It was this past May of 2011 that I started to realize my passion (or as some would say "craze") for good food was something that was unique to just me. I thought it was everyone but the "light" switched on while I was in NYC this past spring with some girlfriends.
I used to live in NYC and about a year ago my husband and I relocated from NY to Charlotte, NC (which is where I am originally from). Of course, one of the best things about NY is the food. I used to enjoy finding the hidden gems and even some of the well-known spots quickly became my favorite. More on that later..
One of the most well-known bakeries in NYC is Magnolia Bakery. I believe it was Sex in the City that put this little hole in the wall on the map. Now, as you know, there are cupcakeries on every corner! But, I have always held true to my passion and love for a good old fashioned Magnolia Cupcake. They have kept it simple for the most part. They were selling basic vanilla on vanilla cupcakes for years before all of these other joints started popping up. Now they are all competing to see who can put the nastiest ingredient in a cupcake and still make it taste good. Things like "asparagus chocolate surprise" and "curry chicken and cherries." I'm all about creative and if you put a cupcake in front of me, I will try it, but I am always down for the basics as well. I used to swing by Magnolia's with my dear friend and we would pick up two each. We would wait in a line that usually would wrap around the block. The place was small so they had to monitor how many people were allowed in at one time. When you actually make it in you expect to enter into Willy Wonka's factory because of all the hype. Of course, I fell right into the moment and let out a gasp as I looked around in awe of all the yummy baked goods and the oompa-loompa's (employees) hard at work. They were frosting the cupcakes in Magnolia's signature swirl and bringing out trays of new, fresh cupcakes frequently. Of course, if you were lucky enough, you reached the cupcake section right when they were refilling the trays with fresh, out-of-the-oven, cupcakes. I always got one chocolate with vanilla icing (I preferred pink or yellow frosting) and one vanilla on vanilla.
After you pick your cupcakes you have to swing back around through the line. You get to pass by the cases of all their other yummy baked goods. It is typically warm in there and people are clearly frustrated by the small space. There is actually a window right by the cupcake section and you can see the people outside waiting and staring at you. It is as if they are saying "don't you dare touch that cupcake on the second row on the right, that one is MINE." Regardless, once you make it through the line and you head back outside, you feel like you just accomplished a major task. NOTE: If you are claustrophobic, do NOT go to Magnolia's. If you are the type of person that gets a warm and fuzzy feeling when inside an elevator then this experience will cause a very similar reaction.
So, we make it outside. We always went to the park that is across the street and for some reason we were able to ignore the needles, beer cans and homeless people at this park. We just wanted to sit in peace and quiet and enjoy each buttery bite. The icing is the kind that crunches a bit and you are immediately blasted with a shot of sugar butter. It is the old fashioned confections sugar buttercream. It is literally sugar and butter and vanilla extract and some milk. So, bottom line is it is very sweet and it can be very rich to those who do not prefer this type of icing. I, however, can get down with just about any icing, so I love it. I love the crunch, I love the blast of butter, I love super sweet and I love the fact that the cake part is super moist and full of flavor. The icing is heavy and it somewhat overpowers the cake so you have to take a bite of the thick icing to get to the cake part. Again, that doesn't bother me at all. My friend and I would sit and take our first bite and our eyes would slightly roll to the back of our head's. We would moan with pleasure..."mmmm, this is soooo divine," I would say. I didn't want any distractions so we just sat peacefully and individually enjoyed each bite.
That was pretty much our routine. Then, if I had any family or friends come to visit, Magnolia was always on our "must do" list. I turned many people "on" to Magnolia and it has quickly become a family favorite. I purchased the Magnolia cookbook before I left NY in hopes of replicating their famous cupcake right in my own home. I am still working on perfecting the swirly way they ice those darn cupcakes!!
I say all that to say, magnolia was my first love. It was my first experience with a special cupcake bakery and so it holds a special place in my heart. Since that love at first bite I have traveled to many other locations and have explored many other cupcakes but I have always remained a faithful Magnolia fan......until now....
