Citizen Cupcake

NOT the place to get your cupcake fix. Those are one star, IF that. Cardboard tasting, and not worth wasting calories over.
But I like the vibe, the coffee, and the views overlooking… buildings. JK, You can see shoppers and peer between the buildings. Calls for an emo moment or two. Bring a book or new cd that you BOUGHT from VMS and chill here for a minute before getting your shop on again.
I would say they should change the name, but Citizen Cupcake just sounds gangster. And with the blood red walls and awesome décor, the name is fitting. Maybe they should have their cupcakes delivered from Kara’s :)

[pics added]
many things continue to amaze me.
like, even though you have a nice-​looking cupcake that tastes only aiiight, the experience is still not ruined because you had a cupcake. kinda like sex– bad sex, good sex– you still had sex.
this is how i felt about citizen cupcake. it in no way compares to citizen cake, but it did the trick. ice cold milk and a warm cupcake? yum. perfect for a small break from music shopping.

Oh, man. So sad. I was looking forward to sitting by the window with a cupcake and cappucino soon.
Sadness :(

This place was my favorite of the Elizabeth Faulkner collection. I loved the views and the hot chocolate.
The world is truly changing. When I moved to San Francisco, I could feel the city constantly evolving and this is just another example of it.
It was a four when it was around.

Ah-​ha! Citizen Cupcake has closed. For good reason too, because their cupcakes weren’t good and the service was rude. Not a store closing that I’ll be lamenting over…

This café inside the Virgin Megastore has CLOSED.
— A place to take a break after shopping
— Nice views of Market street
— Free WiFi

I’m expecting so much more from Liz Faulkner’s spin-​off. Like a cupcake. 1 cupcake. I walked in last Sunday and there weren’t any. I thought I was in the wrong place. No cupcakes. I’m sorry, I can’t wrap my mind around a place not carrying it’s namesake. It’s like a Disneyland with no Mickey Mouse.
I’m sorry, but it’s just unforgivable. You’re called Citizen CUPCAKE. Where’s my dam cupcake? I’m sorry. I must still be PMSing and therefore in dire need of sustenance. Even more reason for me to knock off another star. But no, I have faith. and a horrible sweet tooth.
Insult to injury, the girl behind the counter was busy on her cellphone. Is that even allowed? Is that basic customer service? I was hoping for a simple, «they’re in the back,» or a «we just ran out.» Nope.
They had other sweets, but I was really expecting to buy a dozen for my staff and surprise them. No dice. I’ll be back, but maybe later in the day when they might get their cupcakes delivered. The counter girl was still stuck her phone when I walked out so I have no idea how that operation happens.

I have to say, this was by far one of the least-​stressful things I have ever done for a birthday party.
It was my good friends birthday on Monday, and I didn’t want to get a cake… being ladies on a calorie crunch diet, I figured everyone would be on the same page.
So I called up Citizen Cupcake, was attended by a really nice sales person, and ordered a half dozen (for only $ 7.50!) cupcakes, one of every kind, and was told I could pick them up when I got off work.
I get there, no line, buy them in about two minutes and I’m out the door! Really? It’s that easy… daaaang.
THEY WERE A HIT! Such great flavors and the perfect amount. In all honestly, $ 7.50 is really cheap, and everyone raved about how delicious they were.
Gracias Citizen Cupcake… you saved the day… the cake… whatever, you rock.

DISCLAIMER: Before reading this review, keep in mind that I am definitively somewhat of a cupcake snob.
On to the review…
Since the whole Union Square area is a part of the city I have always had a soft spot for, trying Citizen Cupcake has been on the To-​Do list for quite a while. But for whatever reason, the place never seemed to be open whenever I found myself in Virgin. After numerous failed attempts, we finally stumbled upon it when it was actually open.
Not a tremendous variety of cupcakes. About 6 or 7 flavors when we stopped by. We were told by the staff that the Signature Chocolate Ganache was probably the best flavor. With that recommendation, the Signature cupcake is exactly what we tried. And from the first bite to the last, I was not impressed. The thing tasted exactly like a Hostess cupcake… In a blind taste test, I would not be able to distinguish the two for the life of me. Essentially the only difference is that the Citizen Cupcake version is about 5x the cost of the Hostess alternative.
Unless you’re in dire need of some sugar to prevent hypoglycemic shock when you’re music shopping… Skip the cupcakes here and go scoop yourself up a creampuff or something else from nearby Westfield for a proper sugar fix.

