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The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” – G.K. Chesterton

Thursday 18 October 2007

Magnolia Bakery, New York

One of the many things we've noticed about New York is just how much people follow fashion here. I'm not talking about clothes but about food. Yes, food. The popular gets more popular just by virtue of its popularity, and the ones not mentioned fail to get the recognition and publicity that they probably deserve. As much as both Rob and I love to buck the trend and go against the flow, when it comes to travelling to a foreign country, we usually have to go with the safe choice of what is popular. That means waiting in long lines.

Magnolia Bakery is one of these popular places. Apparently they make the best cupcakes, and they sure have a lot of loyal cupcake enthusiasts (or perhaps most are tourists). We first chanced upon this tiny little place during our first week in NYC two months ago; Rob was keen to try it out but when I saw how ridiculously long the line was, I said perhaps next time. Then my MIL came to visit, took a tour that brought her to this bakery, and she was told that Magnolia makes the best cupcakes in NYC. It piqued Rob's interest once again, so we dropped by again when we were around the area for our seafood lunch on our last Saturday in NYC.

The queue to get inside Magnolia was long and it was a good 20 minutes before we stepped inside. I read that they sell over 3000 cupcakes a day. It's a tiny bakery and only about 6 customers are allowed in at one time. The girls in front of us were regulars, and they informed us of their favourites. I think there is a limit of 6 cupcakes per customer, and each sells for $2. We bought 4 between us two: chocolate cupcake with vanilla icing, chocolate with choc icing, vanilla with vanilla, and a red velvet cupcake with plain icing.

How were they? Well, honestly, they were like any cupcakes with extremely sweet icing that towers as tall as the cupcakes themselves. I failed to see why these cupcakes in particular were popular, and it looks like I'm not alone. I am also not big on buttery icing/frosting, and I found myself scraping off most of the icing just to get to the cupcakes, which were only okay by our standards. Actually, the red velvet cupcake was quite yummy, moist and chocolatey and I liked it better than the best-selling cupcakes.

Inside the bakery, making our selection (notice the line outside? That's only 1/4 of the whole line); and our purchases:


Were the cupcakes worth the wait in line? Maybe if you're a huge cupcake follower to begin with. You may be disappointed otherwise.

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