Corner Cakes
Sprinkled Cronut $5
Red Velvet Cupcake $4.50
Almond Croissant $5
Carrot Cake $6.75
Located in the MGM near the main elevators off the lobby and receiving mixed reviews from persons I trust I decided to take it upon myself to decide whether Corner Cakes was simply another overpriced casino money grab or, perhaps, a hidden gem like the Donut Counter at America Restaurant in NY-NY…the results leaning so far to the former that I literally left $12+ of baked ‘goods’ in a trashcan not-far from the small, smoky lounge where I sat to indulge. Noting first that each of the pastries are indeed attractively presented while the staff is smiley, pleasant, and efficient even given the area’s immense foot traffic it is here that the positives of Corner Cakes end – the old adage about putting ‘lipstick on a pig’ rarely as true as a $5 dense, cakey, and flaccid almond croissant to start the tasting off poorly and things only to get worse as I progressed to a ‘cronut’ so oily that it literally could have been wrung out with the excess oil used to fry up another, better version anywhere else in town. Assuming that perhaps laminated and/or French pastry simply isn’t where Corner Cakes shines it was next with half-hearted enthusiasm that I proceeded onward to a duo of actual ‘cakes’ and while the individual carrot cake was actually quite decent, a dense crumb with plenty of spice to balance sweet buttercream, the red velvet cupcake managed the seemingly impossible feat of being nearly inedible, the cake itself tasteless around a nearly solid chocolate core while the chalky, chilly frosting seemed to be channeling sour cream moreso than cream cheese – the questionable freshness and half-frozen presentation making me wonder whether the cupcake was even baked on premises…and if so, when?
