Young & Hungry » cupcakes

Where Can You Get the Most Cupcake For Your Buck? (Hint: Not Georgetown Cupcake)

Odochi Ibe and Ashley Dejean — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:25:39 +0000

Prices shown represent the cost per ounce of each cupcake

Last April, Y&H interviewed Cake Love's Warren Brown about how the District's first gourmet cupcake seller was dealing with all the new competition in town. Brown defended his prices (cupcakes cost $3.25 at Cake Love—50 cents more than rival retailer Georgetown Cupcake, for instance) by citing some recent price studies he'd conducted of his competitors. Generally speaking, Brown asserted that "other places that have them for less money have a much smaller cupcake." On visual inspection, at least, Brown seemed to have a point.

Y&H recently decided to conduct its own price study to see which D.C. sweet seller offered the most cupcake for your buck. The mission: buy one basic-style cupcake from each high-end shop in town, weigh each one of them on the same digital scale and then tally up the price per ounce in order to obtain a more scientific comparison.

Here's what we found. The best deal in terms of size: Baked & Wired, where you're paying around $0.64 per ounce of the sweet stuff. That is to say, you're getting about an ounce and a half of cupcake for every dollar you spend. Compare that to the worst deal, at Georgetown Cupcake, which charges about $1.38 per ounce, meaning you're getting less than ounce of cake—about three quarters, in fact—for every dollar.

Check out the complete breakdown of the results of our sugary experiment after the jump:

Location: Baked and Wired
Cupcake: chocolate w/ buttercream frosting
Cost: $3.50
Weight: 5.5
Price per ounce: $0.63

Location: Sticky Fingers
Flavor: red velvet
Cost: $2.25
Weight: 3.2 oz.
Price per ounce: $0.70

Location: Crumbs
Flavor: chocolate w/ butter cream frosting
Cost: $4.50
Weight: 6.1 oz.
Price per ounce: $0.74

Location: Curbside Cupcake
Flavor: Red velvet
Cost: $3.00
Weight: 3.6 oz.
Price per ounce: $0.83

Location: Hello Cupcake
Flavor: chocolate w/ buttercream frosting
Cost: $3.00
Weight: 3.6 oz.
Price per ounce: $0.83

Location: Olivia's Cupcakes
Flavor: chocolate w/ buttercream frosting
Cost: $2.00
Weight: 2.2 oz.
Price per ounce: $0.91

Location: The Sweet Lobby
Flavor: red velvet
Cost: $2.75
Weight: 3 oz.
Price per ounce: $0.92

Location: Red Velvet Cupcakery
Flavor: chocolate w/ buttercream frosting
Cost: $3.25
Weight: 3.2 oz.
Price per ounce: $1.02

Location: Something Sweet
Flavor: red velvet
Cost: $3.25
Weight: 3.2 oz.
Price per ounce: $1.02

Location: Cake Love
Flavor: chocolate w/ buttercream frosting
Cost: $3.25
Weight: 2.8 oz.
Price per ounce: $1.16

Location: Sprinkles
Flavor: chocolate w/ buttercream frosting
Cost: $3.50
Weight: 3 oz.
Price per ounce: $1.17

Location: Georgetown Cupcake
Flavor: chocolate w/ buttercream frosting
Cost: $2.75
Weight: 2 oz.
Price per ounce: $1.38

Illustration by Brooke Hatfield

Last Night’s Leftovers: Hungry For Hugs Edition

Chris Shott — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:07:16 +0000

Burrata ravioli with caviar sauce at Mintwood Place

Psychoanalyzing the cupcake craze—you're all just "hungry for hugs." [WaPo]

Will new vending rules actually make things harder for food trucks? [Blade]

Here's something different: Darnell's Bar in Shaw morphs into a coffee shop during the day. [Prince of Petworth]

Mixtec, El Pollo Sabroso, Jolt 'N Bolt all get in trouble with the Health Department. [WaPo]

Restaurateur Stephen Starr is now hiring for his new bistro-style eatery on 14th Street NW. [Washingtonian]