I always forget this place is here because I ain’t got no Geiger counter when it comes to cupcakes. I’ve never been a great fan of those little round chunks of frosted sugariness. But I promised a dessert for a friend who just treated me for dinner, and she’s such a girl so…
Now here’s the trick — you first have to make your way through the $ 10 discount rack on the first floor of the so-​called MegaStore. Oooh, the B-​52s have a new CD out… Then you go up the long escalator to the second floor where you go through the $ 10 discount table of DVDs. Oh gosh, maybe I do need to get «Mariah — Live at Whatever»…Then you go up the skinny escalator to the third floor where you make your way through the $ 10 discount ables of classical CDs. Somehow I always get stuck in the showtunes and world music areas.
Forty-​five minutes later. OK, we finally make it to the dark enclave in the back where Citizen Cupcake resides. It’s about 7:30pm, and there are exactly two Retro Tropical Petit Gateaux left in the glass case. On top of the counter are some day-​old cupcakes and a dry-​looking s’more. There aren’t that many people, so I assume they just stock the place once a day and just let it deplete whenever.
We shared the $ 2.75 Retro Tropical, which was good, and the $ 2.50 S’more, which was not. It was hard and chewy like it had been sitting on the counter all day. Oh yeah. Now I do love the goodies to be found at its main baking operation on Grove and Gough, but you might as well get a Ho-​Ho and a Ding-​Dong at Rite-​Aid for the freshness you get here. Hey, but I did get the B-​52s CD… guess Virgin’s treacherous navigational scheme worked.
SWEETS — 3 stars… things get awfully stale when evening rolls around even if they come from Citizen Cake
AMBIANCE — 3.5 stars… don’t dawdle through the store and you may get a nice view of 4^th Street if it isn’t too busy
SERVICE — 4 stars… a very nice server
TOTAL — 3 stars… trust me, better to take the 21-​Hayes to the real bakery

I was shopping here one day and noticed they had the citizen cupcake café on the very top so scenario went as follow.
Me: OOo OOo honey want cupcake!
Hubby: NO, you already had your dessert for the day.
Me: What did you say to me!!! I SAID I WANT that cupcake and I want it NOW!
hubby: OK fine you can have the DAMN cupcake but I’m not getting anything!
Me: I knew you’d see things my way.*snickering*
Hubby: For some reason my wallet just keeps getting lighter every time we go back to the city *gives a dirty look my way*
So hubby gives in, reluctantly takes me upstairs and look at the selection. I think I went with chocolate and then talks the hubby into trying something too (even though he swore he wouldn’t be tempted.) Hehe. *yummy good* that’s all I can say but I do agree that it’s a bit much to pay for a cupcake.
And the cupcake and I lived happily ever after (inside of my belly of course) =)

I really not a big fan of their cupcakes, nor their coffee come to think of it, but we do bring in sandwiches whenever we shoot Pixel Perfect and I must say that this is something they do right. While all of them are good, we usually get a selection for the crew, I must vote for either the grilled ham and cheese or just the grilled cheese. Both are glorious and very tasty, you just can’t go wrong with either of them.
So go for the view, the friendly staff and the grilled cheese. Makes for a nice change from the usual lunch fare, but more like a once a month thing.

Sooo many cute cupcakes on display!
They also serve savories — sandwiches which they offer grilled, soup, salads, and cheese ~ mmmm… I love cheese!
I had the ham & guyere sandwich grilled. It was delicious — grilled perfectly. I asked for catsup (I’m an addict), but since they didn’t have this available, the friendly staff offered mustard. I really enjoyed their Stone Ground mustard. It added a nice layer of extra flavor.
Finished up lunch with a chocolate cupcake & coffee (free refills!).
They also have free wi-​fi here, and big windows that you can see the hustle & bustle below, while nestled atop the 3^rd floor on a mini-​break from the world.

3 stars for the gingerbread cookies, nice view, friendly staff, easy access to mags and int’l music at Virgin, and a darn good cup o’ latte…
but not the cupcakes. Heck no, not these cupcakes! If you want moist and not overly sucrosed frosting, check out Kara’s.

Yuck. The only reason this place gets two stars is because of the ambiance. It’s got a great view. Otherwise, I thought it was pretty bad. Here’s why:
–the cupcakes. We ordered a vanilla cupcake. The cake was really dry, and the frosting was WAY too sweet. For that crappy cupcake, three bucks? No thanks. I’d rather go to Kara’s.
–the drinks. My boyfriend’s latte showed up in a soup bowl. Um, what? How the hell is anyone supposed to drink that?!
–I feel like I should have a third, but I can’t think of one.

