Southport Grocery

HAPPY NATIONAL VANILLA CUPCAKE DAY!

Name: Southport Grocery and Cafe

Neighborhood: Lakeview
Address: 3552 N. Southport

Map (link above): yellow dotted marker

Nearest El Transit Locations:

Southport Brown Line Stop

Hours: 

Mon - Fri  7am - 4pm
Saturday  8am - 5pm
Sunday  8am - 4pm

Bake On-Site: Yes

Individual Cupcake Prices: $2.50

Boxing/Packaging: Box without inserts

What makes this bakery special: 

Famous throughout Chicago for their amazing homemade vanilla cupcakes, Southport is the place to go when celebrating the beauty of vanilla cake (like, say, on National Vanilla Cupcake Day). The entire second floor is a bakery kitchen where they make most of their baked goods, including cupcakes!

Cupcake Purchased and Reviewed:

 
Vanilla/Vanilla

Cake: Vanilla
with Vanilla Buttercream
Appearance: 2
Size: Large
Bite #: 3
Moisture: 2

Additional Notes:

Southport bakes on-site, yes, that's noted above, but here not only do they bake fresh daily in small batches but they use a special old family recipe for the cake and the amazing vanilla buttercream. This magical blend of flavors has made Southport the go-to in Chicago for vanilla cupcakes. 
The frosting is has a rich vanilla flavor, is sweet but not over-sugary, and is smooth and creamy to the palette. The cake is made from a warm, rich, thick vanilla batter with love baked right in. The simplest way to describe it is grandma's homemade vanilla cupcakes with a touch of heaven blended right in.
It can get really busy here (when I went it was packed) so plan ahead. The cafe part makes it kind of confusing to get to the grocery part, so just know that you can just walk through to the counter. Also, if you go to the cafe part, try their (also) famous "cupcake pancakes," pancakes made with cake batter. When you do, comment below and let me know how you liked them! (I haven't tried them yet.)
Espresso/coffee bar.
Indoor seating (cafe).