someone could easily walk past it. It was sleek and modern looking outside and in. The colors of the restaurant were white and light gray, it was very sterile looking. As soon as you open the door there is a window that shows a baker making the famous cupcakes. To the left is the bakery counter. As in many Japanese food establishments there is a counter that shows the 'display food.' There was a seating area in front for those interested in a quick bite and towards the back was the main restaurant.

Green tea makes things green.

round 13

I was cat sitting at the end of last year in Park Slope for a certain friend and we decided to take the opportunity to get some cupcakes out in Brooklyn. It's kind of hard justify a train ride out there just to buy cupcakes that may or may not be any good. Fortunately this place was just a few blocks away from where I was staying so I just skipped on over there before work and then walked to the train, and of course still arrived to my job late. Whatever.

13. Sweet Melissa's
175 Seventh Avenue


December 30, 2007
$2.50 each






Comments on Cake
-dense and moist
-nostalgic quality, like my 10 year old self baked a Duncan Hines mix
-very compact and a little dry
-didn't overdose on sugar but still slightly bitter
-not too sweet
-not remarkable but nicely edible

on Frosting
-didn't hate it but didn't love it
-understated taste
-too light and whipped, prefer thick frosting
-also not too sweet
-too subtle flavoring
-surprisingly subtle with a nice consistency and flavor

on Presentation
-plain and simply but the whipped frosting makes them look a bit stale
-looked enjoyable
-neat and tidy
-loved the icing, reminiscent of marshmallow
-not charmed

on Overall Enjoyment
-a nice snack, didn't leave me wanting more (so maybe that's good) but no regrets either
-not satisfied
-didn't look like enough frosting but turned out to actually be too much
-nice cupcake to come back to after a long break
-pleasant eat

on The Scene
This is a cute, small store with lots of wood making things look cozy. There was a happy family talking to one another and sitting in the front restaurant portion when I came in so they added a cheery atmosphere. I'd really like to have brunch at this place. It felt very relaxed and calm. The cupcake selection was pretty slim: vanilla cake with raspberry frosting or chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. That's it. But there was a variety of other baked goods that looked pretty appetizing.