Friday, May 30, 2008

Café Bombon

1000 N Clark, Chicago


Yellow cupcake with plain frosting
Price: $3.00
Weight: 2 7/8 oz (81g)
Value: $1.043/oz

Frosting When I ate this cupcake, the frosting had warmed nearly to room temperature, so it was like whipped cream - extremely light and it melted in my mouth like cotton candy. It was buttery and smooth, without any graininess. However, the taste was a little off. The only way I can describe it was maybe being a little sour and having like a freezer-burned taste. It was very noticeable and a big drawback in this case. Rating 6.0

Cake I normally get a chocolate cupcake, but this day they didn’t have any so I got a plain yellow cake. Nevertheless, the cake was spongy and rich. Supermoist and chewy, with a texture similar to a carrot cake. In fact, it had such a rich flavor you might even be convinced it was a carrot cake. The texture of this cake is not what you would traditionally expect from a cupcake, but it was so good that it doesn’t matter. Rating 8.0

Overall A fellow cupcake lover called my attention to this bakery so I was eager to check it out. It’s fair to say, then, that I went in with certain expectations. After being initially disappointed by the taste of the buttercream, I thought perhaps I was being a little unfair, so I went back a couple of weeks after the first tasting and had another. The second time, I didn’t wait before eating it, thinking that perhaps I had ruined the experience earlier by letting it warm up. However, the frosting still had that freezer-burned taste, and it was a big distraction. I really wanted to like the cupcake more, but I couldn’t say that the second one was better than the first. In fact, the cake -- chocolate this time -- was a little dry. If I were rating this cupcake, I’d give the frosting a 6.0 again and the chocolate cake a 6.0 as well. For one of the most expensive cupcakes, I have to say it really wasn’t worth the price. If you do get a cupcake here, I recommend trying a yellow cake, perhaps with a flavored frosting. Overall rating 6.0/10

1 comment:

Beck said...

Aw, blick! I love BomBon! I will admit that I have had a cupcake with a weird flavor in the icing (like they didn't clean out the pastry bag from a previous flavor).

I still get a cupcake from there each time I'm over there (check the art out at the Palette & Chisel on Dearborn).

I went to Swedish Bakery - they were closed (it was a sunday). I went to Sweet Signature Bakery here in my 'hood - they were COMPLETELY out of cupcakes (afterschool about 3pm). I mentioned to the gal behind the counter that you gave them a favorable review.

Sorry about Bombon, I would have asked for my money back if it tasted freezer burned! Dinkels baby, good every time.