Apr 22, 2010

Cupcake. Columbia SC - Take 2

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I was heading to Charlotte, crossing the treacherous Catawba, to go see my Nana again. I made a quick stop at Cupcake, my favorite little cupcake shop in Columbia, to pick up some cupcakes with which to continue my Taste Test in my never-ending quest to find the best cupcake.
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Today's Flavors:
  • French Toast
  • Double Chocolate Lemon
  • Strawberry
  • Tuxedo

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Then I realized I should swing through the USC campus just blocks away and get a college kid's input. College kids know high quality snack foods.
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Here's Marj sampling the French Toast cupcake. You can read her mind: "weird!" She added "...cinnamon peacan pie kind of flavor..."
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Marj had a sophisticated repertoire of culinary descriptions which I failed to write down because I was dumb-struck. She's good at this taste-testing thing, she's real good. (recall: '09 Apple Taste-Off)
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At this point I was interrupted by a text message from my sister:
"Nuttin' could b funkier than to eat a funky cupcake in caroliner, lol, oh wateva?!"
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Cupcake delirium abounds.
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Then Marj spotted it. The double chocolate lemon. She sneered at first, see her? Like she's daring it to be delish. This was her pick for favorite. "First," she claimed, "the icing was odd, but then, ooooo, it's good!"
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I know. Those are the words I remember. I don't remember the fine culinary terms, I remember odd and oooooo and good. It was the delerium.
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In Charlotte, dad didn't rush into anything, holding his verdict til every crumb was savored.
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"The lemon gives it a special kick," he mused. While Lisa just kept saying "Awesome, double chocolate lemon is absolutely awesome."
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Mom declared it tangy, but sweet.
And Nana said it was dry, she didn't like it one bit.
It was mine and Lisa's favorite of the bunch.
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The French Toast:
The French Toast was voted favorite by dad.
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"I never imagined French Toast in a cupcake," said Lisa, "but man, yeah, it's good!" She thinks it had a cream cheese icing.
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Mom just kept "pondering the delightful flavor." I didn't get her final verdict on the French Toast.
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And me? Well, I wasn't fond of the French Toast. Maybe if it was a muffin. And warm. I just can't tolerate cinnamon in a cupcake.
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The Strawberry:
I had high hopes for the strawberry and I just knew it'd be Lisa's fave, but nope, it was a let-down. It was good, just not great.
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Mom called it "a little bit of heaven."
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Dad said it had a "real fruity flavor," but I had to disagree, I thought it too mild, timid, bland, like the kid at school nobody remembers at the reunion.
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Chocolate Tuxedo:
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Dad spent a good bit of time "savoring the delicate aroma," but when he bit into it, he said sadly, "mellow."
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Again, some rumored it probably has a cream cheese icing. Lisa didn't care for the Tuxedo much. If she was stuck on a desert island, the Tuxedo wouldn't be on her list of must-haves.
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Mom loved it. The Tuxedo was the favorite for both mom and Gram, but chocoholics that they are, is anybody really surprised by this?
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And then it all hit her.
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With head in hands, mom mumbled something about her teeth curling.
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Nana was a little ticked at the end. She had been misled and thought this whole thing involved a prize. Hours later, late at night, I heard her laughing, the hardest I've heard her laugh in a long time, "I thought there was a prize!" She'd wipe her eyes and then laugh some more.
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Click here to read our taste test results on four other flavors.
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I can't wait for the next taste test. I want to go on a Monday and try Chocolate Chip Cheesecake, Lemon Blueberry and Red Velvet. But then I also need to go on Thursday for the White Choc. Raspberry and the Praline. But then I need to try Cookies and Cream, Creamsicle and all the various banana flavors! Click here for their flavor schedule and let me know when you want to go!

1 comment:

driftwood said...

Love that picture of Marj with the double choc. lemon cupcake. It looks like she has a chocalate chip stuck up her nose!!!!!! Also a nice picture of Aunt Peg (gramma to you). My mom would have loved to see it.