Junior's

Junior's in New York

http://www.juniorscheesecake.com/

• Cake: Not bad at all. It could use more cocoa in the batter but it wasn't overly sweet. It reminded us a bit of the Two Little Red Hens cake.
• Frosting: A little heavy on the frosting, but at least it was cream cheesy goodness.
  
• Coloring: Medium red.
  
• Consistency: Slightly dry but not too bad at all.
• Additional Comments: Although known for their cheesecake (unbelievably delicious), this cupcake wasn't disappointing. We're always fans of cake crumbles on top, and this one has bonus crumbles around the edges, too. They do make a red velvet cheesecake but it's just their plain cheesecake layered with red velvet cake, so we will not do a review of it.

~We give this cupcake 3.5 out of 5 stars~

Òno Caffeine Bar

Òno Caffeine Bar in Provincetown, MA

• Cake: Tasted like glue. Was this a cupcake or a jar of classroom paste?
• Frosting: Buttercream flavored glue.
  
• Coloring: Orange-Red
  
• Consistency: Moist glue.
• Additional Comments: Okay. Let's be honest. We made a mistake with this one. We bought an orange cupcake simply because we were desperate for a cupcake, delirious from the drive, and they dubbed it "red velvet". We should have known better, since, let's review, IT WAS ORANGE. It might have originally been yellow cake batter with red food coloring at some point but we're pretty sure it was mixed with glue instead of eggs. So sorry, Òno, but our favorite 6 year old has baked better cupcakes. 

~We give this cupcake 0.5 out of 5 stars~

Grandpa's Original (Morrisons Pastry)

 

Grandpa's Original (Morrisons Pastry) in New York

http://www.morrisonspastry.com/

• Cake: Nice cocoa flavor and easy on the sugar! Scrumptious!
• Frosting: We couldn't tell if this cream cheese, white chocolate, or buttercream frosting on top and dotted throughout the inside of the muffin, but whatever it was it was perfect for this creation.
  
• Coloring: Beautiful deep red.
  
• Consistency: The secret to this delectable muffin just may be the yogurt, because it was perfectly moist and didn't crumble when bitten into!
• Additional Comments: These muffins are distributed in cafes, delis and bodegas around the city so keep your eyes peeled! They go fast so the morning is your most likely time to find one.

~We give this muffin 4.5 out of 5 stars~

Food Emporium

The Food Emporium in New York

http://thefoodemporium.com/

• Cake: A bit of cocoa flavor but could have had more.
• Frosting: Sugary, buttery cream cheese. Sound strange? It was, but wasn't bad.
  
• Coloring: Deep red, bravo!
  
• Consistency: Both cake and frosting held their form very well. Cake was neither too moist nor too dry, and the frosting was smooth and creamy...and buttery...
• Additional Comments: For a grocery store bakery cake, it wasn't bad at all. It was decorated nicely and the frosting-to-cake ration was nice. We are not sure if it comes in the form of a cupcake as this was served as Renee's birthday cake, but we imagine the cupcake to be about the same.

~We give this cake 3 out of 5 stars~

Purple Feather Dessert Cafe

Purple Feather Dessert Cafe in Provincetown, MA

http://www.thepurplefeather.com/

• Cake: No cocoa was detectable in this cupcake, all that could be tasted was sugar.
• Frosting: Allegedly cream cheese but tasted more like buttercream. Sweet and stale.
  
• Coloring: Deep red, not overdone. Nice.
  
• Consistency: Despite appearance, this cake was more dry than it was moist. Frosting was a bit stale and therefore harder than usual.
• Additional Comments: This cafe had a sign in the window claiming to be the home of the red velvet so we had to try it, but we were greatly disappointed in the cupcake. The presentation was unique and interesting, if not just a bit overdone. Since we took back to eat in our room, it was served in a plastic container that protected the cupcake well yet made it very hard to extract without damaging the frosting. Overall, the cake was just much too sweet to eat and didn't taste very red velvet-ish. Renee threw her portion away after a few bites but Stefanie was a trooper and pressed on.

~We give this cupcake 2.5 out of 5 stars~

Cupcake Stop

Photo by joonbug.com 

Cupcake Stop in New York

http://www.cupcakestop.com/

• Cake: Dry. Oh, so very dry. Was it really red velvet, or just a dry chocolate? Did it have a flavor at all, other than stale?
• Frosting: The website states that this cupcake is usually served with a cream cheese frosting but the frosting on it for this special event was most definitely buttercream. It was sweet but not overwhelmingly so.
  
• Coloring: Medium red
  
• Consistency: Dry cake, whipped frosting, crunchy sugar decoration around the edges.
• Additional Comments: After seeing this cupcake truck all over the city and having always been curious, imagine the delight in seeing them handing out free red velvet cupcakes outside of the Guess 5th Avenue store as a promotion for Fashion's Night Out! However, this cupcake was so dry and stale that an actual flavor was pretty much undetectable and hit the trash after a few bites. Since this was a special promotion, we would consider re-evaluating this cupcake again in the future but will not be going out of our way to do so.

~We give this cupcake 1.5 out of 5 stars~