Magnolia Bakery

 Located at Bleecker St., Bloomingdale's, Columbus Ave., Grand Central Station, and Rockefeller Center, Magnolia Bakery is a widely-known, extremely popular bakery. While Magnolia's cupcakes are no doubt delicious, I must say they are a little overrated. I believe the popularity of the bakery has taken away from its original goal to create delectable sweets. Very often the bakery is filled to its brim with customers (many of whom are tourists) looking to buy overpriced baked goods. That's right--one cupcake for $3. If this were the best cupcake in the world, I would possibly be willing to pay that much, but for the high price, Magnolia's cupcakes are a little disappointing. The cake itself is always a little dry and its cake to icing ratio is very inconsistent. I have had cupcakes there with the perfect cake to icing ratio, but I have also had cupcakes there with WAY too much icing for its cake. The icing is very sweet, but the cake is not, so it is balanced out pretty nicely. The Bakery itself is very welcoming and cute. There are usually a few tables to sit at, if not more, and the decor is old-fashioned and inviting. While the atmosphere of the bakery is just right, I just don't think its cupcakes are up to par. Don't get me wrong though--Magnolia makes very good (and beautiful) cupcakes, but let's just say I wouldn't sell them for $3 each.