Tuesday, April 21, 2009

IT'S SPRINKLES TURN

Well today we are headed to the famous SPRINKLES. I think they may have been the ones that started the whole cupcake frenzy. At least here in CA.

I have to admit, I've heard so much about SPRINKLES and how wonderful they are, I'm expecting this to be great.

Come on, let's go inside.


Walking in you notice it's a small shop. Nothing but cupcakes are sold here. No breads, cakes or cookies. Just rows and rows of cupcakes.

Surprisingly there were no strong smells of just baked cupcakes.


They are grouped together and while they do have some flavors everyday. other flavors are only available on certain days of the week.

They do have lots of great flavors to pick from. I decided to try the banana with cream cheese icing. My girlfriend I went with said that was her favorite so I thought that was as good of a reason as anything and went with it.


Right away a few things didn't set well with me. The girl was putting my cupcake in a bag. I asked her for a box as I was doing taste test for my blog and didn't want the cupcake to look bad.

She told me I would have to pay $1.75 if I wanted a box. WHAT! I've never heard of such a thing. I told her to forget it and she put it in the bag.

I don't think that is good for SPRINKLES.
If I was going to bring a little gift to someone and decided a cupcake would be a nice pick me up I surely wouldn't want to bring it in a bag.

Most likely the cupcake wouldn't survive the drive home looking the same way as it did at the bakery.

The other thing I didn't like was they have wooded forks. I HATE wooden forks and spoons. But, this wasn't that big of a thing as I don't really use a fork to eat a cup cake anyway.

They do have a small wall filled with items you can buy. Nothing fancy like WONDERLAND BAKERY has. Then again, I doubt if any bakery will have what they have.


Here is the famous $1.75 box you can buy. If you want to add ribbon to the box it will cost you another $8.00! To much for my little budget.

You can purchase candles if you want. Hopefully you won't get one of the bent ones.


I decided to enjoy my cupcake there rather then risk driving it home and having it get smooched.

They have a few tables outside where you can sit down, relax and enjoy your cupcake.

To mark what flavor the cupcakes are they use little candy dots. Each color is assigned to a certain cupcake.

My advice...DO NOT eat them. They do not taste good. Yes they are edible but that doesn't mean you should eat them. Skip it and go right to the cupcake.

The cupcake itself was very good. It was moist and full of flavor. The icing was very good too.

However, it did taste more like a banana muffin then a cupcake. I happen to love banana muffins and banana bread but there clearly is a difference in those and cupcakes.

While I did enjoy SPRINKLES cupcake I do not see what all the fuss is about.


Yes I would happily purchase another one, if I was in the neighborhood, but I would not go out of my way to buy one.

The idea of a little shop filled with cupcakes is a fun one. Looking at all them lined up just waiting for you to pick one is also fun.

To be fair I think I may have expected to much from SPINKLES. I expected them to blow me away and they didn't.

I would much rather go to WONDERLAND BAKERY to get me a cupcake any day over SPRINKLES. I think the flavor, texture and ambiance at WONDERLAND BAKERY is much better then SPRINKLES.

Tomorrow we are going to try a cupcake from a small, little known bakery that sells at a few malls and fairs. Be sure to come back.
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6 comments:

Allidink said...

I've had that cupcake too. They have better ones like the chocolate and red velvet. They definitely have a whole different atmosphere going there.

All the best,
Allison

Glenda said...

Sometimes the buildup is better than the product.

It started out small but caught on because the stars endorsed it. Too bad they have the heads up their a**.

Ciao

Cottage Way of Life said...

The Sprinkles banana is good, but you need to give Sprinkles another shot because they have other flavors that are much better (and maybe they weren't baking when you were there because I usually think Sprinkles smells divine). I really like their red velvet, pumpkin, lemon, and strawberry. Hate their black & white though (which is one of their most popular cupcakes & I don't understand why), I've given it several shots and hated it every time (dry, not real flavorful, just yuck). What I also love about Sprinkles is that I can taste the butter and the vanilla in the buttercream frosting Sprinkles uses, it has a really dandy aftertaste.

Not sure how I feel about Wonderland, never been there, thought that in your photos yesterday, Wonderland looked too "junked up" with stuff like it was My Pretty Pony on speed (not meaning that as an insult ... My Pretty Pony on speed can be a good thing and lord knows, I do love organized chaos and lots and lots of stuff), I like my bakeries to be all business and not have other distractions. But ... your review of the red velvet cupcake made me want to race down there and give it a shot. I really wish you had tried Sprinkles red velvet cupcake so you could have had a real comparison between the two bakeries.

Oh, and I totally agree with you about Sprinkles dot ... blech! I always peel them off and toss 'em. First time I tried them, I was hoping they'd be like Necco Wafers, but nope, hard as rocks, break your teeth, tasteless nothing. Yep, peel them off and toss 'em!

Looking forward to your next review!

Jen @ tatertotsandjello.com said...

Oh I love Sprinkles! But I will have to try that Wonderland Bakery too the next time I am down your way.

I am loving this cupcake series! I can't wait to see where you go next!

XOXO
Jen

Lindsay-ann said...

Hi Joanne
I have enjoyed catching up with your blog today. You visit some of the most amazing shops. Sprinkles looks great but I agree with you about the boxes!
Best Wishes
Lindsay

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

I am enjoying these posts SO much, Joanne. I..think...I was expecting a lot more from Sprinkles too. My daughters go to that area a lot so I had heard of them. Interesting.
First of all..it seems it would be good business to add a candle upon request and not charge...also..the box. I have a feeling the price of that little cupcake would MORE than cover the price of a little box.
I didn't think, from the photo's that their displays were very attractive at all. It all just looked blah to me. And the crooked candle...hmmm..who is in charge to check their displays. Nope..I was not impressed. Just lots of things wouldn't have impressed me either.
My feeling is ..why go back if you are not impressed the first time. The bar has been set awfully high now days... Ok...on to the next one! HOW FUN THIS IS!!
Hugs,
Mona