Listener comments!

Fri. 8/28/09 12:15pm From: annie

nice, morning bryce!!

Fri. 8/28/09 12:16pm From: volunteer mike

Bryce!

Fri. 8/28/09 12:17pm From: flandrew

shim shim shimmery - nice, bryce is on!!!

Fri. 8/28/09 12:18pm From: Carmichael

Aloha, Bryce.

Fri. 8/28/09 12:18pm From: volunteer stingy d

oh shit i fucked up.

Fri. 8/28/09 12:20pm From: bryce

hi annieeeee hey mike howdy flllandrew aloha carmichael!!!!

Fri. 8/28/09 12:20pm From: bryce

oh, hi stingy d.

Fri. 8/28/09 12:24pm From: Hugo

Mark Sanders - saw him this summer in a configuration called Speeq - with Phil Minton, Hasse Poulsen and Luc Ex. I suppose only Minton spoke - if that's the right word for it ...

Fri. 8/28/09 12:25pm From: BSI

ready to have my psychic clock cleaned....

Fri. 8/28/09 12:34pm From: north guinea hills

So, Bryce, what's the dealy-o on the delay of your marathon premium cd comp. (just curious, trying to kill time at work).

Fri. 8/28/09 12:35pm From: carmichael

Mark Sanders: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyeYzWiWtyw

Fri. 8/28/09 12:35pm From: marshall

is there an artist by the name jessie evans going to be on your show today?

Fri. 8/28/09 12:36pm From: Jed

gee Cap't Bryce, will you be showin' cartunes?

Fri. 8/28/09 12:38pm From: Cecile

Hi, all! Good stuff, Bryce!

Fri. 8/28/09 12:39pm From: Carmichael

Hi Cecile. How's your Friday?

Fri. 8/28/09 12:42pm From: dc pat

THIS SUCKS!

jus kiddin...hy bryce

Fri. 8/28/09 12:42pm From: bryce

geez, hugo, what a lineup. dying to see mark sanders live — he's really something.... thanks for the vid, cmichael!

ngh, deal is.....comically over-ambitious hand-made sleeves mixed with compound life trainwreck. but THEY *ARE* COMING!!

Fri. 8/28/09 12:44pm From: bryce

hahaa, hey dcp & cecile!

marshall, i don't believe it's me....

jed, i don't believe it's you.

Fri. 8/28/09 12:44pm From: BSI

I figure no sweat on the Bryce premium. It means there's another Xmas this year...... that, and whenever the locked-groove LP gets birthed.

Fri. 8/28/09 12:47pm From: Ike

I demand an hour-long improv monologue on the trainwreck. Fact or fiction. With funny noises.

Fri. 8/28/09 12:48pm From: perrin

tuning in, then dropping out (me and ned are going to burning man (I know, it is not hip anymore, the last time it was hip was 1992 when they still allowed guns..._ what will you be doing monday? I'll be drinking tequila in the hot sun looking at partially to fully unclothed ex dot com employees...)

Fri. 8/28/09 12:54pm From: Jed

I'm not me. I'm a 14th century fisherman from Getaria who has ingested a strange fungus growth from the refuse of a cow in my field. I will be going back there soon, but while I'm here, where's the nearest Arby's?

Fri. 8/28/09 12:57pm From: bryce

perrin— yeah, sounds like its less naked-outlaws-on-lsd now. still, so many folks spend the entire year making huge crazy stuff for the next bm, there's no way it's not fun....

farmer jed, a bacon-n-bleu roastburger awaits at the other end of a st. vitus lapdance.

Fri. 8/28/09 1:02pm From: dc pat

THIS FREAKIN RULES!

jus kiddin....or AM I?...

Fri. 8/28/09 1:02pm From: north guinea hills

Hmmmm..., I've been in a life train wreck before. (not to be confused w/ a live train wreck.

Fri. 8/28/09 1:02pm From: Carmichael

Here you go, Pat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skiLDE_AMlg

Fri. 8/28/09 1:06pm From: dc pat

excellent thanks Carm. I definitely will NOT check that out in a minute.

