Sensational Bites

HAPPY NATIONAL LEMON CUPCAKE DAY!  

HAPPY NATIONAL CUPCAKE DAY!

Name: Sensational Bites: A Dessert Cafe
Neighborhood: Lake View
Address: 3751 N Southport Ave
Map (link above): purple dotted marker
Nearest El Transit Locations:
Southport Brown Line Station
Hours: 
Tue - Thur  8am - 7pm
Fri - Sat  8am - 10pm
Sunday  8am - 7pm
Bake On-Site: Yes
Individual Cupcake Price: $2.75
Boxing/Packaging: Box without inserts
What makes this bakery special: Fresh and fine ingredients, a laid-back atmosphere, and sweet home bakin' makes this place a must-visit, especially when paired with a show at the Music Box Theater (just steps away).

Cupcakes Purchased and Reviewed:

Butterfinger

Lemon

Lemon
Cake: Lemon
with Lemon Buttercream
Appearance: 3
Size: Average
Bite #: 3
Moisture: 3

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



Additional Notes: 
The lemon cupcake was nice and refreshing. The cake was soft and subtle, with strong, super sweet (and slightly grainy) lemon buttercream. It's a common misconception that citrus season is the summer because it's refreshing but really winter is when citrus is in season. Delicious!

The Butterfinger cupcake was moist, light vanilla cake with thick, rich buttercream with tiny bits of butterfinger candy bars mixed right in!
Both cupcakes were delightfully fresh. Sensational bites was also very busy. No surprise there. Delicious treats for all!
While waiting in line, their display cases are very charming and appealing.
Vegan options, espresso bar, indoor seating.
Friendly staff, who handled the line well and also packaged each cupcake carefully.

Swirlz [2]

HAPPY HANUKKAH!

This side-adventure began when Swirlz Cupcakes (Lincoln Park; green marker on map--link above) posted a photo of their Hanukkah cupcake last week...
In an effort to not "double dip" by re-visiting Swirlz, I did some thorough research on what other bakeries (that I hadn't been to yet) were offering for the holiday. Yes, some other bakeries offered "Hanukkah" cupcakes, but were just themed, decorated with Stars of David and menorahs. I wanted a cupcake that screamed "Festival of Lights" and most importantly "original idea!" so I decided Swirlz was the way to go. I have no regrets!

Hanukkah Cupcake
Cake: Vanilla
with sour cream buttercream and fresh apple compote filling
and a homemade latke (traditional Hanukkah potato pancake)
Size: Large
Bite #: 5
Moisture: 3 

The cake and filling were absolutely delicious. I admit, I was skeptical about the sour cream buttercream beforehand, but it was absolutely fantastic! The buttercream was smooth and didn't have the "zing" sour cream has, which made it a perfect medium paired with the sweet cake and the latke. Also, the latke addition was the "icing on the cake" which made this cupcake, by far, the most original cupcake I've had up to this point. Great job, Swirlz!
This is a supplemental post. Please see my first <Swirlz post> for more information. 

Dinkel's Bakery

Name: Dinkel's Bakery

Neighborhood: Lakeview
Address: 3329 N Lincoln Ave

Map (link above): green dotted marker

Nearest El Transit Locations:

Paulina Brown Line Station

Hours: 

Tue - Fri  6am - 7pm

Saturday  6am - 5pm

Sunday  8am - 4pm

Bake On-Site: Yes

Individual Cupcake Prices: $2.49-3.09

Boxing/Packaging: Box without inserts

What makes this bakery special: 

Dinkel's dates back to 1922 when baker Joseph K. Dinkel and his wife moved to the U.S. from Germany. Since, the bakery has been passed down four generations, has continued using original family recipes and radiates a homestyle charm. With this warm, loving atmosphere comes an enviro-concious mission, using local ingredients, such as wheat, eggs, and dairy from Wisconsin, and eco-friendly energy use.  Also, buy-one-get-one-free-cupcake Tuesdays are ah-may-zing!

Cupcakes Purchased and Reviewed:

Chocolate with Vanilla

Cake: Chocolate

with Vanilla Buttercream

Appearance: 2

Size: Large

Bite #: 5

Moisture: 3

Price: $2.49

Vanilla with Chocolate

Cake: Vanilla

with Chocolate Buttercream

Appearance: 2

Size: Large

Bite #: 5

Moisture: 3

Price: Free! (Tuesdays: Buy one cupcake, get one free*)

Vanilla Strawberry

Cake: Chocolate
with Vanilla Buttercream (and a strawberry made from frosting) with strawberry filling
Appearance: 2
Size: Large
Bite #: 5
Moisture: 2
Price: $3.09
*filled cupcakes, such as the vanilla strawberry, excluded from Tuesday cupcake deal (fyi)

Additional Notes: 
My cupcakes from Dinkel's were so deliciously moist I regretted sharing mine with my cupcaking partner, D.E.  At least he had an opportunity to relish in the freshness with me. The cake for the "unfilled" cupcakes (the first two above) was moist, soft, and rich with flavor. The frosting, while delicious and flavorful, left a coating of sugar in my mouth, but did not take away from the experience whatsoever. The vanilla strawberry, I admit, let me down a little bit. Filled cupcakes are not included in the Tuesday Special (and understandably so) but this one--the last one, mind you-- was just calling to me. The cake was a little dry and the frosting was too much--or perhaps too little--for this particular cake/frosting pairing. To borrow words from D.E., "the filling/cake/flavor concept is great" but not quite what I had hoped for. 
The employees were friendly and welcoming (even close to closing time) and packaged each cupcake carefully.  
Full cafe menu, coffee.
Close to brown line and other bus routes.
The mind-blowing freshness the other two cupcakes provided--truly the prevailing part of the Dinkel's experience!