Sara Sara Cupcakes

Despite being absolutely stuffed from the Iguana Grill, our lunch party took a (super-short) walk next door to Sara Sara Cupcakes. LaShauna had told me about this place a lonnnng time ago, and it was definitely on our trip roster. Keep in mind that I had to fly out of OKC early the next morning to get back to work, so we were on a tight timeframe. I wish I'd had more time so I hadn't been so stuffed, and so I could have visited with so many other people in OK!

Sara Sara is in an old house, painted bright white inside with matching furniture and decor. Bright, funky, fun. If only it weren't for the developing storm in the background, I might have relaxed a little bit more. As we ordered cupcakes, which I could barely imagine eating at the moment, thunder was rumbling in the distance and growing ever closer. I noticed, and I wasn't super thrilled!

We looked at the tall display case of sweet offerings, and as I was still stuffed to the gills with chimichanga, I let ABF do the picking. He chose the Crimson & Cream (a sort of red velvet, I believe) and the Vanilla cupcake with Vanilla icing. He also got a glass of ice cold milk--we were surprised to see regular milk, chocolate and strawberry available (don't tell Jamie Oliver!)

As we made our way back to the table, I saw 'looks' on LaShauna & Gene's faces as they watched me take a seat. I stopped in my tracks and said "What?" That's when I heard the sirens. Awesome (as in NOT awesome). I stepped outside and saw a sight I haven't seen in a good 10 years or so--grey-black skies, the wind whipping up the undersides of leaves on the trees, and the unsettling wail of tornado sirens( Click the video below for an earful of what we heard that day).

Yeah. This is one of the things I will never miss about living in Oklahoma. I do believe it was ABF's first experience, and God bless him, he was enjoying it. He thought it was cool (I did NOT!) and even called his parents from the porch of Sara Sara, telling them to turn on the Weather Channel. I was thinking "oh Geez, they're going to wonder where in the heck I brought their son," but apparently they all got a kick out of it! Fortunately my mother didn't realize how close I was to the storm's center, and I wasn't about to tell her. Until now, of course. (Hi, Mom! Everything turned out fine, even if it sounded awful for wayyyy too long!) More storm sounds in the footage below--just click play!

We waited through the booming thunder, the insane lighting, and even the sudden hailstorm. I must admit it was very hard to think about cupcakes at this point. I was thinking along the lines of 'Listen for the freight train sound and find a place to go!' Happily, it never came to that. Tornadoes touched down in areas around us and unfortunately, caused awful damage, but we were safe.

On to less life-threatening matters: the cupcakes.... If you're not a huge frosting fan, this is the perfect cupcake for you! It has just enough icing for most people, I think (I am a frosting fiend and love the frosting at NYC's Magnolia, Buttercup BakeShop, and above all, Little Cupcake Bakeshop!) The crimson & cream was good; I enjoyed the moist cupcake part, but not the odd icing, which was more of a slick sour cream frosting than the tangy sour cream buttercream I'm used to with a typical red velvet. I'm weird, though, so keep that in mind.

The vanilla/vanilla combo was a win/win, however. The cake part was light, strong but not overpowering vanilla flavor, and the icing was yummy. The texture was interesting--it had a grainy sort of texture to it, as if maybe the sugar crystals weren't completely whipped into the frosting. I liked it a lot.

These cupcakes tasted fresh, weren't too sweet, no overkill on the icing, and the store is just charming. The cupcakes are $3.25 each, which is actually more than most cupcakes here in NYC, but if you're in the area, I think they're worth a trip. I do prefer the cupcakes I've had at my favorite local shops, but these are still good! I'll have to swing back one of these days and try another one when I'm a little less distracted by the impending fury of Nature! Thanks again to LaShauna for putting Sara Sara on my radar!