Fri. 8/28/09 1:08pm From: perrin

my grandma used to ask me every morning if I had had a good bm. always freaked me out.

Fri. 8/28/09 1:10pm From: your grandma

And Did you today son?

Fri. 8/28/09 1:10pm From: Cecile

I'm glad you played Le Quan Ninh, he 's great

Perrin, once you get up to a certain age, a day w/o a blockage is a good one indeed.

Fri. 8/28/09 1:13pm From: Sister Hairy Hymen

This beats Rush Limbaugh

Fri. 8/28/09 1:22pm From: doug in DC

The song title is exactly what this sounds like.

Fri. 8/28/09 1:24pm From: Chris

Yup, sounds just like Pereicotuum Eze Mestichniosty to me. Oh, wait....

Fri. 8/28/09 1:26pm From: BSI

Polyunsaturated Coitus Ege Bamyasi Con Carne!

Fri. 8/28/09 1:38pm From: stingy d

i wish i was at wfmu. but honestly the only thing that is truly wrong with this day is the lack of pie.

Fri. 8/28/09 1:40pm From: Cecile

Yes, I am somewhat pie-deprived myself.

Fri. 8/28/09 1:42pm From: stingy d

why aren't there more pie places floating around?

Fri. 8/28/09 1:43pm From: BSI

parrot pie?

Fri. 8/28/09 1:43pm From: Carmichael

I'm thinking about starting a Pie World franchise.

Fri. 8/28/09 1:43pm From: doug in DC

Pies are out. It's all cupcakes now.

Fri. 8/28/09 1:43pm From: Ike

Fuck pie, I want a chocolate chip cookie. And I wish I was volunteering at WFMU instead of working. Those desires are equally strong.

Fri. 8/28/09 1:44pm From: Cecile

four and twenty budgies baked in a pie

Where's budgie?

Fri. 8/28/09 1:50pm From: BSI

Cupcake Dog, we shall never forget you.
...or hell, I won't, anyway.

Fri. 8/28/09 1:54pm From: stingy d

naw i had cupcakes yesterday. i want pie because it's raining and i'm drinking coffee at home doing nothing. you wouldn't understand.

Fri. 8/28/09 1:54pm From: dc pat

yeah, I'm getting a little tired of all the tan-pants-folks in G-town waiting in line down the street to buy freakin cupcakes. They have nothing better to do??

Fri. 8/28/09 1:55pm From: 3.1415926535897932384626433832795

'You talkin' to me?

Fri. 8/28/09 1:56pm From: dc pat

my mom makes a bitchin derby pie, like a pecan pie with bourbon and chocolate.

Fri. 8/28/09 1:58pm From: stingy d

yea come to think of it, i have seen too many cupcake lines. buncha dandies. not even gentleman of leisure such as myself. just a bunch of airy faerie book readin mary's

Fri. 8/28/09 1:59pm From: Chris

Pat

Believe it or not, the blackbery pie at Clyde's is a religious experience. Go while it's still on the menu. Though the derby pie sounds strong.

Fri. 8/28/09 2:10pm From: stingy d

see... chris understands what's going on here. cookies are a dime a dozen. cupcakes are nonsense. it's all about pie folks. i'm so sincere.

Fri. 8/28/09 2:14pm From: Bettie Page

And this whole time I thought it was about cheesecake.

Fri. 8/28/09 2:17pm From: stingy d

i like what i'm hearing bryce. except for the sudden outburst from ms. page

Fri. 8/28/09 2:19pm From: still b/p

Good pie could suffice as the only birthday present required for the rest of my life. But there's nothing as eye-rollingly, endorphin-strokingly, high-cosmic-horsepower-pleasure-crankingly narcotic as a perfect home made chocolate chip cookie. It's a problem.

Fri. 8/28/09 2:19pm From: dc pat

Crhis, I will keep that muhfuh in mind....although I don't get out much...

