Kickass Cupcakes didn't suck (Okay shoot me now)

[StriperGuy]

I know folks generally think this place sucks. And honestly the folks with whom I ate these said as often as not the cakes are dried out and stale. But someone brought 20 or so of these to a party, I think they pre-ordered so maybe that is why they were fresh, but they were excellent and I made sure I sampled at least (small pieces of) 6 or 7.

Don't even know the names of what I had, the only weird one had green frosting. The rest were really quite good, though they were pretty tiny.

So they are capable of making good product, too bad they don't more often. They ones I had were really delicious.

[Gabatta]

It must have been decent only because of the special order. We were going to a birthday dinner this weekend where the guest of honor specifically requested Party Favors cupcakes. As Party Favors is closed for renovations this month, we figured we'd give Suck*ss another shot, based on its proximity to us and this recent thread.

With the festival in Davis this weekend and high traffic I hoped the cupcakes would be fresh. They were dry as chalk per usual and most went uneaten. The sole exception were the Red Velvet which were quite good. They were the daily special and we were advised they had to be eaten that day because of the cream cheese frosting, so they must have been fresh made.

If this place can't sell a decent product out of the storefront or truck and make more $ off catering they should just stick to that and save us the pain.

[Boston_Otter]

So they essentially implied that some of the cupcakes weren't fresh? Why are they still doing any sort of business, I can't imagine.

[Jenny Ondioline]

How are there still two outlets of Sweet, when their cupcakes may be even worse? Some people don't care, I guess.

[ipsofatso]

are they the cupcake you love to hate or the cupcake you hate to love? Their big problem is consistency but part of their success is that they get talked about all the time.....it's a cupcake.....sheesh......

[Isolda]

I've had a similar experience with Cake in Lexington. I swore off them after having a few dry cupcakes, then got desperate for dessert for a party and gave them another shot. They were fantastic. Pre-ordering must be the key to getting decent cake anywhere.

[tazia]

I never quite understood the vitriol for Kickass Cupcakes on this board. My main issue is that they're overpriced for their size. Sure, they aren't the best cupcakes ever, but I have had very few mass-produced cupcakes that can make that claim.

Some of the flavors can be interesting, and I find them much better than anything you typically get at a grocery store. I don't think there's a better cupcake offering in the immediate David area, certainly (not a fan of Lyndell's). I haven't had anything from there in a while, but I also haven't experienced the stale issue. Maybe certain flavors suffer from sitting more than others?

[Bob Dobalina]

I think there was an initial backlash against the place, when after some initial reviews here and elsewhere called them on their cupcakes not quite kicking ass, the owners of the place basically said those people could kiss their ass instead of ...well you know, kicking it.

[Boston_Otter]

I think it's a reaction to their particular combination of 1. Chutzpah, 2. An often mediocre-to-poor product at a surprisingly high price point given the size 3. Frequent poor service and 4. Apparent pride in all of these things.

[tazia]

That makes more sense then. If the owners aren't open to criticism (and almost proud of it, it sounds like), I can see why that would leave a bad taste in people's mouths--pun not intended.

[Spike]

dry...dry...dry...even had frosting that tasted dry. Tried them probably about 4-5 times w/ coworkers and kept calling them krapass cupcakes each time hoping they were just having a bad day..

So for me, they're pretty consistent. I've made my own, kept them in the fridge for 2 weeks and they were still moist. No clue what they're doing wrong :-P

[FoodDabbler]

What does it prove that a place that consistently makes bad food once gets it right? Broken clock telling the correct time once every twelve hours and all...

[StriperGuy]

Thank you for the helpful comment.

[FoodDabbler]

Sorry. Didn't mean to come off as abrupt. Your tastes and suggestions are ones I always get a lot from, as I've said before. I do think one has to be careful about generalizing from one good experience. I'm not a huge cupcake guy myself (I don't cupcake ergo I am not huge) but the bits of k-a that others have shared with me over several years have not always thrilled me. Getting a good batch once may be luck more than competence.

[StriperGuy]

Gotcha...

[Boston_Otter]

I've long suspected that their income, and focus, is mostly on their catering & party platters. They likely got fresh cupcakes for the party, rather than ones that sit on the shelves all day.

The one with green frosting is the Guinness flavored one, which is sort of bitter.

[southie_chick]

I noticed the ones at the truck are a little drier than the ones I've had from the store. They weren't bad, but I like the ones from The Cupcakory truck better. They have a whipped frosting vs the sugar frosting, and they frost them when you order them. If I want a sugar frosted cupcake intown, I usually go to Sweet on School Street.
Not a cupcake, but the 1/2 moons A.K.A. black & white cookies are great the Crumb - I prefer the frosted ones to the glazed ones (I think the glaze is too sweet). Crumb also make a good strawberry shortcake cookie too.