As I previously mentioned, I visited NYC a few months ago for a special girl's weekend. Since it had been several months since I had been back I was excited to go to Magnolia's along with several other bakeries and restaurants. I planned on just making it an all-out eating fest. I'm so glad my friends were on board! The first sign of my inner diva came out when we were deciding where to eat. I was hearing things like "it doesn't matter to me," and "we can just grab something anywhere." I was astonished at these remarks! I quickly started doing some research and frantically insisted that we eat somewhere that will be memorable and that will exceed our expectations! I was using a blackberry so it was difficult to pull up all of the research but I was able to narrow it down to a couple places and fortunately, one of them was somewhat close to Magnolia. Ahhhh....I could exhale and breath again. I saw the emergency, reacted with care and resolved the issue with grace. I was so happy to know that I was going to get a great meal at Babbo. We didn't have reservations but thank God we were able to still be seated. We had a fabulous meal and we left with just a little room for dessert! So, we walked over to Magnolia. I was pleased to see that nothing changed. There was still a line around the block, no air conditioning on the inside and my favorite basic flavors were represented. I got a small box and the girls grabbed a few other items and we headed back to the hotel. I couldn't wait to take a bit of my cupcake! I started in the cab, just a taste! I was immediately disappointed. It was devestating to me. I didn't understand why it didn't "hit" me the way it had for so many years! What was happening! I thought to myself, maybe it was just too hot in that little sweatshop, or maybe I got a bad batch, maybe they changed their ingredients, etc. I was just ready to take it back to the hotel, maybe even stick it in the fridge and then try again. So, when we returned to the hotel I took a bite out of the other cupcake....same thing. It just tasted more artificial, like there were chemicals in the icing, it didn't give me that punch I became so fond of. It was lifeless, flavorless, dry, dark and weary!! I was distraut! I asked the girls what they thought. I immediately said "guys, there is something wrong with my cupcake, it doesn't taste right, does yours?" They both were looking at me like I had three heads because I went into a very detailed description of what the cupcake should taste like and how it was not the same as I remembered. They were passively brushing off this issue and I remained perplexed. They played around with their food and put it down and started looking through magazines, watching TV, etc. I sat on the bed, nibbling at everyone's dessert and kept going back to my cupcake but was left feeling very disappointed. I decided to let it go for now and I would just give it a try in the morning. So, when morning came I immediately jumped up to get my cupcake. The FIRST thing out of my mouth when everyone woke up was "so, did you guys really not notice the difference in the magnolia cupcake?" They were seriously looking at me like I lost my mind. They couldn't believe I was still talking about this cupcake and that I was so concerned over this treat. It was at that point that I realized I was not exactly "normal."
I put my heart into my food and especially my sweets. I don't just eat everything in sight and I certainly have a high standard when it comes to all food. If you use artificial flavors, I will be able to tell, if you use canned vegetables versus fresh, I will know, if you use smeat instead of meat, I'm going to call you out, if you use instant or boxed ingredients it will be obvious. So, I guess the bottom line is that I realize my pallet may have become a bit more sophisticated over time and I have tried so many new cupcakes that it was a little ridiculous to claim Magnolia as my all-time favorite. I needed to give other's a fair shot, so that is what I do on a regular basis now!
My husband came home the other day and saw me sitting on the couch looking at my laptop. He peeked over to see what I had pulled up and it was the website for a cupcake bake shop that is here in Charlotte. He looked a tad bit frightened and he said "that is creepy that you are studying the menu." I was taken back by his response but didn't think much of it. Then, a few weeks later I was laying in bed and I was searching on the internet. Again, my husband looked over to see what I was researching and he saw the website of another bakery. He looked a little nervous but then he just shook his head. It was at that point I realized that my hobby is food! I am not afraid to say it. Most of my friends contact me if they want to know a good restaurant to try in town or even in their own towns! If I make dinner plans with family, friends or my husband, you can be sure they ask me to find the place. I enjoy researching reviews, looking at and comparing menus, trying new places, finding hidden gems, etc. I may like it more than the average person so that is why I am putting my hobby to good use! I'll always provide the most honest reviews of everything I try. I will put passion behind it and I will not lead you astray. I have a high standard for just about every kind of food there is out there so you can be sure I will only endorse the places that deserve it!
I will review some of the same places repeatedly as I try new things each time. I will review places in other locations, especially NY, Chicago and NC as those are the locations I frequent. I'll provide any additional information that may be relevant to other food lovers! I am not a trained food expert so I will speak in lay terms because that is all I know! I may not know all the technical phrases but I know when something is so good that it makes your mouth water to think about it and I know when something is just downright pukity.
Happy Eating!!
FD
