Random Letters to the Public

Today's Adventure: The Red Velvet Cupcakery! (of Dupont Circle)

Today I did my usual salad run with my coworker Katie in the Dupont circle area for my Friday lunch hour. It was a bit hot and humid outside and as we were leaving our healthy salad place, and I resisted going across the street to Hello Cupcake. But that this when something caught our eyes. A girl with a Froyo Cup! ZOMG! We looked at each other and we were instantaneously, jonesin' for some Froyo. On to the good ole trusty iPhone and Yelp. Google map told us that we were 0.2 miles away from FroYo goodness called TangySweet. So we did our little venture around the circle and headed onto P street. And as we crossed the street towards the TangySweet FroYo sign underneath it, I saw "The Red Velvet Cupcakery." As I am familiar with the name, I did not know that they had another location aside from their location downtown in Chinatown (hey that rhymes!) near the Verizon Center. I sqeauled with cupcake excitement as I enter the store, my friend Katie even told me, that this is place is like "Mecca" to me. Awesome. There goes that healthy breakfast and lunch I had. It all went downhill after that salad...I'll just pretend this didn't happen.

Although this was more of a FroYo place, the cupcakes seemed to look fresh and were display nicely on a tiered platter. The man behind the counter told me all the flavors that he had to offer and I ended up getting 4 flavors to share with my fellow taste tester Sean. (It's so hard being my friend!) So after downing some Pina Colada FroYo (what? you think I would get sidetracked? I think NOT!)...who what? I forgot what I was talking about. Oh Pina Coladad FroYO........OM NOM NOMMY!


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The Om Nom Nom Rating Chronicles (measured on a 1 to 5 Om Nom Nom scale with 5 being the highest) by Angie and Sean...also known as Team Seangie.


Cookies and cream: Cookies 'n Cream pieces blended into our chocolate buttermilk cake, topped with a creamy American buttercream and garnished with more cookies.
TADA Factor: 2.5
Flavah Flav Creativity: 3
Frosting: 2.75
Cake: 3
NOTES: This cake did not taste like it had cookies and cream pieces blended in! But if they did add cookie pieces it mos def made their cake super crumbly! To both of us, this cupcake just tasted like a regular choco cupcake with vanilla buttercream on it! Perhaps, they should of blended more cookies into the frosting? Please? Pretty please? To sum up both of our opinions on this cupcake in one word: MEH.

Southern Belle (aka Red Velvet...the namesake!): A traditional Southern favorite made with our signature receipe that can stand up to Grandma's whipped cream cheese topping makes our namesake a to-die-for "must for any first-time guests.
TADA Factor: 3.5
Flavah Flav Creativity: 3
Frosting: 4.25
Cake: 3.5
NOTES: Sean's Red velvet V-card was taken here, at least this time he enjoyed it. (Per his banter, which I ended up earmuffing myself once he started to 'splain his story futher. WAHH!) As a professional red velvet cupcake eater, this was good, but not super awesome. I appreciate that they did not go super rich with their cc frosting and that it was whipped, but I feel like their cake had a lot of air and we were mos def sweeping the desk of crumbs after we had our cupcakes. Not too shabby. So a MEH?


Peanut Butter Cup: We incorporate chocolate chips into our delicios chocolate buttermilk cake to create a decadant creamy, not-too-sweet, not-too salty peanut butter topping. A homemade crystallized peanut and Maldon Sea Salt top it all off. (Again here is Sean cupcake raping the PB Cup cupcaking, he had it coming)
TADA Factor (Presentation): 3.5
Flavah Flav Creativity: 3
Frosting: 4
Cake: 3.75
NOTES: WOW! Good frosting! (Sean requests milk with this cupcake...too bad). I would like to say that the fudgey-ness of the cake is complemented by the well seasoned savoriness of the peanut butter frosting. SCORE! And the PB and choco whore is satisfied. SHAZHAM!

Summertime: A light and lemony favorite to be enjoyed throughout all four seasons! Zested lemon gives and marries with our infamous whipped cream cheese topping, smothered in shredded coconut. (we dubbed this LeCoco...that makes more sense! This is the cupcake the man behind the counter told me to get...thanks dude!)
TADA Factor (Presentation): 3.5
Flavah Flav Creativity: 4
Frosting: 4
Cake: 4.5
NOTES: Aside from singing Will Smith's jam while I ate this. Even Sean who has "texture problems with coconut" and sacrificed for the sake of cupcake eating was delighted to eat this. The cake was super awesome moist, and was not crumbly like the other cakes that we had and we both really liked it. Thumbs up!

It is obvi that I need to go to the Flagship store to try the cupcakes again, but I think the Red Velvet Cupcakery has some good cupcakes. I don't think they are particularly better than GTC or Hello Cupcake, but I must say...it was great to have FroYo and cupcakes in one store. And I LURVES that!