Chicago: Magnolia Bakery

Happy bitter day!  Yeah, I'm one of those single girls who celebrate VDay by congregating with other single girlfriends to commiserate over the lack of quality men in the world, all the while stuffing our faces.  No shame in that.  

Here's a sweet post to counteract all the bitterness dripping from that little intro.  Magnolia Bakery opened in Chicago late last year:

It's a welcome addition to State St, which is otherwise pretty barren when it comes to food.  I had Magnolia cupcakes once in New York.  My friend brought it for us while we waited in line to get into the Colbert Report taping.  I remember being really appreciative, but was ultimately too excited about Colbert to filter in anything else.

It took me a while to actually step foot into the Chicago store:

My first Chicago Magnolia experience was thanks to CK, who brought back some goodies after a day downtown.  She got two cupcakes, the pistachio and the hummingbird:

Both were scrumptious, but the hummingbird with its cream cheese frosting and its pineapple, banana, and pecan cake really stood out for me.

CK also brought back a red velvet cheesecake, not shown here because the box completely mangled the frosting and it wasn't worth a photo.  We actually ate it in the dark while watching a movie, so we didn't realize how incredibly dark red it was until after we turned the lights back on.  Scary red color aside, the cheesecake was super dense and super decadent, everything a cheesecake should be.  The chocolate cookie crust was no joke either.

When I told Queen G about my little foray into the world of Magnolia, I was scoffed at for not getting the banana pudding.  So the next time CK and I were downtown together, we dropped by Magnolia Bakery and did it right:

@#$8&*$!!!  How is it so damn good?!  I don't even like bananas all that much.  Holy moly.  Give me another cup of that stuff!

We also gave the key lime cheesecake a whirl:

Perhaps not as tart as we were hoping it would be, but still pretty freakin' delicious.

All in all, I'm a fan.  The prices are a little over the top ($6 for a tiny cheesecake!), but you can't deny how good everything is.  The banana pudding alone would bring me back again and again.

Definitely can't visit once a week, but I'm thinking...once every two?


Magnolia Bakery
108 N State St
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 346-7777
http://www.magnoliabakery.com/