Fri. 8/28/09 2:21pm From: bryce

I'm hosting a cup cake party for my girlfriends and am wondering what some favorite cup- cake bakeries in NYC are. Since NY and cupcakes can become a hot topic, and obviously everyone has their own favorite, I'm wondering what your thoughts are on this.
See, at the party, I'm going to buy cupcakes from about 8-10 of the 'best' places in the city. Then, I'm going to place them on numbered plates (and only I'll know what number corresponds to which bakery). Everyone will taste them, fill out a sheet, vote, and we'll see who comes out victorious!

Fri. 8/28/09 2:21pm From: dc pat

I'm going w/ stinj on this one, pie all the way.

Fri. 8/28/09 2:22pm From: doug in DC

Chris, the Clyde's downtown, next to MCI Center?

Fri. 8/28/09 2:25pm From: Chris

Doug,

I was thinking Tower Oaks Lodge in Rockville, but I think they have the same menu? You could in theory check on line.

Fri. 8/28/09 2:28pm From: dc pat

I have news for everyone: It is definitely NOT "all good"

Fri. 8/28/09 2:38pm From: Cecile

I've heard about the Magnolia bakery and their cupcakes. You should also get some from a grocery store just to see how they stack up.

Fri. 8/28/09 2:42pm From: stingy pie

yea magnolia is very much a place with a bunch of no-good panty-wearing male freaks. cucpakes is good though. then there is crumbs. for your over-commercialized cupcakes. and my perosnal favrotie: butter lane.

Fri. 8/28/09 2:45pm From: bryce

I haven't been much of a fan of cupcakes since kindergarten - I usually prefer full-size cakes, but this post thead piqued my curiosity. Plus, I can't risk the caloric overdoses of eating whole cakes in one or two sittings like I used to.

I've been waiting and waiting for the results of Stingy's taste test party, and got to the point that I just had to do my own test this past week. (And yes, I do need some Prozac! ; ) )

I made most trips late in the afternoon/early evening (in case the time of day affects the dryness factor). I always tried yellow cake with vanilla icing/frosting, when available, but also tried various other flavors at each place (but no chocolate). I should also point out that I prefer very sweet cake and frosting (never could understand how a cupcake could be described as "too sweet"!), and I generally don't like buttercream frosting.

The results:

(1) Buttercup Bake Shop (UES) vs Sugar Sweet Sunshine Cafe (LES)
- my top rated places in this brief survey
- both had moist (one of the most important factors), tasty cupcakes
- loved the cream cheese-flavored frostings on the spice and pumpkin cupcakes; also liked SSS's pistachio (would have preferred a stronger pistachio flavor though) and Buttercup's red velvet (which I usually don't like at most places)
- carryout service was fine at both (the clerks' advice to keep the cupcakes out of the refrigerator at Buttercup Cafe was charming, well at least on the first visit)
- Buttercup has enough staff working that I never had to wait to be served more than just a minute
- Buttercup's place seemed a little brighter and cleaner and is not too far from my neighborhood, so would probably head there if I had a hankering for cupcakes

(2) Little Pie Company (W 43rd St)
- in the past I've never been able to understand why this place attracted so many rave reviews - always very disappointed by the pies and cake in the past, so I really wasn't expecting much
- turned out the yellow cake with vanilla icing and vanilla cream filling was surprisingly good (but wouldn't send me out of my way for a second take)

(3) Amy's Bread (Hell's Kitchen)
- a little dry; acceptable taste; not particularly memorable flavor; staff very friendly; would visit again if in the neighborhood
- they get extra points for the most inventive approach to packing cupcakes: they pack them in upside down paper cups; on the other hand, this is arguably not the most eco-friendly way to pack food that will in most cases be eaten not too long after the purchase, especially given that there's a plastic lid top for the cupcake to sit on, so the extra wasted resources cancel out the positive convenience factor : (

(4) Crumbs (UES)
- rather dry cupcakes; acceptable but not particularly memorable flavor otherwise

(5) Two Little Red Hens (UES)
- very pretty cakes, lots of icing (maybe too much?); but the cakes were much too dry and the icing very dense and too buttercreamy for my taste
- in particular, didn't care for the lemon cupcake - a bit too tart (not sweet enough to overcome the grimace) for me
- friendly staff

(6) Billy's (Chelsea)
- these cupcakes were very dry and had a rather odd taste that I don't know how to put into words
- I could eat another one if it was given to me, but wouldn't buy one
- the place is bright and seems pretty clean
- staff seemed helpful, but the line was too long; these are just cupcakes - you shouldn't have to wait 5 minutes on line to be served or to even be able to see what's in the display case!

