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| Cups 7857 Girard Ave. La Jolla www.cupslj.com 858-459-2877 | Cups | |
| Six kids walk into a cupcake lounge. The mood is cool and quiet for a Sunday afternoon. They walk up to the bar and tell the bartender what they’re having, and are they in for a treat! With mirrored walls, bar stools and subdued lighting, Cups is like no bakery you’ve ever seen. Rather than a bakery case full to the brim of brightly colored frostings and sprinkles, the selection of daily-changing cupcakes is displayed in a small showcase, one large and one small cupcake of each variety on stage. The selection is a wholesome one, and all ingredients are organic. Families with special diets will be especially pleased. There are even gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and low-glycemic items available. My six children sampled a variety of cakes, as did their parents. My older children, ages 6 and up, ordered the full-size cupcakes for $4 each while the smaller, $2 versions were more than sufficient for my preschool daughters, although the little ones were pleased just to lick frosting. Death by Chocolate was a crowd pleaser as my husband, 13-year-old and 6-year-old sons can testify. Filled with chocolate truffle, the chocolate cupcake is topped by a dark chocolate frosting. Getting your antioxidants never tasted so good. Chocolate Milk was the perfect combination of flavors for my 9-year-old son, who has a hard time choosing between chocolate and vanilla. The vanilla cake was topped by a tasty chocolate frosting. Not-so-Red-Velvet was the cake to catch the eye of my 3-year-old daughter as it had tiny sanding of red sugar atop the frosting. The cake itself does not have the traditional red hue of red velvet, but a more subtle cocoa color, the flavor usually found under all that red. The purists in the group, my 8-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter, tried two different versions of vanilla cupcakes: Old School, which is a traditional sweet vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream, and Vanilla Vixen, featuring real vanilla bean in a less sweet French buttercream. I chose Coco-Limey, a coconut-lime cake topped with lime and white chocolate ganache. The flavor combinations were perfect for a sunny afternoon. Cups offers cupcake baking and decorating classes in a separate classroom with advance registration. Special efforts are made to put children at ease. While there is one toddler table available, my kids particularly enjoyed the special storefront seating. The front window opens and transforms into counter seating. Diners can sit inside and watch the sidewalk crowd go by or sit outside and look in. There are also additional benches outdoors for more seating. While the atmosphere of Cups is certainly lounge-like, the cupcakes and special touches are definitely family friendly. Special occasion or family outing, Cups can deliver. | ||
Jessica Fisher is a freelance writer living in North County.
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