More Cupcake Wars

you may recall a post from a few months back on the cupcake spots in DC i've come to be aware of. i'm back with an update!

first up, Sprinkles. before you say "now, bish, you know there aint no such place in DC...", hold your horses because there will be come February 2011! consider this your sneak peek. while in Chicago, i visited their Sprinkles and i must say, i give this place 2 "yums" up!

the cupcakes are $3 and some change (sorry, don't remember the exact cost) and it was totally worth the 5 bus transfers in the pouring rain. i kid, we transferred like 2 buses, it was on the way to another place we were going, and the rain would not have been so bad had it not been sideways and had i carried an umbrella...ella ella eh eh eh. i advise being first in line when Sprinkles opens in our neck of the woods b/c this shop is set to rival G'town cupcakes and Baked and Wired. if you paid attention, you'd know it's properly positioned to do so right between the two. i cant wait....

if you can't wait either, try Red Velvet Cupcakery available in Penn Quarter and Dupont. i recently visited the Dupont location and paid $3.85 for a baked treat. yes, almost $4 for a cupcake smaller than Baked and Wired's or Sprinkles' offerings. i bet you're thinking that i could have saved 85 cents and gone down the street for Hello Cupcake. if so, you'd think wrong. here's why: they both offer a cookies n cream cupcake and i let the two shops battle it out. Red Velvet wins hands (and forks) down. PLUS, i guess the boy at Red Velvet thought i was cute or something because he gave me 4 cupcakes free. this was how i was able to try the cookies and cream because i had ordered the "southern belle" which the website recommends for first-timers.

yes, Red Velvet costs more, significantly so if you ask me and you do ask me because this is MY blog, but they win on customer service. he let me in before they were slated to open saying "it's too cold for you to be outside. come on in" and he gave me freebies. so what if they were made yesterday? i will say the folks at Hello Cupcake are friendly but in general, these would be happy-go-lucky places dont have the cheeriest of folks working there. especially Georgetown Cupcake. you would think they'd show off since they have a show. and you're right about that. it was so empty in there one time when i went when they were filming and guess what? i also had the most pleasant experience in all my visits to them. don't get me wrong, no one has ever been outright rude but it's the little things like "hello" and "have a nice day" that make a difference to me.

T in DC

finally got up with Ms. T from Tea and Such. still mad her girls flaked on her but whatever. so anyway. after fighting 5 blocks of completely senseless traffic and parking 3 blocks away from our destination. i spot T infront of the worst McDonalds in the city. ok, thats not fair, arguably the one in Adams Morgan or just about any one in DC could be in contention for that but whatever. i stand whole heartedly by the one not too far from my house that one day did not have any FRIES that one time is the worst in MD, but i digress. 

so we're going to Station 9, what i thought was a decent restaurant by day that turned into an upscale lounge by night. at least that was my experience in the past. last time i was there, the restaurant was open and i chilled briefly on the upper level where there was ample seating. this visit, the lower level was cleared out (as best they could with restaurant furniture lining the walls). what was once a 25 and older chill spot became reminiscent of some of the spots i thought i left behind in undergrad (didnt help that there was a strong ATL presence among other non-DC folk). anyway, the drinks were overpriced yet at the same time pretty typical for DC when there are no bar specials (i think ive been spoiled by constantly scoping those out), and the first DJ was the height of wacktivity. the second DJ did decently, however could not compensate for 1.) the lack of...i dont even know what is required to be a good DJ because there really arent many so i dont know what he was lacking but he lacked it BIG TIME and 2.) the age and appearance of almost everyone around me. some people were wearing 80s prom dresses found in the junior's section of Macy's. others were scantilly clad in makeshift outfits that i couldnt even pretend would be cute if they fit. really not my crowd. but enough complaints about the venue. 

we made it work. T is really cool, REALLY funny (in case you somehow did not know that from reading her blog), and pretty. should have taken pics but my camera is just the worst and my phone is new with no memory card so i wouldnt be able to store any pics. i'm sure T will have far more to say than i about this night, along with details of her other adventures on this trip. 

BELLA!!!!

if you know where i can get my hands on the italian vogue in the DC area, PLEASE let me know. 

happy firework/cookout day!