Whipping Up Some Frosted Goodness in the Windy City - Flirty Cupcakes – Chicago, IL

I had several business trips that took me to Chicago in September, so we looked for Gourmet Food Trucks and funky food joints that I could try while I was there. The Gourmet Food Truck movement has not taken off in Chicago like it has LA, NY and other metropolitan cities. However, I was able to find Flirty Cupcakes. Flirty Cakes, is the first gourmet food truck (actually it’s a van) to hit the streets of Chicago.

Since Jason and I are going to be guest judges for the Cupcake Camp Inland Empire competition, a fundraiser benefiting the Susan G. Komen foundation, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to “practice” my critiquing skills. (☺)

Thanks Jessica!

I began following @flirtycupcakes on twitter. They are really good about tweeting their daily schedule/times so you know exactly where they will be. When I approached Big Blue, what they lovingly call their cupcake delivery vehicle, I was greeted by Jessica, the driver. I was having a hard time deciding which cupcake to try so she suggested the mini sampler which would allow me to try a variety of their cupcake offerings. It included: Devil in Disguise – red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting, No Plain Jane – vanilla cupcake with Italian buttercream frosting, The Curious George – banana chocolate cupcake with a light salted caramel buttercream frosting and CBFF – chocolate cupcake with Nutella ganache frosting.

I’d like to think that I am pretty discerning when it comes to cupcakes, not too rushed in my judgments but I have to say these are probably the moistest cupcakes I’ve ever had! The frosting tastes like sweet, slow-churned butter that is whipped to an airy lightness with just a dash of sugar. The frosting has a subtleness that doesn’t overpower but enhances the cake, and you can really taste the butter or the cream cheese used in the frostings. It’s not the dry, crumbly thing that the cupcakes become when bakeries use too much confectioners’ sugar. The cakes are super moist, really rich, and surprisingly, not too sweet.

I had to go back to Chicago two weeks later so I decided to hit up Flirty Cupcakes again to make sure that the first experience wasn’t just a fluke. I touched down at Chicago O’hare and hadn’t been in the city one hour before I was at the Flirty Cupcakes van once again. They were sold out of the minis so I had to pick up the full-size cupcakes. Oh darn. I grabbed the banana chocolate, red velvet and one I hadn’t previously tried, the mocha chocolate cupcakes(?). I had the banana chocolate that day and the red velvet the next morning for breakfast. The third one, I decided to bring home so Jason could experience it. They were as delicious as I had remembered from my first visit, and still super moist. To further demonstrate, the third cupcake was purchased on a Tuesday and then traveled 1700 miles from Chicago to Orange County on an airplane, and eaten on Friday morning. It tasted the same as if it had been baked that day! How many cupcakes can you say that about?

They would be a great contender on the next season of Food Network’s Cupcake Wars. But don’t just take my word for it, if you are ever in Chicago, I highly recommend you hit up Flirty Cupcakes.

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First Cupcake Wars Stop – Kara’s Cupcakes – San Jose, CA

Cupcake Wars on the Food Network is the latest show to attract our foodie attention. Like several of the network’s other shows it inspires many of our foodie adventures. I was in northern California for a couple of days so I made sure to stop by Kara’s Cupcakes in San Jose.

Fleur De Sel

My buddy Nathan and I stopped in for a quick taste. I ordered the Fleur De Sel, which was a chocolate cupcake with caramel filling and ganache frosting. It was topped with sea salt, which helped cut the sweetness of the ganache. The cake was very moist and one of the better cakes I’ve had. The ganache was very sweet and there was more than I personally think the c-cake needed but I am sure there are plenty of people that enjoy that extra sugar boost.

Kara's Karrot

Nathan had the Kara’s Karrot. This was a super moist carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Nathan really liked this one. He said it was not overly sweet and he could taste a hint of something like sour cream in it. Next time I am in the area I will have to try this one.

In the end we both liked Kara’s. I am sure Kim will like their c-cakes as well. They do good work!

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Survivor, Cupcake Edition – Cupcake Camp OC

Who would have thought that “survived” would be the first word I used to describe the inaugural Cupcake Camp OC?  We certainly didn’t when we took off today for our latest foodie adventure.  We should have gotten a clue when we pulled up to the hotel before the event had even started and found no parking spaces yet, a steady stream of cars continuing to head into the Atrium Hotel in Irvine, CA.

We braved through it and made our way to the line.  It took about 15 minutes to get into the event.  Right away you could tell that the event was probably considered a huge success.  The place was packed!!  There were hungry c-cake people everywhere.  You would think they were giving away free cupcakes the way the crowd was reacting, oh wait… they were!  We heard there were about 5,200 cupcakes donated for the event.  Yep, you read that right, five thousand two hundred! 

Chicken and Waffles Cupcake from Sugar Tart - Awesome!

Breakfast Cake, Pancake and BACON! from My Delight Cup Cakery

Carrot Cake Cupcake from Once Upon a Cupcake

Kim and I had fun checking out the incredible variety of c-cakes. There were many of the traditional and most popular cupcakes, such as chocolate, vanilla, carrot and red velvet, but there were also folks that stepped out of the bakery box and brought some unique flavors such as chicken and waffles, hot fudge sundae and breakfast cake (think pancakes with maple syrup and bacon). We were able to get our hands on a total of seven.  And I use the word “able” loosely, when it really was survival of the fittest or the most determined cupcake enthusiasts, to successfully get our hands on a cupcake or two.  There were so many people packed around each table and you could tell there were some more prepared than others. They brought empty cupcake trays and chafing pans, or pretty much any large, flat- surfaced item they could find, to carry away stacks of cupcakes.

