Skinnie Piggy

Name: Skinnie Piggy

Neighborhood: University Village / Little Italy

Address: 1214 W. Taylor Street 
Map (link above): Green Marker
Nearest El Transit Locations: Racine Blue Line

Hours: 
Mon - Fri 10am - 7pm 
Saturday 11am - 7pm 

Bake On-Site: 
Individual Cupcake Prices: $1.50-5.99

Piglets (mini): $1.50 ea or 4 for $5
Boxing/Packaging: 

Piglets (mini size): Non-fitted clam shell

Skinnie (average size): Chinese take-out box
What makes this bakery special: Skinnie Piggy offers different cupcake sizes: "Hogs" (large size) are available for pre-order, yet the "Skinnie" (average size) and "Piglet" (mini) are both also available for individual purchase on a walk-in basis. This is particularly special because the Piglet versions are identical to the Skinnie version; if a Skinnie cupcake has filling, the Piglet will, also! 

Skinnie Piggy also offers discounts when purchasing in bulk (half or full dozens) and offers a student discount. 

Cupcakes Purchased and Reviewed:

Banana Pudding Cupcake

Banana Pudding

Cake: Banana
with Banana Buttercream and filled with banana pudding

Appearance: 2
Size: Large (Skinnie)
Bite #: 5
Moisture: 2

Price: $3.50

Top: Chocolate Salted Caramel
Bottom: Evil Twin

Evil Twin
Cake: Chocolate 
with Cream Cheese frosting and filled with cheesecake 
Appearance: 2
Size: Small (Piglet)
Bite #: 1

Moisture: 3

Chocolate Salted Caramel

Cake: Chocolate

with Salted Caramel Buttercream and filled with Salted Caramel

Appearance: 2

Size: Small (Piglet)

Bite #: 1

Moisture: 2

Additional Notes:

LOVE! Skinnie Piggy offers three sizes of cupcakes: Hog, Skinnie, and Piglet. I love when different sizes are offered in-store. I like having the opportunity to try different amazing flavors (if you go for multiple mini cupakes) without feeling over-stuffed. Like mentioned above, at Skinnie, the piglet sizes are identical to the skinnie sizes, meaning if the skinnies have filling, the piglets do too! (Some other cupcakeries don't offer filled minis.)

The Banana Pudding cupcake had rich banana cake and delicious banana pudding filling. The banana frosting tasted similar to banana Laffy Taffy (which could make or break this cupcake for some people, I'm sure). 

The Evil Twin had super rich, dark chocolate cake, smooth, rich cream cheese frosting, and tasty cheesecake filling. Salted Caramel had a subtle salty flavor and delicious, creamy, carmely frosting. 

They offer student discounts and participate in the Belly Card loyalty program.

Indoor seating.

Flirty Cupcakes Dessert Garage

Name: Flirty Cupcakes Dessert Garage

Neighborhood: University Village / Little Italy
Address: 1030 W. Taylor
Map (link above): Purple pin 
Nearest El Transit Locations: Racine Blue Line Stop

Hours:
Mon - Sat 9am - 8pm
Sunday 12pm - 5pm

Bake On-Site: 
Individual Cupcake Prices: $3.35
Boxing/Packaging: Fitted clam shell
What makes this bakery special: 
Flirty Cupcakes has the dessert garage in University Village but also has a cupcake truck which can be found at different locations around the city each day!

Cupcakes Purchased and Reviewed:
The McDreamy
Cake: Chocolate

with Cream Cheese Frosting and Cream Cheese filling
Appearance: 2
Size: Average
Bite #: 3
Moisture: 3

Curious George
Cake: Banana
with Salted Caramel Italian Buttercream
Appearance: 2
Size: Average
Bite #: 3
Moisture: 3

Additional Notes:
Flirty is nestled comfortably on Taylor Street along the cute shopping district. There is indoor seating within the "garage" and benches along Taylor if you want to sit outside. 
When I went, there were a few customers in the store. The experience felt a little rushed since the lady behind the counter was a little flustered.

The cupcakes tasted super fresh--these people know how to do chocolate cupcakes. The McDreamy, she said, is one of the most popular, so I went with that one and the Curious George. McDreamy is cream-cheese-city. If you like cream cheese frosting this is the cupcake for you. The Curious George had sweet, delicious chocolaty cake with salted caramel buttercream, which was smooth, thick, and had a delightfully salty kick.
At the beginning of this cupcake project (last summer), I had the pleasure of having cupcakes from Flirty's cupcake truck. While visiting the "garage" was necessary for this cupcaking project, I much prefer the experience of their cupcake truck.

West Town Bakery

**HAPPY (British) NATIONAL CUPCAKE WEEK**

Name: West Town Bakery and Diner

Neighborhood: West Town / Ukrainian Village
Address: 1916 W Chicago Ave
Map (link above):  yellow pin

Nearest El Transit Locations:

Chicago Blue Line Stop (then either walk or take the Chicago bus)
Damen Blue Line Stop (then either walk--I did--or take the Damen bus)

(Bakery) Hours: 
Sun - Thur 7am - 9pm
Fri - Sat  7am - Midnight

Bake On-Site: Yes

Individual Cupcake Price: $2.25

Boxing/Packaging: Fitted Clam Shell
What makes this bakery special: 

This bakery is the most sustainable that a bakery can possibly be. They do everything possible, ranging from buying local to using green products and packaging to driving a hybrid delivery car to composting! 

