readers know best! (cupcake war winner announced)

you guys leave me some food for thought in the comments. when it cam to my cupcake quest, reader mrstdj was right: crumbs cupcakes IS the best in the area. @ 3.25 a pop, these generously sized cupcakes satisfy any sweet tooth. they offer unique variations but i stuck with a classic: vanilla with chocolate frosting. the cake is dense but not muffin-y. the icing, was a creamy pudding topping. there was vanilla pudding INSIDE. i'm in love! if you are ever around metro center, you would be remiss if you did not visit this cute little bakery. right across the street from H&M and Forever 21, this is the sugar rush you'll need to sift through the racks and spot some good bargains. visit their website for all the unique varieties: www.crumbs.com

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.