A Cooking Channel segment on D.C.'s Toki Underground airs Feb. 29 [Twitter]

Brunch at The Getaway doesn't suck. [Bitches Who Brunch]

Last Night’s Leftovers: Brunch Latkes Edition

Chris Shott — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:00:22 +0000

Gina Chersevani (ex-PS7's) plans to open a "cocktail deli" near 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue SE. Is she talking about the former Ba Bay space? [Prince of Petworth]

A petition urging D.C. Council to pass new food truck regulations has garnered more than 500 signatures in just 24 hours. [HuffPo]

Marvelous Market founder Mark Furstenberg backs out of a new bakery deal in Dupont Circle. [WaPo]

Againn's executive chef Michael Sindoni splits for Dallas. [Dallas Morning News via Eater DC]

Siblings Winnette and Timothy McIntosh, proprietors of Capitol Hill's boutique bakery The Sweet Lobby, are competing on the Food Network show Cupcake Wars. The episode airs Sunday after the Super Bowl. [The Root]

What's up with the latkes served aside French toast at Irish Whiskey? [Bitches Who Brunch]

Here's a peek at the cocktail and beer list for the forthcoming Boundary Road. [H Street Great Street]

Photo by Kagor/GNU Free Documentation License

Behold, The Craft Beer-Infused Cupcake

Chris Shott — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:45:59 +0000

With Crunkcakes and "cuptails" paving the way for all sorts of booze-fueled sweets in the District, it was probably just a matter of time before the local craft beer scene made its sudsy mark in the mixing bowl, too. Sure enough, it appears that D.C.'s own Chocolate City Brewery has now joined forces with dessert chain Hello Cupcake on a new adult-themed confection: DC Love Child, which is described in a press release as a "rich chocolate lager cake with bourbon buttercream frosting topped with a chocolate covered potato chip." The tiny cake, infused with Chocolate City’s Vienna-style lager Cerveza Nacional, makes its debut at Nellie's on U Street NW this Thursday evening and is available for purchase at area Hello Cupcake locations until Feb. 15. Each beer-laden cupcake costs $3.50—that's less than the average pint glass at your neighborhood bar, albeit presumably lighter on alcohol and likely twice the calories.

Read the full press release, if you're jonesing for a malty sugar fix, below:

Two DC Brands Have a Love Child
Hello Cupcake launches new cupcake including Chocolate City Beer

Before DC was known for their craft brews, they were recognized for their craft cupcakeries. This week, two iconic DC brands will collaborate to create a new dessert. DC Love Child, a decadent cupcake made with Chocolate City Beer, will be sold starting Friday in Hello Cupcake’s Dupont and Capitol Hill locations.

DC Love Child, the first cupcake to be made with a DC craft beer, is a rich chocolate lager cake with bourbon buttercream frosting topped with a chocolate covered potato chip. The batter is created with Chocolate City’s, Cerveza Nacional, a unique take on a traditional dark, malty, creamy, smooth and slightly roasted Vienna Lager.

Hello Cupcake and Chocolate City Beer will celebrate their offspring with a “Shot Gun Wedding” on Thursday night at Nellie’s Sports Bar. From 7 to 9 p.m. guests will
get taste a sneak preview of the cupcake along with a free Chocolate City Draft.

Chocolate City Brewery is DC’s second production craft brewery to open in the district. With a variety of different drafts. residents can find their beer at numerous independently owned restaurants and bars including Nellie’s at 900 U Street.

All seasonal special cupcakes are $3.50 individually, or $39 per dozen. DC Love Child will be sold in Hello Cupcake stores until February 15.

