Review: Polkadots Cupcake Factory and CupPrimo
May 19, 2009
I love cupcakes. When I lived in LA I visited the legendary Sprinkles Cupcake store, only to be sorely disappointed by the dry cake and horrid sugar-jacket my teeth were wearing after consumption. After that, I wondered whether cupcakes could be as delicious as they were in my mind. Then I moved to Austin, and it seemed the cupcake stores that were so trendy in LA hadn’t moved this far east yet. I resigned myself to eating Tex-Mex and forgetting I ever knew such temptations as PinkBerry Yogurt or entire stores dedicated to little frosted treats.
Until recently. Suddenly, it seems there is a cupcake store on every corner, right next to the day spa on every corner. Which is right next the guy playing guitar on every corner. Anyways, over the last two weeks I’ve had the opportunity to try two (cupcakes, not musicians), and I’m here to report.
CupPrimo is a delightful cafe hidden next to my house in a very run down strip mall. There’s a Tex Mex place (of course), a hardware store, an Asian market, an Indian market, a Cajun deli and bubble tea shop that never seems to be open…and CupPrimo. Open for a little over a year, it’s a trendy coffee-shop cupcake bar and truly a hidden gem. I got there late in the day, but they still had some mini-cupcakes left, so I got three (I figured I should try various flavors instead of one full-sized cupcake). I took them to-go, and managed to eat all three before I hit my first stop light (what? I’m practicing for a cupcake eating contest!). The red velvet was tasty with a true cream-cheese frosting, the italian cream was delightful and nutty, and I’m sorry to say I can’t recall what the third one was, probably because I ate it without chewing. But it was good. CupPrimo is worth a visit if you’re in North Austin, and gets high marks for it’s bite sized treats with sugary frosting. (www.cupprimo.com)
If my cupcake dreams hadn’t already been fulfilled, just this weekend I was at a business fair at Costco and had the good fortune to be seated next to Polkadots Cupcake Factory. I was only able to try a sample sized portion of Lemon and Cream, but holy cow was it delicious. The billows of frosting had me worried for a moment, I thought it might be too sweet or too buttercreamy (like, for example, those sheet cakes from Costco) but it’s not at all. It’s just creamy and flavorful, and melts in your mouth. Even my husband liked it, and he does not like sweets at all. Also, it had to be the moistest cake I’ve ever had. It seems like there is some frosting or cream baked into the middle of the cupcake, but I can’t be sure as I didn’t have a whole one. Anyways, there’s not too much more I can say given my limited tasting, but I can tell you the taste lingered in my mouth for a long time and I felt satisfied, yet wanted more, all at the same time. I would definitely try Polkadots Cupcakes again, I only wish I lived closer! (http://www.polkadotscupcakefactory.com)
Vegan Friendly: not at all
Vegetarian Friendly: ****
Fish Friendly: n/a
Price: $
Service: n/a
Atmosphere: ****