Cupcake Purchased and Reviewed:

Left: Peach Cobbler
Right: Salted Caramel

Peach Cobbler (vegan)

Cake: Vanilla with Peaches

with Vanilla Frosting and Cinnamon Oat Streusel Crumbs filled with Peach Chutney

Appearance: 3

Size: Average

Bite #: 3

Moisture: 3+

Salted Caramel

Cake: Salted Vanilla

with Caramel Frosting sprinkled with salt filled with Homemade Caramel

Appearance: 2

Size: Average

Bite #: 3

Moisture: 3

Additional Notes:
I love this place! Honestly, it's a shame it's so close to my house; I already want to go back but I can't double visit bakeries yet because there are still so many others to go!
Everything here revolves around sustainability and inclusivity--two topics I find important as well. Sustainable by the products, practices, and beliefs. Inclusive by the products offered: vegan, nut-, sugar-, soy-, gluten-free options.
The full display case, even at 8PM, is stunning. Finally I was able to get me a peach cupcake--something I've tried to get my hands on all summer...and it's technically not even summer anymore! The Peach Cobbler met and exceeded my expectations: full flavor, moist cake, and the inability to describe it. You'll have to trust me on this one. It's good. Very good. The frosting had a grainy sugar texture which actually matched the cinnamon streusel topping brilliantly. I regretted having to split this one with D.E.  I just knew I should have just bought two.
The Salted Caramel was also very delicious. The frosting had a rich "earthy" caramel flavor (to quote D.E.) and went very well with the cake. The cake had a rich salted vanilla flavor (but was by no means "salty") and the moistness was secured by the caramel filling. Yum!
The employees were not only super friendly but the delightful lady who helped me out actually went out of her way to find an answer to a question that she didn't know the answer to. Excellent customer service is so very rare these days and I definitely know where it's at in good ol' West Town: it's here, at West Town Bakery. Thanks for that!
Indoor and outdoor seating.

Sweet Ride (Truck): Take Two

At the West Town Food Truck Social today I saw Gigi's (which is where I bought my dessert), the More Mobile, and Sweet Ride. Now, since I've been to Sweet Ride before I didn't purchase from them for myself, but my sister did and I couldn't resist posting about it:

For this event Sweet Ride had trio sets of mini cupcakes*. The one my sister got included Birthday Cake, Red Velvet, and Salted Caramel. Like I noted about their cupcake back in April, she reported that the cake was a little more dense/"dry" than expected but she absolutely loved the salted caramel. AND the best part about that particular cupcake is that it was filled! I couldn't believe a mini cupcake was filled! Adorable!

So, thank you Sweet Ride. Cute!

*I did not personally enjoy these cupcakes but just had to post about them.

More Cupcakes

Name: More Cupcakes

Neighborhood: Gold Coast
Address: 1 E Delaware Pl.
Map (link above): yellow marker

Nearest El Transit Locations:

Chicago Red Line stop

Hours: 

Mon* - Fri 8am - 9pm

Sat 9am - 9pm

*Open Mondays for advance order pickup

Bake On-Site: Yes

Individual Cupcake Prices: $3.50-6.00

Boxing/Packaging: Chinese take-out box with inserts!

What makes this bakery special: 

More offers not only many unique sweet flavors but offers many savory flavors, too! See? Cupcakes are for everyone! A few examples of their savory cupcakes are Artichoke Lemon Parmesan, Bacon Bourbon Peach, and BLT. (I couldn't bring myself to venture from sweetness this time around, sorry.)

Cupcakes Purchased and Reviewed:

S'More

Cake: Chocolate
with Marshmallow filling and Honey Cinnamon Buttercream
Appearance: 3
Size: Large 
Bite #: 5
Moisture: 2
Price: $3.50

Salted Caramel

Cake: Yellow
with Caramel filling and Caramel Buttercream
Appearance: 2
Size: Large
Bite #: 5
Moisture: 2
Price: $3.50

Red Velvet*

Cake: Red Velvet
with Cream Cheese frosting and a red candy on top
Appearance: 3
Size: Large
Bite #: 5
Moisture: 2
Price: $3.50

Additional Notes:

(I stopped in a few days after my visit to take this photo
of the display case at its fullest--earlier in the day.)

S'more cupcakes are tricky. I've had some before but none compare to this one. More's S'more cupcake was absolutely fantastic. Their combination of the chocolate cake with marshmallow filling topped with honey cinnamon buttercream is...well, I'm literally lost for words. I liked the chocolate cake instead of graham cake, like the s'mores cupcakes I've had before. The marshmallow filling made it feel more like I was eating a real s'more. And the buttercream was to die for! Rarely does frosting catch my attention!

The filling in the Salted Caramel was the best part. It wasn't too sticky or overpowering and moistened the surrounding cake quite nicely. The buttercream was pretty good, too. The caramel flavor was subtle, but not hidden.

"The cream cheese was delectable [on the Red Velvet*]." -C.D., one of my cupcaking partners, who plans on returning to More.

All packaged up and ready to go!

The display case is beautiful and super mod; it was designed to look like an exhibit in the Museum of Modern Art. We went to More around 6:00pm (about 3 hours before they closed) and found the flavor selection smaller than expected and nearly sold out. I advise stopping by More earlier in the day to ensure the fabulous selection is actually there to choose from.

Counter inside for standing/eating.

Best for quick stop in and take-out.

Some flavors that I want to try next time include Cappuccino, Chocolate Champagne, and White Russian. Whoo! (Their menu/flavors aren't listed on the website so I picked up a seasonal product list from the store. Fyi.)

Secure inserts with notches!

You can tell a lot about a cupcakery by how they box/package cupcakes. My favorite thing about More is their care for cupcakes. At first I was nervous for the cupcakes when I saw the take-out boxes but when I realized there were inserts I was thrilled! The boxes were also secured by the seal on the outside too and the bag was nice and shallow so the wind couldn't blow them easily as I walked down the street with them. Nice touch, More!

* denotes this cupcake was enjoyed by my partner, C.D.