Chicago Cupcake Tour

Sometimes I enlist the help of younger taste buds on my cupcake quest. On a trip to visit my sister's family in Chicago this summer, my 2 nieces and I (Anne) embarked on a cupcake tour. Not only did we get to taste some delicious delicacies, but we also got to see new parts of Chicago. That's my kind of tour!

Sweet Mandy B's was our first stop. Everyone took a turn choosing a cupcake on the tour, so I went first. This place didn't have too much to choose from, but that's okay because chocolate cake with buttercream icing is traditionally my favorite. We split the cupcake 3 ways and each had a taste. It was the best buttercream icing I've ever had- except for my own, of course. The cake was fresh too. A definite 5 on the sprinkle scale.

Molly's was the next cupcake place and it was my younger niece's turn to pick. She selected Boston cream pie. This was the first time I had a cupcake with a filling. I think it helped keep the cake part moist. It tasted just like a Boston cream pie and won the prize as best cupcake of the day. I'll give this a 4.5.

After a brief stop to refuel for lunch, we stopped at Phoebe's. It was my older niece's turn and she picked a mint chocolate Oreo cupcake. The cake was a little dry, but I thought the icing was very good. Subtle on the mint, but still very flavorful. Another 4.5.

Dinkel's, oh Dinkel's, why did you treat us so? Why did you close 30 minutes before our arrival? So many people on our cupcake tour recommended we go to you, but your locked doors refused us. Thumbs down to you Dinkels. Thumbs down.

After we found out that Dinkel's was closed, we happened upon a last minute recommendation to Lutz Bakery. It was close by, so we gave it a shot. It was not a good idea. We were running out of energy and my niece had a meltdown. It was her dad's turn to choose and he selected a raspberry chocolate cupcake. The only thing good I can say about this was that the raspberry part was good. It's only getting a 1 on the sprinkle scale.

Our last stop was Bleeding Heart. I was very full of cupcakes by then, but ready and willing to try one more. While my sister carefully made her selection for us, I noticed that there were Food Network awards around the place, which meant we had to be at a good place. All the ingredients were organic and had interesting names. My sister had to play it safe with the nieces, so she went with red velvet. It was good. Just good. Nothing stands out, but it certainly wasn't bad. I'll give it a 3.5.

It was a great day not only because I got to eat cupcakes all day, but because I spent it with my 2 favorite little ladies!