Date of excursion: 02.19.11
Jumpin’ jimmies it’s been a while, folks! Sorry for the hiatus — we are happy to be back and more rarin’ to go than ever.*
Today’s excursion was to the far land of St. Marks Place. It was hip, happenin’, and filled with lively youths. But, more importantly, it was filled with the one thing we were after: cupcakes.
We walked into Spot Dessert Bar to find a pleasant modern atmosphere with new-old tune-age, with a nice touch of class. It became clear upon arrival that Spot wasn’t a location to really sit down and eat (unless you want to eat restaurant-style), but nonetheless, it was eye-catching. Mostly because of the cupcakes.
“Green tea,” Choco-Choco Chip drooled.
“Salted caramel,” Cappuccino Swirl jived.
“Hmm,” Lemon Meringue sniffed.
“Uh,” said Vanilla.
We quickly chose our chosen ones and set to work**. The carrying cases provided to us by Spot were nice, but perhaps a bit excessive (at least in comparison to a box). And, at first glance, you may think: ooh, a futuristic cupcake transportation device! But, alas … nope!
First up: Mocha Maldon Salt Caramel
The name doesn’t really roll off the tongue, but neither does this cupcake (in that it doesn’t roll off your tongue because of bad flavors). This little one had a nice mocha frosting that wasn’t overpowering on the coffee taste (as many frostings of this nature tend to be), even though it was definitely quite aromatic. The cake was also good, although pretty crumbly when it came to undressing it (as a lot of the cake stuck to the wrapper).
(And just a note with this one — not one among us tasted salt, much to our disappointment. We actually thought the salted caramel must have been on another cupcake due to such an intense inability to taste it in this one.)
“GLITTER,” Vanilla shouted (after reflecting upon the sparkly exterior of this cupcake). Yes, yes. We get it.
Next up: Vanilla Almond Coconut
“Your cutting’s getting a little rusty,” Cappuccino Swirl poked.
(Choco-Choco Chip cried.)
Oh babies, oh babies*** — this frosting! How light! How rich! How … frothy? Very much like coconut milk, in all the best ways. And not overly sweet at all.
The vanilla base was also quite good (and did not stick to the wrapper), though we didn’t taste almond anywhere.
“Frothy times five!” Vanilla exclaimed, as everyone pretended to understand.
“I wonder if we lose flavor by eating these in pieces,” Cappuccino Swirl hypothesized.**** (… Probably!)
Next up: Vanilla Caramel Vietnamese Coffee
A couple gang members swore***** they tasted salt in this one! Choco-Choco Chip didn’t see it. Or taste it.
“The caramel filling is good,” Cappuccino Swirl raved.
The frosting was quite good, CS, but the cupcake overall? Maybe a bit forgettable, especially among other coffee flavors at Spot.
“We didn’t start the fire,” Lemon Meringue noted. Yes, that’s true.
Next up: Chocolate Green Tea Fruit Jam******
“I feel like that cupcake exploded in the end.” Indeed, the icing was a bit mushy. And the chocolate cake — well, yes, sometimes things do just fall apart.
“The jam is interesting,” Lemon Meringue noted. “And the icing is very green tea.”
“Sorta bitter,” Cappuccino Swirl sighed.
Perhaps the whole thing could have been a bit sweeter. The green tea, somehow, wasn’t satisfying enough of a taste. And there was so little jam, that it almost didn’t add anything to the overall cupcake. Maybe some ginger notes would help?
“At this point, it’s all just matcha,” Lemon Meringue said.
Indeed. But it was still good (and better than other green tea cupcakes we’ve had*******).
So, a relatively good night of cupcakery has come and gone! While Spot proved to have innovative flavor combinations, it didn’t always deliver on each cupcake-title’s promise. But not too shabby, at all!
And, as always, we welcome recommendations from you, our readers, as you go on your own cupcake adventures throughout the city. With our newly-broken hiatus, you’re sure to hear more from us soon.
And so with some heavy cream and a happy stomach, we say:
Goodnight, good luck, and good cupcakes.
*Sans ever switching to New Coke in between.
**Which entailed walking back home.
***We apologize for the lack of PG hyperlinks. With this!
****Let’s get meta!
*****NEVER swear.
******JAM!
*******No offense, Crumbs.*********
********Actually, maybe slight offense, Crumbs.
Location:
Spot Dessert Bar
13 St. Marks Place
NY, NY 10003
Phone: 212-677-5670
Hours:
Sundays – Wednesdays: 12 PM – 12 AM
Thursdays – Saturdays: 12 PM – 1 AM
(With NYU student discounts available Monday – Friday before 6 PM!)
Average cost of cupcake: $3.00
The Cupcake Gang. Done. 
