Sprinkles
Pumpkin Cupcake
Strawberry Cupcake
S’mores Cupcake
Black and White Cupcake
Fudge Brownie
Caramel Apple Cupcake Sundae – Apple Pie Ice Cream, Salted Butterscotch, Whipped Cream, Graham Cracker Crumbles
Malted Milk Chocolate Ice Cream, Coffee Fudge Almond Ice Cream, Banana Ice Cream, Salty Caramel Ice Cream, Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream, Apple Pie Ice Cream
Having once waited nearly an hour for cupcakes when Sprinkles’ only outlet was a small shop in Beverly Hills, it was just after 11am that convenient valet parking was used to make a quick stop at the friendly Linq location, smiles on servers’ faces ever-present with more than a dozen flavors of cake and ice cream from which to choose.
Missing its chance to trademark “The Happiest Place on Earth,” a sentiment seemingly shared by girls behind the counter and two youngsters with whom I waited in a line of just one before us, it was after a short bit of deliberation that a sizable order was crafted, the boxed and bagged sweets taken home for later indulgence while a delicious Apple Pie Sundae was upgraded to a cupcake sandwiched special, the first bites a tad too sweet with frosting while further mixing uncovered a beautiful sort of balance, the spicecake and graham cracker crumbles melding nicely with whipped cream and butterscotch amidst some of the creamiest fruit-focused ice cream around.
Waiting until around 3pm for the rest, four cupcakes along with a brownie and six pints of ice cream given to me as a gift obviously far too much for one man to enjoy, it was with alternating bites that various items were sampled and with the oddly artificial tasting banana ice cream lone exception to items crafted from superior ingredients the results of everything else were decidedly quite excellent, the bruleed marshmallow fluff of a S’mores cupcake mellowing the bittersweet chocolate center atop a crunchy graham cracker base while Black & White riffed successfully on the deli cookie classic, the best bites of ice cream a tough decision between milk chocolate punched up with malt balls and aforementioned apple pie.
FOUR AND A HALF STARS: Rare to support an outsider over locals, and equally skeptical of high prices based on branding and swanky design, it remains difficult to find fault in a company that has continued to improve its standards despite mass expansion, a rare case where a once trendy choice has aged well with the times.
RECOMMENDED: Apple Pie Ice Cream, Malted Milk Chocolate Ice Cream, S’mores Cupcake, Black & White Cupcake.
AVOID: Banana Ice Cream tasted “enchanced” and almost artificial, likely the result of too much added sweetness to that already present in overripe fruit.
TIP: Selections vary by day, week, and month with a somewhat cumbersome menu listed both onsite and online, those interested in specifics are encouraged to investigate in advance.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor
http://www.sprinkles.com/
