SweeTies

When we stopped in at Greek's Pizzeria the other day, we also decided to look in at this new-ish shop in Broad Ripple, SweeTies. The SweeTies location has a lot of space. I'd say it is even cavernous for the amount of goods they have offered for sale. They sell (surprise) cupcakes, ice cream (not of their own making), truffles, etc. They have a few private rooms, so I guess if the fellas want to do some fondue before the big game, now they know where to go.

Interestingly enough, when getting ready to write this review, it coincided with an interesting posting on Serious Eats asking feedback (a poll) on whether or not people care about cupcakes.

Now, sure, I think most have caught on that this is a trend that took off from the Sex and the City show. It did seem to take a while to hit Indy, as I remember almost 6 years ago going by the first cupcake shop I'd seen in Toronto with the Better Half. In fact, when she first move here, the Better Half (who makes wedding cakes for friends) toyed with the idea of trying to start a cupcake shop, but both of us are fairly risk averse.

Anyhow, you have to register to vote, see the results, or post a comment to the Serious Eats poll. I can easily get annoyed by some food trends (number one enemy of mine - those who label themselves "foodies"), but when it comes to cupcakes, I have to say... I like 'em. The comments on that poll are insightful, but ultimately, I like cake, I like frosting (especially cream cheese frosting) so.... I like cupcakes. I don't usually want to invest in a whole cake if we're out, so spending $3 or so for an indulgence makes a lot of sense to me. Also, kids always love cupcakes.

We picked up three different flavors of cupcakes from SweeTies - chocolate-peanut butter, sweet potato and strawberry-lemonade. They were all pretty good. The sweet potato had a bit too "perfumey" of a taste for me, but... the real revelation was the strawberry-lemonade. I wasn't expecting much, but it was a nice mix of tartness and a fruity punch. I don't think I'd want to eat this often.... and, the cupcake reminded me of kool-aid... it also reminded me of this from Voodoo Doughnut... but it was a tasty, pleasant surprise.

How does it stack up to other local cupcakes? Well, I'm still partial to the goods sold at The Flying Cupcake (Red Velvet Elvis). Not only do I prefer the taste, but you get a definite jump in size at The Flying Cupcake. I've tried Holy Cow Cupcakes in Carmel, too, but other than the novelty of their maple bacon cupcake, I think they're inferior to Flying Cupcake. And, while I find it quaint that Maxine's Chicken and Waffles is attached to a gas station, I somehow don't feel the same way about a cupcake shop.

The verdict on SweeTies cupcakes: 3 belly rubs (out of 5) - tasty, trendy, doubt the trend can last.

Post Script: I don't know much about the Sex and the City show, so I looked up some info about the cupcake tie to the show. Apparently, they featured the Magnolia Bakery one time, and this little clip apparently started this trend (I could well be wrong, my research has been severely brief and limited).