An Oldie but Goodie
Where do I start? I love love love this Magnolia Bakery (http://www.magnoliabakery.com/). I was first exposed to my favorite cupcake spot when I was watching Sex and the City. I Googled the episode to find out which season (Season 3, Episode 5, titled "No Ifs, Ands, or Buts"). I also looked on YouTube for the episode (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYSsHEdWhi4), Note: this is a super random user upload but it is the actual episode!
Anyway, this was a bit of a tangent but I felt it was necessary. My love for this bakery goes way back (2000 when the episode aired). Now that I live in New York City, I am able to visit much more frequently than when my family lived in New Jersey. Magnolia launched the trend of cupcakes that has led to the opening of many other bakeries. What is good for one shop is good for others, which in turn, is great for dessert lovers such as myself!
After our brunch at Yerba Buena, Aish and I headed over to the original location on Bleeker Street. Since the SATC episode, there have been multiple openings in NYC (Midtown West, Upper West Side, Midtown East and in Grand Central, the perfect location for commuters!). I'm pretty sure she hadn't yet been to this magical bakery so I was excited to share this with her!
Beautiful Window Display
The last time I went to Magnolia, the window display had "self-serve" cupcakes which translates into "people licking there fingers and touching cupcakes that they may or MAY NOT purchase." This terrified me in the past so I would always be annoying and ask for fresh cupcakes from behind the counter. I realize this is a bit excessive, but so is paying over $2.00 for a cupcake. I'd like my pricey cupcake to not be pre-licked thank you very much!
The counter set-up is also awesome too - very nostalgic.
YUM!
I love that a lot of the desserts here fit within the theme of "personal sized." This prevents you from pigging out...unless of course you order several personal sized desserts. Oops. I ordered my favorite cupcake (chocolate cake with vanilla icing and sprinkles) and Aish got something else. I don't remember what it was because I was too focused on my cupcake.
If you're in the West Village, check out this cupcake institution!
Cheers,
Liz