Robicelli's

Flavors: Friday, November 4th

Today I’m not going to hound you to preorder Thanksgiving cupcakes.  No, today I’m going to hound you about why you should sign up for Samplrs!

What is this “Samplrs”, you ask?  It’s actually an idea so smart, I’m really shocked that no one has thought of it before.  Like how when I saw the Snuggie I was all like “I have been complaining about the lack of armholes on my blanket for YEARS!”, or when I saw the Big Top Cupcake and I was like “DAMNIT! I just thought that big cupcakes were called ‘Cakes’, and I was apparently so wrong! We could be making a freaking FORTUNE! I AM SO STUPID!”.  It’s exactly like that.

You know all these great little food companies that keep popping up on the blogs or in the papers? All the small businesses starting out that don’t have the money or capital for mass distribution? It would be great if you could try them all, but with them all being in select stores, it’s nearly impossible to track them all down.

This is where Samplrs comes in.  Once a month for $30, they’ll bring a beautiful reusable tote bag full of assorted goodies TO YOUR HOUSE. Meaning not only do you not have to drag your ass all over town to try this stuff- now you don’t even have to wear pants!

You know those brownies we make that keep selling out faster than we can make them? Well those are going into this months tote bags. And because I asked nicely, they are extending this month’s sign-up deadline through the weekend just for you guys.  How sweet is that?

I don’t know what other surprises you’ll be finding in this month’s bag, but based on some of the people their owner told me he was speaking to, I’m almost positive it’ll be insanely delicious.  And let’s not forget the whole “not having to wear pants” thing. That really sort of sells me on just about anything.

Today, however, I think you should put on pants, and go out to try these yummy cupcakes, especially this insanely delicious new flavor that won’t make it back until January.  It’s also the last appearance of the Brown Sugar Pumpkin this year, so go git!

Clockwise from front: Brown Sugar Pumpkin, Chocolate Graham, Pecan French Toast, Abuelita

NEW! Chocolate Graham: Chocolate cake, graham cracker buttercream, chocolate fudge, graham cracker crumbs

Brown Sugar Pumpkin: Brown sugar cake, pumpkin chocolate buttercream, ganache

Pecan French Toast: Maple custard soaked cinnamon cake, maple cinnamon buttercream, maple glazed pecans

Abuelita: Chocolate cinnamon cake, cajeta buttercream, ground Abuelita chocolate

Available at:

Robicelli’s at DeKalb Market: Corner of Flatbush & Willoughby, Downtown Brooklyn

Cafe at Sam’s Bakery: 94th Street off Third Avenue, Bay Ridge

Aloha Grinds: 76th and Third Ave, Bay Ridge

Bagel Schmagel: 76th and Third Ave, Bay Ridge

Tazza: Clark Street off Henry AND Henry off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights

Blue Apron Foods: Union Street off 7th Avenue, Park Slope

Court Street Grocers: Court Street off Luquer, Carroll Gardens

NEW LOCATION! The West: 379 Union Avenue, Williamsburg

Eastern District: Manhattan Ave off Eagle Street, Greenpoint

Brooklyn Standard: Nassau & Jewel, Greenpoint

Cake Shop: Ludlow St btwn Standon & Rivington, LES

Sons of Essex: Essex St btwn Stanton & Rivington, LES

Joe Columbia University: West 120th btwn Broadway & Amsterdam, Morningside Heights

Brooklyneer: 220 West Houston, West Village

Queen City Cupcakes: 62 West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island 

Red Hook Lobster Pound: Van Brunt Street, Red Hook; Brooklyn Flea; Smorgasburg; Roving Food Truck (Whoopie Pies Only)

Flavors: Wednesday, November 2nd

Well, Halloween has come and gone.  But before I start bugging you all incessantly about placing your Thanksgiving orders as soon as possible, I need to be that parent who tells you about what happened to their kids on Halloween, because I’m still shaking my head over this one.  

After school let out, we went to the Halloween party at the Museum of Natural History- totally awesome, probably the best thing ever.  But this isn’t about that.  Nor is it about the part where Atticus decided to do some “fancy walking” on Central Park West and charged smack into Lewis Black, who was actually so cheerful I didn’t even recognize him til Matt pointed out that our son had come within 3” of headbutting him square in the crotch.

This is about how after the party was over and we had taken the long subway ride home, we went to the Starbucks around the corner from our place, aka my office/second home.  As I order my drink, our little boys give the baristas their best “Trick or Treat” and hold out their bags, and both receive THIS:

An unsharpened number two pencil!  Not a special Starbucks branded one, not a green one- AN UNSHARPENED STAPLES BRAND PENCIL FROM A SACK OF PENCILS. And because we’re regulars, MY kids get hooked up with TWO pencils a piece. That Starbucks Rewards Gold Card Status paid off yet again!

I made a crack about how we should have gotten there earlier before they had to resort to giving out office supplies, and that’s when the baristas told me that the decision to give out pencils was from corporate.

Listen, I can understand not wanting to give out candy. But pencils? I thought for a minute maybe it’s just a way to dissuade kids from ever trying to trick-or-treat at a Starbucks again, but everyone knows that if you want to do that, you hand out raisins.  As bizarre as it was, I was highly amused, and happy that it made the toothbrushes and pretzels they got look AMAZING in comparison.

Now here’s where it gets hilarious.

We go home, take off our costumes, and the kids go straight for their trick or treat bags.  Is the first thing they take out the Oreos, or the chocolate? No- it’s the freaking pencils.  Toby starts trying to draw a picture with his, but nothing- it’s unsharpened.  He turns to me and asks for help, but there’s nothing I can do as we don’t own a pencil sharpener. I mean really, it’s 2011- who has a pencil sharpener lying around besides my parents? 

So despite the fact that they went to a Halloween party, got to trick-or-treat in the dinosaur museum, got to see a show from the Big Apple Circus, got to ride the subway, got to almost hit Lewis Black in the nuts, got to share custard from Shake Shack, got a giant sack of candy AND had pretty much the best Halloween two kids could possibly have, my kids ended the night hysterically crying in disappointment because of those damn unsharpened pencils. 

Fortunately the next morning, they brought back the Gingerbread Latte so all is temporarily forgiven.  Besides, it was better than getting a rock.

Clockwise from front: Brown Sugar Pumpkin, Liddabit, Twicks, Pecan French Toast

Brown Sugar Pumpkin: Brown sugar cake, chocolate pumpkin buttercream, ganache

Liddabit: Chocolate cake, salted caramel nougat buttercream, roasted peanuts, ganache and caramel

Twicks: Vanilla cookie cake, salted caramel buttercream, chocolate fudge, cookie crumbs

Pecan French Toast: Maple custard soaked cinnamon cake, maple cinnamon buttercream, maple glazed pecans

Available at:

Robicelli’s at DeKalb Market: Corner of Flatbush Ave Extension & Willoughby, Downtown Brooklyn

Hom: 88th Street and Third Avenue, Bay Ridge

Cafe at Sam’s Bakery: 94th Street off Third Avenue, Bay Ridge

Blue Apron Foods: Union Street off 7th Avenue, Park Slope

Tazza: Clark Street off Henry AND Henry off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights

Radish: Bedford Avenue off North 8th, Williamsburg

Jem: Broadway off Franklin Street, TriBeCa

Battery Market: 77 Battery Place, Battery Park City

Joe at Columbia University: West 120th Street btwn Broadway and Amsterdam, Morningside Heights

Queen City Cupcakes: 62 Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island