GF/V Review: Arlington, Virginia actually has GF/V cupcakes!

I did a good deed the other week--not expecting cupcakes in return--but then, I got cupcakes in return! Not just any cupcakes, but two gluten-free, vegan cupcakes!

You may wonder why this is such a big deal. It's because I live in Arlington, Virginia, where the only vegan cupcakes are at the

Bakeshop, and they're not gluten-free.

Where did these little gems come from? Red Velvet Cupcakery, tucked away inside Rabbit Salad and Grill in Clarendon.

Karma bestowed upon me two flavors: vanilla on vanilla and chocolate on chocolate. For those of you who don't know me, I'm hands down a vanilla-on-vanilla sort of gal, so it's not surprising I licked the frosting off that sucker first (first I lick off the frosting, then I eat the cake...frosting is superior to cake). My ratings are below:

Vanilla frosting: A+ (simply spectacular)

Vanilla cake: B+/A- (it was perfectly delicious, but could have used a wee bit more sugar)

Chocolate frosting: A+ (I don't even like choco frosting that much, but this was the bomb)

Chocolate cake: C (ehhhhhh)

Now that I'll be getting my cupcake on on the regular, I took a gander at the Rabbit Salad and Grill menu. Although I have not inquired about the ingredients and can't say for certain it's GF, I am very intrigued by crusted-tofu-with-bell-peppers-and-zuchinni entree. I have a sneaking suspicion I will be testing it out soon.

By the way, the pictures for this post suck more than usual because my main concern was getting at the vanilla frosting, and not documenting the cupcake for my readers. Whoops.

Vegan Treats at Arlington, VA's Bakeshop

On Sunday, a Certain Someone and I hit up Vegan Day at Bakeshop in Arlington, VA--in celebration of Bakeshop's new vegan items. In short, I will def go back again when in VA (but if in DC, Sticky Fingers still takes the cake, no pun intended).

I ordered a rice crispy treat with dark chocolate and peanut butter. I would describe it as "good" but not "great." Why, you ask? Namely, I felt like I couldn't concentrate on anything because there were too many intense delicious flavors in my mouth. Looking back, I should have ordered the peanut butter cookie I sampled, with one end dipped in chocolate. That peanut butter cookie was legit. Bakeshop, if you're reading, I think you should sell a plain rice crispy (a vegan version of which is tricky to come by), and then keep up the PB choco cookies. But hey--that's just me.

Certain Someone, on the hand hand, did a way better job of ordering. To your right, there used to be a chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting. I didn't order a cupcake because I tend to dislike the chocolate cake in chocolate cupcakes (but not in chocolate fudge cake). However, this chocolate cupcake was bangin'! From me, this is a HUGE compliment because I refuse to eat choco c-cakes from both Sticky Fingers and Hello Cupcake. On the down side, Bakeshop is STINGY with the frosting, which is best described as a mere dollop.

Certain Someone also had the bright idea of ordering two cupcakes. The chocolate mint, pictured on the left, definitely packed more frosting than the beloved choco vanilla--not sure why. I didn't try it because I don't believe in mixing mint with chocolate, and to be honest, Certain Someone gave it a standard rating--nothing special. Maybe he'll pipe up if I'm not doing the mint choco justice.

Interestingly, Bakeshop sells Coca Cola from Mexico, which does not contain high-fructose corn syrup AND comes in a glass bottle.

To my Celiac friends, I did not notice any treat to be marked gluten-free. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask if there was an unmarked GF goodie.

All in all, it was a nice visit, and where the quantity of frosting fell short, the quaint ambiance picked up the slack. I might have to do a finals study sesh here come November.

1025 N. Fillmore Street, Suite G
Arlington, VA 22201
(571) 970-6460

Mon: closed
Tues thru Fri: 8am – 8pm
Sat: 10am – 8pm
Sun: 12pm – 6pm