A Twofer

Today we discovered a magical place. The Montrose Brown Line stop. Once you step off the platform, every direction you turn there is a place to O.D. on sugar. We decided to live a little and try two places since the area is a mecca for sweets. First we stopped by Sweet Honeybee Bakery, at 1918 W. Montrose. We ate the Honeybee 'cakes on our way to the second destination, Angel Food Bakery at 1636 W. Montrose.

Sweet Honeybee Bakery


Caitlin: It was a little place. The man there seemed super exciting to see us come in. He was also very helpful and sweet, letting me use my credit card even though there was a 10 dollar limit on using cards. I decided upon the Mango cupcake. I guess I was feeling fruity. It was really pretty good. Nice and moist, like I like it, with a cute frosting flower. It was only 1.90 so I was all about it. There wasn't anything too fancy about the bakery or the cupcake. I still loved it though in it's simplicity. They mostly do large cakes. If you want, you can buy us one, the man will give you a good price on it.

John: I had no idea there were so many sweet spots in this humble little part of town! Ravenswood is quaint, and so are it's confectioneries. Sweet Honeybee Bakery is a little misleading in it's title, expecting a colorful, effervescently spirited bakery, I got a bakery with the essence of a inexpensive fast food thai restaurant. The decor just did not match it's title nor it's treats. I was, however, pleased with the assortment of cupcake flavors. I chose the most exotic flavor they had, which was German chocolate cake cupcake. It was very good but did not stand out as a sugary success compared to the last few bakeries that we've visited. The man and seemingly the owner, was very friendly. He provided me with the services they bestow onto their customers, they do wedding cakes, birthday cakes, etc... but only upon my request. They wouldn't necessarily stand out in a row of the zany,hip little bakeries I am used to frequenting but I'll give it to them that they are quite genuine in their disposition. But, this place was only they warm up!

Angel Food Bakery






Caitlin: Boy are we suckers for kitschy bakeries with bright happy colors! I go by this place all the time when I go to John's house so I was super pumped with its proximity to my house. Even more pumped when I googled it and realized they have all kinds of over baked goods. When we got there our bellies were already full with goodness, but that did not stop me from being sinful and getting more confectioneries. After about 10 minutes of me putting my chin in my hand going, "Ummmm," I decided upon the coconut/vanilla cupcake, a thin mint, and an Izze apple soda. Livin' large. The service there was great. They were patience with us and our indecisiveness, even gave us water. I love it when I get free water! Anyway, as I stacked my goodies in a fashion that I could hold it all and still get out the door, I got us a nice wobbly table on their outdoor seating area. Had the thin mint first. It was pretty good, and only 80 cents. A bit melty in my hands though, as if I hate licking chocolate off my fingers, psssh! Next, I ate the coconut cupcake. OH MY GOD. It may have prolonged my love affair with coconut. It was so good. The perfect amount of sweetness. I don't know how else to describe it, but I was floored with every bite it was so good. I pronounced it the 4th best cupcake I have ever had. Um, may have to head out west and stop by more often. Oh! They also had a great selection of artisan-sorts of sodas along with the Izze. They also serve brunch, but I was too focused on the baked goods to notice. I'll have to go back. Yes....go back...

John: Angel Food bakery was a delight to walk into, seeing the rows of vintage toy ovens lining it's walls and the pastel colored walls that burst with the same spunk exuded your crazy aunt on holidays you know, when she goes garnish crazy on the food. Well, this place'll give you less anxiety and make you more excited about it's pastry treats. Not only a bakery, Angel Food is also a restaurant serving lunch and brunch a lucrative move for the owner due to the expected popularity boost of the neighborhood in the near future for all it's adorableness. (Let's hope so). I wasn't impressed with their selection of flavors but it makes up for variety in baked good for what it lacks in cupcakedom. It breaks up the monotony. I had the vanilla cupcake and it was very tasty. I ate it very quickly, even after having eaten the other cupcake. They offered a copious amount of beverages from which to choose and I had their seasonal plum oolong iced tea. I enjoyed their outside seating and the fact that they even had seating really made me enjoy this place. I am a man of atmosphere and they've won me over enough for me to make the long trip back, considering I have cute bakeries closer to me. I'd even consider bringing a bigger group here due to the impact it had on me. The only thing that I didn't enjoy were the prices. 3.99 a cupcake? Maybe I'll be opting for something different next time around.

More Cupcakes

Location: Downtown Chicago at Delaware and State
Website: http://morecupcakes.com/

Well, hello!
We are John and Cait and we wanted to start a blog dedicated to our passion for experiencing all of the new cupcake spots and bakeries around the city. We figured we might as well document our excursions, since we go about every single week. We will try to visit and blog about our adventures as frequently as possible. We will both review the place separately, giving our opinions on some of the sweetest places around Chi-town!



What Cait thought:
We were downtown and hankering for some pastries. Caitlin remembered a place her friend Sonny mentioned that was downtown. After tracking the place down on John's magical internet phone, we were struck by the minimalist style of the place. It is basically a small room with a wall/shelf thing of cupcakes. All the cupcake flavors sounded fancy. We started to sweat a little, thinking our sugar fix would do nothing but do damage to our wallets. They were only about $3.50. Which ain't too bad. We both got the White Velvet cupcakes to try at home. Then John got Champagne Brulee to try also. Caitlin got the Salted Caramel flavor. Here are our individual testimonials on our choices.

What John thought:
Criminy! More Cupcakes, more like more in mouth please. These cupcakes were simply delicious, down to the very last bite. The White Velvet cupcakes had a sharp, very rich flavor. The creamy vanilla frosting complimented the fluffy texture of the actual cupcake. I've never had a cupcake so marvelous, even in how sinful it felt to eat this paradigm of pastry perfection. Now, as for the Champagne Brulee cupcake, it almost felt to fancy to have, even though all of these exquisitely prepared treats were reasonably priced from 3.50 to 4.50 per cupcake. It wasn't as rich as the White Velvet but it was certainly a wonderful achievement in that they mastered the flavor. I tasted a little creme brulee and the light, tart taste of champagne. More cupcakes packed a lot of flavor without going overboard on garnish.
The location of the restaurant is a little hard to spot out, but when you walk into this tiny little store, it's as if you stepped into a futuristic cafe where the cupcakes are lined up behind a single sheath of glass like clones waiting to be brought to life. It's quite cool. My only suggestion would be to create some sort of seating area outside. Caitlin and I ate our cupcakes in a rustic little courtyard with a fountain so it made up for the lack of seating.
I am anxious to return to this illustrious cupcake spot, thought not cozy and quaint it certainly makes up for it in style and taste.

Caitlin thought again: I was just going to settle for the white velvet until some nosey lady told me the Salted Caramel cupcake was the best in the world. I first tried the frosting and it was delightful! Then I bit into it and it sure was tasty. However, nothing could of prepared me for the caramel filling discovery. At first my mouth exploded with the wonderful mixture of caramel and salt. I was all about it. After a while it almost got too salty. That didn't stop me from eating it all and moaning sexually in a public park in the process. I would not say it was the best in the world, but it was certainly an interesting change from the usual cupcake. I have high hopes for that White Velvet bunkin' out in my fridge.

Overall: If you are downtown and are in the mood for something fancy, More Cupcakes is your place.