Wonderland Bakery
PB&J Bar Sample
Turtle Brownie – Fudgy Brownie, Caramel, Pecan
Southern Princess Cupcake – Red Velvet Cake, Cream Cheese Buttercream
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie
Sassy Snickerdoodle
Imported by Southern California and newly opened at Downtown Summerlin it was a mid-morning snack that led to a stop at Wonderland Bakery and with the sort of saccharine service meant to appeal to children and their soccer moms paired to overpriced low-quality sweets one only ‘wonders’ how long Wonderland will last.
Cutesy in décor with a selection of fused-glass plates, cupcake purses, and princess-themed items clearly targeting an audience around six-years old it was to a tic-tac sized taste of overly sweet Peanut Butter and Jelly that I was greeted near the door and thankful that the bite would prevent me from investing $4.50 in that item it was with wide eyes that the rest of the items were perused – the prices harkening Bouchon, Jean-Phillipe, or Payard with presentations closer to that of Von’s or Albertson’s…certainly not Whole Foods, while one must also wonder if the ingredients are even held to the same standards.
Figuring it was best to taste before judging it was to “Ohmygod, everything is so yummy” recommendations that questions about specific items were met and eventually giving up in trying to cull the options it was in old-standbys that a tasting was invested – a dense hockey puck feigning as a Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie tasted shortly after leaving the store while the rest was held over for a few hours later.
Finding the $3.75 Snickerdoodle slightly more palatable than the aforementioned disc, though far harder than usual despite ample butter beneath a lot of sugar and less cinnamon than one would hope, it was onward to a small cupcake that the tasting progressed and ringing in at the same price as each cookie for a rather small sample the cake was virtually flavorless beneath smooth and sweet frosting, another disappointment since the retailer purported that the Red Velvet was just being made when I arrived, forcing me to stand around waiting as a tiny train circled the ceiling while giving me time to take a look at the small Sprinkle Bar party room at the store’s back.
Finishing the quartet with a $4.50 Brownie that was undoubtedly the best bite of the bunch, as rich dark chocolate proved more than capable of standing up to substantial caramel drizzle, it was just moments prior to halftime of the Patriots vs. Ravens playoff game that nearly half of the rest found its way to the trash and out nearly $16 for what would amount perhaps a dozen bites of food were one actually inclined to eat it all suffice it to say there are better ways to invest both cash and calories whether you are six, sixteen, or sixty.
ONE AND A HALF STARS: High prices and low quality have never really made good business partners and no matter how sweet Wonderland Bakery tries to be everything from the cheap clamshell packages to the generic purple bags to lack of branding on the products in-store indicates that this is a place looking only to make a quick buck – something they may do once, but certainly not repeatedly. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice…
RECOMMENDED: Skipping this place, or, if you must – order a brownie.
AVOID: Cookies, Cupcakes, asking questions that the staff will simply smile mindlessly through.
TIP: Located next to the soon-to-open Gelato Messina and across from Its Sugar those with children are advised to avoid this stretch of Downtown Summerlin unless they plan to argue with or ignore the “I want, I want” outburst likely to follow.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor
http://wonderlandbakery.com