Sweet, Sweet San Francisco...

The husband and I were in the city recently for a very special occasion - read more about it on my other blog that doesn't focus on my eating cupcakes!  Before we went, I did a bit of recon to find out if there was a cupcakery in the neighborhood.  And wouldn't you know - there was.  Right across the street from our intended destination.  Yes, that's right.  'Twas a sign from God.

Noe Valley is a super cute spot in the city, and a place I've never been before, despite our frequent city visits.  The Noe Valley Bakery is a neighborhood staple, and offers a plethora of goodies aside from my dear cupcakes.  But, this isn't a blog about other goodies.  I'm a straight up, 24/7, 365 cupcake girl.  I don't cheat.

Like I said, the neighborhood is great, and the bakery is right next door to a flower shop and super cute boutique.  The neighborhood, the vibe, everything was great, and I would go back again just for that purpose alone.  

Had to get the flowers in the shot.  Such a beautiful day!

Inside, the bakery is fairly typical.  It has a rustic, old school feel, but is very neat and orderly.  Most important?  Do you see the rows of cupcakes?

However, this place had no seats.  I am still on a hunt for the bakery of my dreams.  I want to sit, enjoy, eat on china.  Maybe have a glass of champagne from a crystal flute.  Is that too much to ask?  I think not.  So, for decor, I would give it...

It was definitely hard to decide on a flavor.  As I was eyeing a mini cupcake (the last one left of the flavor I was craving) the guy right in front of me beat me to the punched.  Darnit - I was forced to buy all full sized cupcakes.  Shoot.

Lemon (with a little bee)
The first flavor we got was a lemon cupcake.  It caught my eye because of it's super cute decoration.  It was very springy and creative.  It could have been mustard flavored, and I would have gotten it.  Luckily, it wasn't mustard flavor. It was incredibly moist, had just enough lemon so as not to be overpowering, and was, quite simply, delicious.  I'd get this one again in a heartbeat.

For flavor, I would give this cupcake:

Decoration:
  Seriously - so CUTE!

Most-est

Look familiar?  Yep - it's a supersized and not super processed version of a childhood favorite (minus the plastic wrap!)  This chocolate cupcake is filled with cool and creamy whipped cream, dipped in a ganache, and topped with the signature white swirls.  Again, you eat first with your eyes, so this one and the bee were shoe ins!  The flavor was somewhat lacking - nothing special.  I enjoyed the coolness of the whipped cream, and the chocolate cake wasn't terrible.  But, it was a bit plain for my tastes (as you read earlier - I do have champagne taste.)

For decorations, this one gets a:
  Loved it!

For taste, this one gets a:

I just wasn't sold on the taste!


Red Velvet

I was also sure to include a tasting of my staple - the red velvet.   This classic was decorated in a fittingly classic way.  But do you see how creamy that frosting is?  It has a sheet to it that makes me both scared and excited.  Scared because do you know how much butter it takes to make that sheen?  And excited because, do you know how much butter it takes to make that sheen?  And everything is better with butter...

The flavor was alright - it was a bit dry, and tasted a bit like red food coloring - never a good look for a red velvet.  You want to taste the cocoa powder, and slight tartness from the vinegar.  Not red food coloring.

So, for taste, I would give this one a:

For decoration, I would give this one a:

You can't beat classic elegance...

Overall, I would rate this experience and would definitely go back.  The neighborhood is so great, and there are so many more flavors to try!