Hello Cupcake mania hits DC; bloggers report

Hello Cupcake photo via Danielle Buckley

In no particular order, some reports from opening day at Washington, DC's newest cupcakery Hello Cupcake:

Blogger Panache Nosh shares photos and her take on the decor and taste:







And last but not least...Prima Donna. Strawberry buttercream frosting on a chocolate cupcake. This is not buttercream like you're used to at Cakelove...its overly creamy (think the consistency of toothpaste but strawberry flavor). The cupcake was nice and moist though.

In summary, (and to be fair, I need to go back to try other varieties - especially the vanilla on chocolate) Frank Bruni remains correct. I can't say that what I tasted today was amazing but I'll be back in a couple more weeks when they've worked out all the kinks and have enough time to think, let alone top their cupcakes like they're supposed to.

Jane Black of The Washington Post's Going Out Gurus blog reports:

At 12:45, the wait was about 20 minutes. (One clever employee passed out samples to keep the peace.) Disappointingly, when it was at last our turn, the two we wanted -- De Lime and De Coconut, You Tart! -- were sold out. So we bought six others: two to carry and eat while we strolled back to the office, and four to take to awaiting coworkers. The two for the road were keepers: Peanut Butter Blossom, chocolate topped with airy peanut butter frosting; and Triple Coconut, coconut cake with coconut cream cheese frosting and a sprinkling of toasted coconut. Although in the latter case, the cream cheese frosting was a little too liquid for mobile eating. Most of it slid off the cupcake, so we licked it right off the napkin.

Our coworkers were pleased, too. The cake was moist and the icing not too sweet on almost all of their four samples. (They especially liked that Velvet Elvis.) The main criticism was aimed at the icing on the Hello Cupcake "Original." The vanilla buttercream reminded one tester of the icing on a "less stale than usual" Safeway cake.

Danielle Buckley, who got a sample of their goodies earlier, found:

A Hello Cupcake employee was walking around handing out samples of a Root Beer Float flavored cupcake and little take-home menus with ordering information. He made it over to me with the last sample piece, and as I popped it in my mouth I was surprised at how similar the flavor was to an actual Root Beer Float. Turns out as I got to talking to him, I found out it was Penny's husband (Penny as you might remember from previous posts is the owner of Hello Cupcake). Her husband, Bill Bonstra of Bonstra Haresign Architects, is the one who designed the shop, bringing Penny's idea of a more modern-boutique-like cupcakery to life. And it looked great! Sparkling Pink Chandelier and all...

Now onto the cupcakes...I only had to wait about 15 minutes to get through the line. Not bad at all. I wanted to try a couple different flavors this time, so I picked out the 24 Carrot, Velvet Elvis, and Peanut Butter Blossom (which Penny actually let me sample a couple months ago, so I already know this one is fantastic). Velvet Elvis is only available on Mondays and Thursdays, while 24 Carrot and Peanut Butter Blossom are daily flavors. Today is my fathers birthday, so I've got to save them to bring to him tonight when I get off work. Don't worry, I'll come back and repost how they taste when I try them! But from my previous experience, I already know they are going to be amazing!

Ann Limpert at the blog Best Bites says (click through for her photos):

So how do they rank with competition? 45 minutes after I first stepped into the slowly shuffling line, I left with my four-pack and headed back to the office to find out. My favorite was the moist chocolate cake topped with strawberry buttercream, which tasted closer to a sugar icing than the dense Italian buttercream served at places like CakeLove. A lime cupcake with coconut/cream cheese icing and the Velvet Elvis, a banana cupcake with peanut-butter frosting, were also good, but instead of the latter I wished I’d gotten the Peanut Butter Blossom, which pairs the super-peanut-y icing with chocolate cake. The biggest surprise? The root-beer float, which comes complete with a little straw. It’s delicious, like the fluffiest gingerbread you’ve ever had with a swirl of not-too-cream-cheesy icing.

Is any cupcake worth a 45-minute wait? Earlier this morning I'd have said no way. But these might change my mind.

WhereinDC's neighbor visited, adding to the many voices asking whether Hello Cupcake stacks up to Georgetown Cupcake:

After returning only 30 minutes after I had, she came back with 4 beautiful cupcakes and a few tidbits.

* Fox 5 was there to record the opening and interviewing folks (will be airing the interview at 6 PM tonight)
* There’s a huge pink chandelier in the middle of the cupcake bakery
* There are 8 tables and chairs inside where you can hang out and enjoy your cupcake(s)
* The owner’s husband was in the front of the house and was telling folks some interesting factoids about the place including one of the chefs was Tony from Food Network’s Iron Chef (side note - I don’t know who this is and can’t find any mention on their Web site; anyone?)

And for those who were wondering if it’s as good as Georgetown Cupcakes, she said that she can’t give a definitive answer without doing a side-by-side comparison, but did say Hello Cupcake! is definitely strong competition.

Over on Yelp, user Julie H. says:

You can choose to take cupcakes home in a few combinations - the single cupcake, $3, which you'll do well to purchase a cup-a-cake container for (purchase a container and get a free cupcake); a four cupcake box; six cupcake box; and the requisite twelve cupcake box ($33).

I bought a dozen this morning, but I only sampled one: the root beer float, a Hello Cupcake flavor of the month. The smell hits you immediately and is perhaps the biggest giveaway besides the cute straw that sticks out of its side. Yes, the cupcake SMELLS like root beer. I couldn't separate the smell from the frosting to tell you whether or not the frosting is also lightly laced with a root beer flavor, but it's a cream cheese base - gooey and not too sweet, with a consistency that almost looks like meringue. The cupcake itself has a great crumb and packs a solid root beer flavor. It wasn't too spicy or gingery - you certainly know you're eating a root beer cupcake and not some flavoring attempting to approximate a root beer experience. Overall, a yummy novelty cupcake (though I'll wager that another flavor will become a favorite first).

We'd love to hear more reports and post more of your photos, so keep it coming. Sounds like a very busy opening day, proving once again that in big cities, the more cupcakeries and competition, the better - please keep those long lines in mind next time you hear cupcakes are "over."