Photo courtesy of Hello Cupcake

Sticky Fingers’ Cupcake Wars Win Is Your Rum-Frosted Gain

Chris Shott — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:00:54 +0000

D.C. cupcake makers just can't seem to escape the national spotlight. Last night, Sticky Fingers bakery (City Paper readers' pick for "D.C.'s Best Vegan Restaurant 2011") won Food Network’s Cupcake Wars All-Stars. If you were hungry to taste the victorious vegan treats, well, you're in luck. The Columbia Heights bakery will be selling the four winning cupcake varieties through Feb. 1. According to a press release, the musically themed eats include the Rolling Stones Brown Sugar (brown sugar cupcake, rum frosting topped with brown sugar brittle), Man in Black Johnny Cashew (black cocoa cupcake, black cocoa dark chocolate frosting topped with dark chocolate cashew candy), Salt-n-Peppa Inspired (chocolate bourbon smoked pepper cupcake, salted caramel and vanilla bean frosting topped with fondant candy headphones) and Chuck Berry Inspired (orange cupcake with blueberry cinnamon filling, raspberry frosting topped with a sparkly red fondant guitar).

Last Night’s Leftovers: Weird Child Army Edition

Chris Shott — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:27:16 +0000

Be gentle when eating out at these places during Restaurant Week: it's their first time. [Washingtonian]

Or, just drink your way through Restaurant Week here. [Drink DC]

Drew Trautmann's new District Kitchen is not operating on Mondays for the next two weeks. [Twitter]

Sorry, laptop luggers: there will be no WiFi at the new Filter in Foggy Bottom. [Housing Complex]

What's the deal with Girl Scout cookies and the "weird child army" that pushes them? [WaPo]

Is it really a cupcake if it weighs a frickin' ton? [Twitter]

U Street Music Hall proprietor Jesse Tittsworth finds beauty in the Old Ebbitt Grill bathroom. [Twitter]

If you want to see some really lame restaurant websites, click here. [TBD]

Photo by BrokenSphere/Wikimedia Commons

Love Café, R.I.P. (2003-2012)

Chris Shott — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:50:23 +0000

The lingering cupcake craze appears to have suffered its first major casualty: Love Café, the lounge-y across-the-street counterpart to Warren Brown's pioneering U Street bakery Cake Love, is apparently shutting its doors later this month. "Love cafe was wonderful fun, but after 8 great years says adieu Jan 29!" owner Brown reports via Twitter. Another farewell note is posted on the sit-down cupcakery's Web site. Last spring, Y&H sat down with Brown to discuss how the District's cupcake-making pioneer was dealing with the sudden explosion of rival dessert makers bursting onto the scene. His one-time celebrity (you’d see his handsome, dreadlocked mug all over television, from The Oprah Winfrey Show to various Food Network programs) had seemed to fade amid all the attention given to other confectioners, particularly TLC network darlings Katherine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne, the gals at tourist-magnet Georgetown Cupcake. At the time, Brown seemed none too bitter about all the interlopers infringing on his sweets turf. Brown's original bakery, Cake Love, remains open for business. More details as they become available.

UPDATE: In an email to Washington Business Journal, Brown blames the impending closure on "increasing rents that the restaurant could not sustain."

Table Scraps: 2011 Most Irritating Food Trends

Chris Shott — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:09:13 +0000

In my first year as your trusty guide to matters culinary in Washington, I’ve sampled an awful lot of meals. I took down a 24-course tasting menu at R.J. Cooper’s Rogue 24, sampled an assembly-line Vietnamese hoagie at ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen, and slurped ramen after braving the grueling wait at Toki Underground.

But as I supped, I got the sense that there were certain tastes I was sampling more frequently than others. A lot more frequently. Food, they say, is fashion. And just as the runways of 2011 teemed with feather hair extensions and platform pumps, our restaurant tables were laden with short ribs and duck fat fries. I dug in with enthusiasm.

But like skinny jeans and ironic tees, some restaurant fashions have lingered far too long—persisting, right there on the plate in front of you, past the point of self-parody, if not the grocer’s sell-by date. Some got tired. Others were simply bad ideas to begin with. Either way, it’s time to start 2012 right: by foreswearing the most annoying of culinary holdovers from the old year.

To that end, I’ve polled the various pet peeves of my City Paper newsletter subscribers and my own personal dining companions in order to compile a hit list of the most puzzling, most distasteful and most overdone dining trends that need to be euthanized, for their own good, hopefully within the next 12 months.

