Showboy Bakeshop
Chocolate Chip Cookie
Pumpkin Cookie
Peanut Butter Cookie
Red Velvet and Buttercream Showich
Red Carpet Cupcake – Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Frosting
Wonderland Cupcake – Carrot Cake with Orange Blossom Cream Cheese
The Showboy Cupcake – Marble Cake with Nutella Mousse
The Show Off Cupcake – Salted Caramel Buttercream on Devil’s Food Cake filled with Dulce de Leche
Long on my Henderson ‘to do’ list with interest stoked by recent praise from a friend who used the bakery to craft a special event cake, it was just after 3:00pm on Saturday afternoon that a stop was made at Showboy Bakeshop, the small stripmall space all decked out in spooky skeletons, spiders, and pirates for the upcoming Halloween holiday with a bright eyed middle-age clerk happy to chat and recommendations not for lack.
Voted “Best of Las Vegas” by The Review-Journal and featuring the baked goods of former Strip performer Stephen Lowry while partner Jared Sullivan puts his management studies from UNLV to good use in running the shop, those visiting Showboy for the first time are likely to be impressed by the attention to detail in everything from presentation to decoration, over a dozen varieties of cupcakes routinely offered while fancy custom cakes build the fortress atop a semicircular counter behind glass.
Certainly a ‘locals only’ sort of place, the Anthem Village Drive address several miles from any sort of tourist destination worth mention, it was after some discussion with staff about recommendations as well as personal preferences that eight items were selected, the $18.25 total not exactly a deal considering the fact that most of the items, at least by modern standards, trend petite.
Taking the boxed and bagged goods elsewhere for enjoyment, the small table at Showboy pretty enough though awkward in full view of the room, it was with a quartet of cookies that tasting soon commenced and although the cream-filled Red Velvet sandwich was soft and pleasant with the white chocolate chips adding nuance, the rest of the $1.25-each trio unfortunately offered little in terms of moistness, the peanut butter particularly inedible without a beverage though the pumpkin did at least offer a nice bit of spice.
Expecting a bit more from cupcakes, the store proudly displaying Food Network credentials on a poster near the door, it was admittedly a difficult process narrowing ‘wants’ to just four selections and balancing personal tastes with supposed ‘best sellers’ both the Red Velvet and Dark Chocolate “Show Off” featured a moist base beneath smooth frosting, the same not to be said of the eponymous Marble Cake that was again far to dry while “Wonderland” made me wonder why anyone would ruin such a good carrot cake with notes of Sunny-D.
TWO AND A HALF STARS: Unquestionably living up to its name, the showmanship evident in everything from the store’s layout to exquisite cake designs, Lowry’s self-training is unfortunately evident in hit-and-miss execution with the desert dryness doing several items no favors and unnecessary flights of whimsy occasionally getting in the way.
RECOMMENDED: The Show Off, Red Carpet, Red Velvet Showich.
AVOID: The Showboy, Peanut Butter Cookie, Wonderland (unless you really love artificial citrus.)
TIP: Open daily at 10am, Showboy Bakeshop also offers several baking essentials, cake stands, and gifts as well as branded goods.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor
www.showboybakeshop.com/
