The GGA Project -- Day #104 "There's a Party in My Tummy, So Yummy, So Yummy'"

It was another long, rainy day at work...the kind during which the only sensible thing to do is get happy and cozy with some consumable treats.


Today's New Activity: Dessert from What Has to be the County's Most Feebly Named Establishment


I'm not sure what single event launched the cupcake movement of recent years.  Something has to happen on a grand scale when all of a sudden people are willing to pay up to $3.50 for a single cupcake when they know it would buy them a dozen cupcakes from the grocery store.  Admittedly I don't really get the cupcake thing.  I certainly wouldn't refuse one, but it's a rare day when I'd go out of my day to get one.

I guess today was a rare one, because it found me at "Let's Cupcake," a little bakery I'd noticed when I was out on my lunch hour a few months ago.  And today I felt like bringing a treat home for the family and Monkey and I to enjoy to mark what felt like a long but very satisfying week.


I chose one each of these flavors: red velvet, apple caramel, rocky road, and s'mores.  And while they were definitely tasty, I have to put out there something my friend Jesse and I agreed upon just this afternoon: cupcakes, especially expensive, "gourmet" cupcakes, are usually a disappointment.  

I'm not sure what accounts for this phenomenon.  I think it has to do with the fact that the cupcakes have to be expensive if the owner of the cupcake bakery has a prayer of meeting overheads, but paying a (relative) lot for something automatically builds up the expectation.  And seriously, how good can a cupcake possibly get?  I personally think the best ever cupcake is a yellow cake one made at home, out of a box, and topped with simple chocolate frosting.  But nobody would dream of paying more than a bake sale 50 cents for that kind of cupcake.


Anyway, they were still pretty good.


The other thing I tried for the first time today was the new instant coffee from Starbucks (Via--Tribute blend).  

Last week one of the baristas there told me it won in a taste test among their employees when up against the regular Tribute coffee, which of course I didn't believe.  And by the way I love the Tribute blend.  Just putting that out there.  And I still don't believe the bit about the taste test, but I've still been wanting to try out some of that instant stuff.  I figured if it were palatable, it would be a nice thing to have in my purse for the days when I'm running late and not able to make it to Starbucks before work (a nice alternative to getting a ticket trying to make it anyway).  Verdict: it was pretty good.  Instant coffee has come a long way.


But the real party in my tummy happened this evening, when I went with the folks for the first time to Pyzano's Pizzeria, near our house, which served the best veggie pizza I've ever eaten.


Yes, it was a whole day of new activities all about eating and drinking.  And yes, I just made yet another Yo, Gabba Gabba reference.  You know you have a toddler when...