A Friday Favorite

     
     I'd like to take a minute on this fine Friday afternoon and set aside a moment to highlight one of the simple pleasures in life. Cupcakes. No, it's not a deeply personal subject. And it has absolutely nothing to do with my art or creative life whatsoever. But some of the sweetness of life is just stopping to notice the good things. I may make a regular habit of doing this on future fridays, I'm not sure. But for now, I'm going to stop and give the stage to one of my favorite sweet parts of the sweet life. 


     The inspiration for this personal observation is that I've just made one of the great discoveries of my life: a quality gourmet bakery. While I realize the thrill of this discovery could easily be lost on many people, I would like to take a moment to celebrate it anyway. Polka Dot Bake Shop in Charlotte, NC is one of those amazing, unassuming, little gems that's just doing everything right. Being the cupcake aficionado that I am, I feel perfectly qualified to hold them up to the highest standards of cupcakey excellence. And let me tell you my friends, they pass with flying colors. They feature flavors like Pumpkin Turtle, Salted Caramel, Chai Latte, and Mexican Hot Chocolate. But the one that takes the cake (pardon the pun) is one of their featured Saturday flavors, the Honey Almond. I've never been much for the flavors of either honey or almond. So it was a complete shock to my peanut butter and chocolate loving system when I first tasted this little piece of perfection. It's this perfectly light and fluffy almond cupcake with honey almond cream cheese icing, crushed almond praline, and sliced almonds. So simple. Yet amazingly balanced and just beautiful. It is officially my single favorite dessert to date.


     And while I'm shouting the wonders of the Polka Dot Bake Shop from the highest mountain (or at least my blog), I'd be completely remiss to not mention the muffins. Oh, the muffins! They have a Sweet Potato muffin with a cream cheese center that could make some men cry. And again, I have to say I've never been a great lover of sweet potatoes. But somehow, they've done it again. They've taken flavors that have never been particularly appealing to me and created something so perfect that I am completely swayed. There is no room for improvement as far as I can see. My family was so impressed by these muffins that we had them overnighted to my cousin out in Utah for her birthday because we knew how much she would love them. She is a lover of all things sweet potato, and I don't think she's ever met a muffin she didn't like. So, I figured these would probably be a pretty big hit with her. She said when she opened them they were just as fresh as if they'd just come out of the oven that morning. She loved them so much she stopped and took a moment while enjoying them and her chai latte to take a picture of how beautiful her little meal was, so we could enjoy it together from a distance. That is one special muffin in my opinion.


     I didn't intend to write a restaurant review as much as I just wanted to say how great this little cupcake discovery was, but credit should be given when it is deserved. Many people and businesses go through everyday doing just the bare minimum, taking no pride in their work, or endeavoring to create anything special. I think it's nice to find a place, a simple bakery, that is inspired, responsible, and takes pride in what they do. If you live anywhere in the area, I highly recommend a visit to see them for yourself. But I also know from personal experience that their baked goods stay fresh for several days and handle being shipped very very well. And believe me, it's well worth it. Check them out at www.polkadotbakeshop.com. And take a look around your area to see what local, small businesses are doing an excellent job, and creating something wonderful. It's important to support these businesses and make sure we have them as part of our communities. My favorite is a cupcake bakery, but it could be anything. It's all about people putting their hearts into what they're doing, and doing it with excellence. I think that's an art, all on it's own. And in my case, Cupcake Art is my new Friday favorite. What's yours?