Herewith, my New Year’s dissolutions:

10. Skid marks!

You know what I’m talking about. Those streaks of dark glop wiped across white plates like the work of some abstract expressionist saucier, probably intending to evoke brush strokes. Too often, it looks like shit stains on Hanes. Not appetizing, not even at Adour.

9. Truffle oil on everything

Adding the highfalutin’ fungus oil is an easy device for making any simple dish (French fries, mac ‘n’ cheese) instantly seem fancy—and worth the added surcharge. It’s also overused to the point of abuse. Popcorn tastes good on its own, so why must it now smell funky and cost upwards of $7 per serving? I’m looking at you, The Reef.

8. Foams, gels, and anything else that sounds like a hair product

The chef-as-mad-scientist genre has gotten absurd. Yes, the rise of molecular gastronomy has enlightened us to the technical and creative prowess of our kitchen professionals. Why, look at that—olives in liquefied and crumbly frozen form. Fascinating. Now, chef R.J. Cooper, how ’bout you just make me a sandwich or something? I’m starving over here.

7. Chef reality shows

It’s not that the TV cooking is so bad. It’s the whole whiny drama of it all. The inevitable back-stabbings and emotional breakdowns make televised cooking contests appear just as trashy as The Apprentice or even The Hills. Hey, Top Chef: Want to make your show worthy of its name? Then put our hometown cooks back to work for us.

6. Locavores gone loco

Of the top 10 “hottest restaurant menu trends” compiled for 2012 by the National Restaurant Association, four included the buzzword “local.” No big surprise there. From “locally sourced meats and grains” to “locally grown produce” to “locally produced booze” to other “hyper-local items,” urban restaurants now pimp their rural farmer neighbors like never before. I’m all for eco-consciousness in the kitchen. I’m just tired of reading menu descriptions that seem as long as a Victorian novel. Honestly, I don’t need to know the origin of every animal, mineral and vegetable on the plate. And I don’t need you, Restaurant Nora, name-dropping every honest Farmer Joe on your roster to try to justify your pricing schemes.

5. Cutesy stuff on a stick

I’ve tried the lobster corn dog at Liberty Tree. It’s precious and stylishly presented. But it’s not really a corn dog—more like a stringy-centered hush puppy. And there are better uses for lobster than suffocating it with cornmeal.

4. Steely interiors

What’s that? I can’t seem to make out what you’re saying in this modish echo chamber of metallic fixtures. It’s so loud! My unsolicited interior-design advice to prolific restaurateurs Eric and Ian Hilton, among others: Invest in some velvety curtains.

3. No-photo policies

I’m sorry if my split-second flash ruins the whole carefully orchestrated vibe of your chi-chi eatery, or briefly disrupts the awkwardly silent dinner for two at the next table. Or, worse still, presents an unprofessional portrait of your immaculate cuisine on Facebook. But, if I’m paying for the meal (and, at Rogue 24, I’m paying a lot), it’s mine, and I’m entitled to a few snapshots as souvenirs.

2. Cupcakes

Need I even explain this one? Dainty shops specializing in the miniature frosted desserts now seem more common than the corner Chinese-chicken-pizza-subs carry-outs that have dominated D.C. for decades. In one notable case, a cupcakery has even adopted the traditional carry-out’s signature design feature: bulletproof glass protecting the register. Who are we fooling? The cupcake will never die. It’s the cockroach of the culinary scene. Still, Sprinkles, Crumbs, Red Velvet, and your ilk, it would be nice to find an actual full-size slice of cake every once in a while.

1. Small plates

I get it. D.C. is the birthplace of America’s tapas craze. And there are plenty of reasons for its proliferation. Diners like it because it’s good for sharing. Chefs like it because they can crank ’em in any order. Owners like it because they can charge double digits for what is essentially an appetizer. But now, every other place in town seems to think it’s Zaytinya, and it just ain’t so. The tipping point came this summer, when Toledo Lounge, of all places, emboldened by new ownership, got rid of its go-to burger and replaced it with tiny portions of goat cheese-stuffed peppers. Toledo Lounge! Thankfully, the little red-lit dive has since reneged on its small-plate strategy. Here’s to hoping that other entrée-averse operators heed the lesson.

