Get 'Em While You Can!

Ah, the halcyon days before Dr. Atkins. I remember them well...back when I could eat Krispy Kreme doughnuts with abandon and a couple of pints of skim milk. Initially, I could only do so at select stopping points along the way: side trips through Milwaukee and Cleveland, for example. Then, my city opened a franchise, and it was a gastronomical Mardi Gras in my mouth...whenever I wanted one! I admit to driving past, seeing the "Hot Now" sign lighted up and going in for my free sample. Yes, I even had a birthday celebration there, and an original art piece featuring a KK doughnut hangs just above my computer. Needless to say, I was keenly disappointed when the place closed. Many theories concerning the quick fall (began nationally in 2000)abound: expansion too quickly of the franchise, watering down the "brand" by putting them in gas stations and supermarkets, making a bacon cheeseburger out of them as ballpark food and, yes, that darned Dr. Atkins who decided several hundred calories in each doughnut was simply not a good idea (almost 1,000 for the burger). Now, we may be on the cusp of another loss: one that I discovered too late--the cupcake shop.

While idly reading the Chicago Tribune a couple of weeks ago, the food section featured "the best cupcakes in Chicago." Intrigued, I read the article touting the pleasures of the wide variety of flavors at Molly's Cupcakes in Chicago. "A place that just features cupcakes?" I thought, "This I have to try," and so I did. Each cupcake was between $2 and $3.75 (hey, it's the city!), and they were all very good. The one which mimicked my red cake wasn't quite as good, but then it didn't have the filling I use. The fact was, this wasn't a "bakery" per se; it was a cupcake shop! Six or eight tables and a display cabinet featuring the "baked today" goods. Amazing! And it was busy on a Friday night!

It seems such places are cropping up all over the coasts, both east and west, and folks are standing in line to get 'em. From the Buttercup Bake Shop in New York ( supposedly the beginning for the cupcake phenomena) to the Vanilla Bake Shop in Los Angeles, cupcakes seem to be the next big thing. I just hope one doesn't open up in Green Bay.

That will mean the end of cupcakes as I've come to know them, and I'd hate to lose yet another intestinal icon.