(7) Cupcake Cafe (W 40th St/Port Authority area)
- the most beautiful cupcakes by far that I can ever remember seeing
- but WAAAY too dry - blech! this was such a disappointment (fortunately, I had been somewhat prepared by having read other FMUers' posts describing this)
- and this place is really dark and nasty; unfinished-looking floors, it just looks unclean; I even bumped into and knocked over a rod that was lying up against a wall just outside the door as I was walking in (is some kind of remodeling underway or something?)

(8) Babycakes (LES)
- ah, maybe not quite fair to include this one because I didn't actually taste any
- but I was not about to pay for a single cupcake what I had just paid for 2 very tasty cupcakes from Sugar Sweet Sunshine, which is a 2-minute walk a few blocks over
- I'd be willing to give them a few bonus points for serving gluten-free cupcakes along with their other cupcakes though, assuming that they are edible
- a very small, and not the cleanest looking place I'm afraid, although they do beat Cupcake Cafe in that regard

(9) Magnolia's
- ok, I admit I didn't include this one in this particular roundup; I tried their cupcakes years back and was underwhelmed (esp given the prices and the lines)

One of the reasons I generally ignore cupcakes in bake shops is that I just cannot bring myself to pay so much money (typically in the ballpark of $2-3) for a single tiny cupcake, when for the cost of two of them, I could make a couple dozen cupcakes myself
... or, better still, head over to La Bergamote (are they still open?), Payard's, or (sigh) Fauchon for some really good and pretty pastries ... there's no way I could just whip up a Fauchon cake slice in a couple of hours. Besides, some of the cupcakes served at the places listed above tasted suspiciously similar to cupcakes I have had that I knew were from cakemix packages from the local supermarket (some of which I made myself).

Fri. 8/28/09 2:46pm From: stingy pie

two little red hens gets it poppin. and you might wanna see what dean and deluca has goin on. magnolia is the one sex and the city fawns over. there's some glutenfree joint down in the les on broome or something. ask dave from night people where it is. yr girlfriends gonna be so gay in love with you.

Fri. 8/28/09 2:47pm From: yo man

what the fuck with your cupcake documentary and shit up there yo. make me wanna never eat a cupcake again. i'ma read it now though, so shut up.

Fri. 8/28/09 2:54pm From: stingy d

motherfather's got it twisted man. iit's about pie. black coffee and damn fine pie. diane, if you're ever in new york city, dismiss all cupcakes, and find yourself a nice slice of pie. sherriff truman will back me up on that one.

Fri. 8/28/09 2:55pm From: Ike

Hmmm. Chowhound copy-and-paste jamming.

Damn, those David Dunn and Rod Summers pieces were fine.

Fri. 8/28/09 2:56pm From: Chris

This Total has always done it for me.

Fri. 8/28/09 2:57pm From: stingy d

the description of those cupcakes is vaguely reminiscent of how i felt about all my friends' mothers growing up.

Fri. 8/28/09 2:57pm From: Cecile

I love me some pie. That's the truth.
Wilde Roast makes some of the best ones, and they put them out as little tarts so you. can. eat. a. whole. one. by. yourself! and not feel horrible.

Fri. 8/28/09 2:57pm From: bryce

joe mcgasko's rockwool blondies are to die for, imho. topped with his rich lime tadelakt, you'll swear you're in heaven.

http://bit.ly/yVGwv

Fri. 8/28/09 2:59pm From: bryce

ta. tatata.

Fri. 8/28/09 3:00pm From: stingy d

oh shit! it's 3! later bryce, a pleasure!!!!

Fri. 8/28/09 3:01pm From: Cecile

Eat pie or die!

Fri. 8/28/09 3:02pm From: Ike

Total = fan-frakking-tastic!

Echo! YES! MORE ECHO! WOOOOOO!

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