Illustrations by Jandos Rothstein

Eatery tips? Food pursuits? Send suggestions to hungry@washingtoncitypaper.com.

PETA Honors D.C.’s Sticky Fingers Vegan Bakery

Chris Shott — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:14:27 +0000

The animal-rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has named D.C.'s Sticky Fingers vegan bakery (City Paper readers' pick for "D.C.'s Best Vegan Restaurant 2011") as a finalist for its annual Libby Awards. "Libby," in this case, is apparently short for "liberation." The awards "honor animal-friendly people and products," according to a press release. Members of the public can vote for their favorites among the nominees on the organization's web site here. Winners will be announced Jan. 17.

Read the full announcement, if you care to, below:

D.C.'S 'STICKY FINGERS' BAKERY IN THE RUNNING FOR PETA2 AWARD

Washington — Where can you satisfy your sweet tooth and make it a sweet deal for animals at the same time? If you live in the Washington metro area, the answer is at the 100 percent vegan Sticky Fingers bakery, which has been named a finalist for a Libby Award for Best Local Vegan Bakery by peta2, PETA's youth division. The sixth annual Libby Awards ("Libby" is for "liberation") honor animal-friendly people and products. Visitors to peta2.com can vote for their favorites in each category, and peta2 will choose the winners.

"To put it short and sweet, Sticky Fingers is paradise for vegans and anyone else who loves top-shelf baked goods," says peta2 Division Manager Marta Holmberg. "More and more people are demanding vegan options, and Sticky Fingers is responding in the most delicious ways imaginable."

Sticky Fingers' cupcakes are the best. Just ask the judges on the Food Network, where the Sticky Fingers bakers walked home winners on the show Cupcake Wars. Other baked specialties include dairy- and egg-free cookies, pastries, and cakes, including made-to-order wedding cakes. If you're looking for a healthy and delicious brunch or lunch, you've come to the right place. Sticky Fingers offers breakfast burritos, French toast, biscuits and gravy, veggie chili, mock tuna melts, and much more. Sticky Fingers products are also available in natural foods stores throughout the region, and the company ships anywhere in the U.S.

Twenty-nine Libby Awards will be given out this year, recognizing everything from the best cruelty-free cosmetics company to Street Teamer of the Year to peta2's favorite animal-friendly celebrity. Each winner will receive a framed certificate and be featured on peta2.com.

For more information about all the nominees, please visit peta2.com.

Voting ends on December 23, and the winners will be announced on January 17. The winners will be chosen by peta2 based on equal consideration of three factors: the number of votes received, the quality of the animal-friendly product or the nominees' enthusiasm for being animal-friendly, and feedback from the nominees' fans.

It’s National Cupcake Day! Isn’t It Every Day Around Here?

Chris Shott — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:19:54 +0000

As if the District needed another opportunity or excuse to stuff its collective face with butter cream, Thursday, it turns out, is "National Cupcake Day." The blog Beltway Bargain Mom has a rundown on some celebratory deals, if you care to peruse. Y&H checked in with the makers of our favorite mini cakes—the boozy kind—to see how they were commemorating the date. "We didn't plan anything special," reports Crunkcakes' Raychel Sabath, punctuating her email with a sad emoticon. She and partner Faith Alice Sleeper are busy enough wrangling with holiday orders of the eggnog-infused "Saucy Santa" (pictured above) and its sugary ilk to bother, she says.

With at least 15 different purveyors of frosted handheld delights doing business inside the D.C. line (not including the Safeway variety), one can certainly understand any air of indifference. But, for cupcake curmudgeons like myself, it's easy to forget how frickin' delicious the things must seem to a butter cream newbie. [WARNING: The following cupcake does not contain alcohol or crunk of any kind.] Cue the video:

Talk about young and hungry.

Now is the perfect time to rant about that line in Georgetown, rave about how much better the stuff is at Baked + Wired, or tell me how cute my kid is, in the comments.