This is Just a Few of the Different C-Cakes being Judged!

Like you would expect, some were good, some were okay and some were incredible!  However, by no means did we have the toughest job at the event.

Three of the Judges (from Left to Right)

Holly Wong, Food Blogger at The Michelin Project

Tara Settembre, Founder, LA Cupcakes MeetUp Group

Molly Taylor, Owner of The Sweets Truck

That title is reserved for the judges that had to try ALL the cupcakes entered in the competition.  We ran into Molly Taylor, owner of the Sweets Truck.  As you know we think very highly of the goodness she puts together.  Turns out, as part of her judging duty she sampled a staggering 56 cupcakes!!  Another judge Elise Wallace from CupcakeActivist.com tweeted out that she ate 40 cupcakes!  Wow! That is big-time dedication on both their parts. I don’t know if we could have done it, maybe we will try it someday. 

All in all, it was a very fun event and the response was astounding.  Next time, I hope they can secure a larger venue… but who knew there would be so many c-cake fans out there, especially in the OC?

BTW: Kim picked up one of their event T-shirts, and fittingly enough it read “I Survived” CupcakeCamp OC”.

Check out the photos from the event!

Dark Chocolate from Sweetsations Cakes

Champagne Cupcake from Cupcake Girl Creations

Red Velvet Cupcake from CheyRose Cupcakes

So Many C-cakes so Little Time!

Bringing or Taking? Hmmmmm...

Great Support and Shameless Plug!

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BBQ and Deep-Fried Everything is on the Menu – 120th OC Fair

This is one of my favorite times of year. Not because the days are longer or because the weather is typically perfect but because the Orange County Fair is in town. Every year about a million people flock to the fair to partake in all kinds of activities. Tackle the carnival rides, check out the latest newborn piglets, take in the many exhibits that feature things like photography, art, FOOD. Not to mention shop for the latest home gadget or shower replacement. But mostly importantly people look forward to eating.

Food Art - Made from Bread!

Place to get Deep-Fried Butter

This year the OC Fair did not disappoint. There was a ton of food to choose from. One of the biggest hits this year was fried butter! Check out the review on the Food Frenzy blog from the Orange County Register. I did try some other deep-fried treats and some BBQ. As always some was good, some was okay and some you dream about at night.

Zucchini Nachos

To start off we have Zucchini Nachos! Is there a better way to eat your zucchini? This would normally have bacon on top but my wife Kim doesn’t eat pork or beef so we opted to leave it off. The nachos did not need the bacon to be good, the gooey cheese had a touch of spice and the zucchini was nice and crispy. These nachos are now officially on my favorite fair food list! We will be looking for these next year.

Deep-Fried White Castle

Really a White Castle in there!

Ever have a White Castle Burger? How about a deep-fried White Castle? Now I can say yes to both! Yes this is a really White Castle burger battered and fried. Once you get past the breading you can taste the burger. One person mentioned that these are best with some hot sauce. If I get it again I will definitely have to try that.

BBQ Tri-Tip Sandwich

One thing you will notice about the fair this year is there are a ton of barbeque stands. They almost look like chain restaurants and I believe some are. I had to try a few of these and see if any of it was worth the money and stomach space. I ordered a BBQ Tri-tip from American Cowboy Grill. The tri-tip seemed a little mushy. I think it was actually tender but there was so much bbq sauce on it that it was just saturated. Overall I would not get this again. All you could taste was sauce and the roll.

Juicy's Outlaw Grill

Giant Western Sausage

I ordered a Giant Western Sausage from Juicy’s. These guys are everywhere. However up near the front of the fair they have a giant bbq grill going on the trailer of a big rig. The rig really catches your eye. Because of that I had to get something and the sausage looked really good. This thing was huge, over a foot long and covered with grilled peppers and onions. I strongly suggest you share this. It could almost feed a family of 4, well maybe it is not quite that big, unless you are on a foodie tour like we were. The sausage itself was good. This is the perfect item if you are looking for something safe.

North Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwich

Next on the barbeque list was the North Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwich from Lindsay Concessions. This sandwich had a generous helping of pulled pork and to my surprise no sauce on top. Here you can put on your own sauce. After my earlier tri-tip I opted to go sauce free. I was not disappointed at all; the pulled pork could stand on it's own, it was super tender and had a ton of flavor. It was on a toasted bun, that was a nice touch. This is a sandwich that is worth getting. Very well done!

Rosie O’Donnell Long Island Dog

Now onto Pink’s Hollywood! I ordered a “Rosie O’Donnell Long Island Dog”. The Rosie O’Donnell has mustard, onions, chili and sauerkraut. This is my first Pink’s hotdog and after this experience I am very much looking forward to checking out one of their permanent restaurants. If you want a hotdog with a ton of flavor then Pink's is the perfect stop for you.

Red Velvet and Key Lime C-Cakes!

If that was not enough, Kim got us a couple of mini cupcakes from CB’s Cup Cakes. Here you pick what cake you want, then the frosting and lastly the topping. Then you can watch them put your c-cakes together. First Kim ordered a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. The second was Key Lime cake with cream cheese frosting and topped with graham cracker crumbs. We both really liked the mini size. After all the other food samplings we were not overwhelmed and got to try two versus only one. Both c-cakes were very good. The cake was moist and the frosting was not too sweet.

New Born Piglets

Dang that was a lot of food! We had a great time; we got to see animals, the photo contest, food art and so much more. If you have not gone to the fair yet this year make sure you do. Great time to start your own foodie adventure! Also don't forget to share with us what you liked and did not like in the comments section.

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