Atmosphere was cute, view was nice, staff knew their cupcakes.
Lem-​ania: lemon buttermilk cake, Key Lime curd injection, lemon zest frosting finished with vanilla bean meringue sticks. So insanely good I ran out of words for it, seriously. The meringue sticks melted in my mouth immediately. The cake was moist and lemony, the lime injection extremely tart; the frosting was tart too, but sweet in comparison. Take a bite with cake+injection+frosting and WOWWW.
Joe Cool Chocolate Mint: mint frosting with a chocolate cream injection. Sounds good, but was a letdown, and I thought the chocolate cream tasted funny. The mint frosting was light and creamy.
Vanilla with white chocolate sticks was nice, a good basic vanilla with actual vanilla specks in the frosting. Cake was a bit dry and not overly sweet.

I was out shopping and needed a cupcake fix. Normally, i’d head to Citizen Cake out on Grove St. but seeing as I was nowhere near it… Well, I decided to give Citizen Cupcake a try. First of all, it’s located all the way on top of the Virgin Megastore. It felt like an eternity before I got there. The staff was nice, helpful enough. The view was nice, although the setting isn’t too comfortable. I swear they make their chairs or whatever uncomfortable so you’ll eat your damn cupcake and leave.
Being that it’s the little sister store of Citizen Cake, it didn’t have quite the selection as the restaurant does so that was a bit disappointing. When I got there they only had about 3 types of cupcakes left. So, I had to go for the Moka Choka and the Vanilla Bean one.
I probably won’t go here too often, only if i’m downtown and need a cupcake fix. But seeing as how Bloomingdale’s just opened and the food court there is impressive… I don’t know.

This is a review of their signature cupcake, cause I felt stupid walking out empty handed after all the hype I’ve read.
I moved to SF to take a dotcom (2.0) job and become wealthy. Screw that, I think I’ll open a pickle shop instead. I’ll charge $ 5 a pickle for the same pickles you can buy at Safeway for $ 1.99 a jar, but gullible SFers and tourists will lick them up and gush about how delicious they are.
What’s a pickle got to do with my cupcake? Well…
If I blindfolded you and gave you two cupcakes, one the CK Signature ($ 3.50) and the other a Hostess Cupcake ($.99 at most), I’d bet money you would say the Hostess tasted better, richer, more chocolatey. Get real people, no cupcake is worth $ 3.50, especially if it doesn’t deliver.
Maybe they taste better earlier in the day, but I doubt it.
Now, about that pickle store…

I will most likely be echoing the same sentiments of Unilocalers — when I say that $ 3.50 for one cupcake is damn pricey for a little ball of flour and sugar — but then again… I had yet to eat a Citizen Cupcake. One bite of the coconut crème cupcake, propelled that little cake to the top of the Jessica dessert spectrum, a couple of steps down from mango and sticky rice.
One huge bite (about ¾ of the whole cupcake) was enough to make me sigh at the richness of the crème, the perfect frosting, and the light cake base. I stuffed that cupcake in my mouth, before I even had the chance to cross the street. Yes, I still cringed when I looked at my reciept, but these cupcakes would have dominated at school bake sales. They would have easily put those Betty Crocker amateurs to shame. Kids would have been pushing to the front of messy frosting covered lines for these crackcakes. Of course… I hear that Miriam W and Monica L — know a thing or two about cupcakes so… I can’t say that my coconut cupcake was the best cupcake I’ve ever tasted. But I’m always up for a cupcake taste test…

Updated 11÷23÷07:
no longer a shelf of unusual candies, now there is a graffiti artwork there on that wall.
Café Latte $ 3 a huge bowl is still the bomb!
Restrooms no longer available for the public – asses!
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I went here 3÷31÷06 Cesar Chavez Day to get some goodies. It’s a nice place to get out of the rain and on a good day place to relax and see the sights below.
My favorites: lemon ginger cookie. It’s really good. Candy I got: Il Cioccolato BruCo Fondente-​Arancio Cannella-​from Italy: $ 5.95! Another candy bar I got: Il Cioccolato di Bruco Fondente-​Rum Vaniglia $ 5.95-Italy. It’s small like the size of my fist. I liked them both, let them melt in your mouth, just delicious. My favorite was the orange flavored one!
Another favorite is getting the Café Latte. It comes in a good size bowl. Some tourists asked me what I got and told them. I’ve done it before so I know how to order now!
Stay away from the cupcakes. I keep getting one and always disappointed, I can’t even finish it –it’s always bad. Trust me! Yes, service is kinda slow but what can you do.
Credit cards accepted and you’ll need it!