A Tale of Two Cupcakes

For starters I have to admit, I hardly ever go out for cupcakes anymore. Why? Mostly because I have been so utterly disappointed with the dry/tasteless/sugary loads of crap most people consider good. I’ve had many of the NYC standards: Magnolia’s (the frosting is crap), Cupcake Cafe (the cake is dry), Crumbs (they are too big and are overloaded with too many ‘toppings’), Buttercup Bake Shop (too sweet and always slightly stale).  After awhile, I just stopped attempting to enjoy cupcakes made by other people…until last week.

Don’t ask me why but whilst Christmas shopping I had the urge to take another stab at cupcakes so I decided to hit up 2 spots: Butter Laneand Tribeca Treats. Why these places? They were close to my shopping destinations. Here’s my review on both establishments:

Butter Lane- I walked into their temporary Soho outpost and was immediately hopeful. The atmosphere was simple yet homey. Also the cupcakes didnt look covered in goop/sprinkles but still had interesting flavors like pumpkin and blueberry. I purchased a pumpkin frosting/chocolate cake  to go and began consuming as I walked out the door. I was pleasantly surprised. I mean, they werent mind blowing but they weren’t awful. The frosting was soft but was still substantial and the cake was moist. The drawback, I didnt taste pumpkin AT ALL. I dont know where the pumpkin was or how they tried to infuse the festive flavor into the frosting but it didnt work. Boo. It wasn’t a total loss but was certainly not a win. Onto the next cupcake…

Tribeca Treats- I had avoided this place for years because my sister had insisted that it was a horrible with gross

treats/bad service and I took her word for it. The atmosphere was typically bakery-esk: a few tables, chocolate pictures on the walls, window cases filled with chocolates and baked goods, etc. Maybe it was because I went about 40 minutes before closing, but they did not have too many cupcakes to chose from which started to worry me. I decided to go with the S’more cupcake because it had everything I would want: chocolate cake with marshmallow icing and topped with graham cracker crumbs. Once again, I started consuming as soon as I stepped out the door. After the 2nd bite I knew I had found it: the cupcake of my dreams. The frosting was soft, billowy, and sweet without being cloying. The cake was moist, delicous, and fresh. The graham cracker crumbs ontop of the frosting werent stale or hard, they were soft and buttery. Better yet? Everything tasted as advertised!!  It actually TASTED like a s’mores instead of just sugary glop. I immediately called my sister while she was at work to yell at her for giving me such bad advice.

In summation: if you’re in the Financial District or Tribeca and are looking for a sweet snack - stop on into Tribeca Treats and get yourself something…no matter what your sister may tell you.