You had me at hello

My email in-box has been a source of stress for me lately -- "Congratulations! Lily has been accepted to our preschool class of 2008/2009." (and you have exactly 11 minutes to accept or decline the spot) "Arlington County wishes to remind you that your personal property taxes are due." (of course they are...who else wants money from me?) "Calorie alert -- did you know that Sharon's Sorbet has re-engineered it's flavors and what used to have 80 calories per serving now has 120?" (Uugh!!)

Today, however, I got the most wonderful news when I opened an email from Daily Candy DC -- a new cupcake bakery ("cupcakery") has graced the Nation's Capitol with it's cupcakey-presence. Now you New Yorkers who think that your city can beat up our city...not so fast!

Hello Cupcake!

No sooner had I read the posting and my feet were already walking themselves towards the door. Telling my colleagues that I was going to dash over to pick up a cupcake for Lily, I secretly was going to scope the place for myself. Lily came by her cupcake craze honestly; it's an inherited trait.

Even though the Daily Candy email had just gone out, the line outside of Hello Cupcake was down the street by the time I arrived. I counted 22 people ahead of me in line. 22 people that I could see. That would be 22 other cupcake geeks who were standing in line...outside...in the DC August heat. For a stinking cupcake. There were probably another dozen in line inside the store. And let's not forget the FOX 5 TV crew who was interviewing folks as they walked outside, taking their their first glorious bites of those little mounds of pure bliss.

Surprisingly it only took me 30 minutes to get through the line, start to finish. Then again, when you consider that I bill at $345 a hour, and the cupcakes are $3 each, those were some pretty darn expensive cupcakes!

The selection was pretty bare bones by the time I made it to the counter, but I did manage to get 4 cupcakes that I'm bringing home tonight for a little Monday-eve surprise treat. Lest you think I'm totally selfless, I will admit that I bought a fifth cupcake to nibble on the way back to the office. To make sure they're not poisonous, of course!

The only cupcake I saw listed on the menu that I was dying to try but that they'd run out of was the "de lime and de coconut." I was able to score a 4 pack that looks and smells supremely good --



Top row (l to r) -- Prima Donna (chocolate cake with fresh, pink strawberry buttercream icing) and Triple Coconut (coconut cake, coconut cream cheese frosting, and toasted coconut garnish)

Bottom row (l to r) -- You Tart (sassy lemon cake with lemon cream cheese frosting) and Velvet Elvis (banana cake made with real bananas and rich peanut butter frosting). I got the gluten free version of the You Tart since that was all that was left. One for the box, and one for my mouth. It was sssooooooo yummy! Who knew that gluten free could be so delicious!!


They came in a super cute box, partitioned so that the cupcakes wouldn't bump in to each other (although they did start to melt in the heat). The store is adorable; how can you not love a place with a giant pink sign and a pink crystal chandelier inside?

Already the buzz has started. Popular food blogs around town have posted. From Washingtonian to WhereInDC to DCist, the verdict is in. Two thumbs up. Next time I'll go of my own accord. As Lily promised over the weekend that she'd never lie to us, perhaps I shouldn't lie myself....or to myself. I wish that Hello Cupcakes wasn't so close to my office. This definitely won't be good for my post-partum weight-loss!