Rowie's Bakery

Name: Rowie's Bakery
Neighborhood: Budlong Woods / West Ridge
Address: 5664 N. Lincoln
Map (link above): pink pin
Nearest El Transit Locations:
Western Brown Line Stop
(then take the Lincoln Bus or Western Bus and walk)
Francisco Brown Line Stop (then walk)
Hours:
Tue - Fri  10am - 7pm
Saturday  10am - 5pm
Sunday  10am - 4pm
Bake On-Site: Yes
Individual Cupcake Prices: $1.99-2.25
Boxing/Packaging: fitted clam shell
What makes this bakery special: Strong Philippine influence! Their products use elements of Philippine desserts (such as pandan and ube) to create a fun, unique, cultural cupcake experience.

Cupcakes Purchased and Reviewed:
Buco Pandan
Cake: Buco Pandan (light coconut and pandan flavor)
with Buco Pandan frosting
Appearance: 2
Size: Average
Bite #: 3
Moisture: 2

Pistachio
Cake: Pistachio chiffon
with Pistachio frosting
Appearance: 2
Size: Average
Bite #: 3
Moisture: 2

Additional Notes:

I had been waiting for the perfect time to visit Rowie's--and this was near perfect. I was intrigued by the strong Philippine influence and couldn't wait to try the Ube and the Buco Pandan flavors, which are traditional Philippine dessert tastes. In addition, I wanted to plan my trip north on a day when they would also have pistachio cupcakes on the menu. Unfortunately, the particular time in the morning which I happened to drop in, the ube cupcakes weren't out yet, but there were French macaroons available in "ube" flavor, so I snatched a few of them up for the opportunity to try a new, unique flavor. 
Perhaps before I visit next time, though, I'll have had a chance to try ube, therefore going in with a better idea of what I'm tasting for. This goes for the buco pandan cupcake as well. It was delicious, yes, but I'm not sure I know what specifically I was tasting. I'll need to know the "traditional" buco pandan taste first. Both the buco pandan and the pistachio cupcake had a very subtle flavor, "foam-like" chiffon cake consistency, and very smooth, light and creamy frosting.
Cupcakes here are made fresh each day, throughout the day (exemplified by ube cupcakes not being available until the afternoon on the day I visited).
Also, in an effort to experience as many new flavors/concepts as possible from this trip, I tried a delicious bowl of champorado, a Philippine hot chocolate-and-rice porridge. If that sounds slightly strange to you, I recommend you try it anyway. I'm not one for rice pudding, yet champorado is a much different dessert.
The store is tiny but cozy and has a few indoor seats.
I'll be sure to return for a chance to try the ube and the green tea cupcakes!

Angel Food Bakery

Name: Angel Food Bakery

Neighborhood: Ravenswood
Address: 1636 West Montrose Ave
Map (link above): yellow marker
Nearest El Transit Locations: 
Montrose Brown Line stop
Hours: 
Tue - Fri  7am - 5pm
Saturday 8am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 2pm
Bake On-Site: Yes
Individual Cupcake Prices: $3-3.50
Boxing/Packaging: unknown (ate in)
What makes this bakery special: They have a gorgeous and extensive Easy Bake Oven collection, including many that date back to the 1950s! Possibly this is something you have to see for yourself to understand. 

Cupcakes Purchased and Reviewed:
Vegan Peanut Butter
Cake: Chocolate
with Peanut Butter Frosting
Appearance: 2
Size: Large
Bite #: 5
Moisture: 2

Mud Pie
Cake: Fudge
with Fudge ooey-gooey filling and homemade vanilla bean whipped cream dip
Appearance: 2
Size: Large
Bite #: 5
Moisture: 3

Coconut*
Cake: Coconut
with Vanilla Coconut Buttercream
Appearance: 2
Size: Large
Bite #: 5
Moisture: 3



Additional Notes:
Angel Food is awesome! I recommend eating in because there is so much to look at in here. They have an amazing collection of Easy Bake Ovens on display around the perimeter of the dining area, some (as mentioned above) dating back to the 1950s! You'll have to actually visit yourself to understand how cool it is to see the evolution of something so seemingly childish. 
We ordered brunch to eat in, anxiously waiting for the moment to order dessert--the cupcakes were staring at us from behind the display window.  Another reason to eat in: brunch is amazing (I recommend the pot pie). Absolutely fantastic. 

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Old kitchen supplies turned art.

Originally, the plan was to take the cupcakes to go (which is perhaps what I'll do next time since I was Thanksgiving-Day-full by the end of this adventure) but I couldn't wait until we got home to try the vegan peanut butter cupcake.  The vegan PB had been recommended to many customers while we devoured brunch and it was worth the wait-- rich and thick peanut butter frosting matched with chocolate cake, which I swear doesn't taste any different from non-vegan cake. (Amazing!) 
Next, the Mud Pie: I'm embarrassed to admit this but I was hoping for something similar to the Lava Cakes at Domino's Pizza (for shame, I know). Instead, we got an even better, almost bittersweet, extremely rich chocolate ooey-gooey goodness paired to perfection with homemade vanilla bean whipped cream dip.  Absolutely fabulous (but suuuuuper rich).
D.E. picked the coconut cupcake.  I'm not big on the texture of coconut, but did try a little tiny piece and found it fresh baked, like everything else. This cake was moist, the frosting had coconut flakes mixed into it, and it was dipped in coconut flakes. Really, it is perfect for coconut lovers. 
Overall, the cupcakes were fresh, well-balanced (frosting-to-cake ratio), and flavor-filled. Love.
*enjoyed by cupcaking partner, D.E.