On the cutting edge....?

If there is a hip new thing in the world, something very cutting edge, be it in food, or pop culture, fashion or music, at the very forefront of it -- you won't find me. Or even second in line. Or even in the middle somewhere. More likely than not, I'm in the back of the phenomenon saying "what....!?! what are you talking about?"

Want examples? I just joined Facebook. I'm very proud of the fact that I did not need a "young person" to show me how. Even more impressive than that -- I now have 10 friends. TEN! Okay, some are relatives, but you know what I mean.

Another example? I thought the idea of a reality TV show where people are thrown into the most primitive of conditions and vote each other out of the tribe each week the stupidest idea I ever heard. Ditto American Idol. Alas, I won't grow up to be a network executive.

Food example? Krispy Kreme Donuts. Don't get me wrong, they are a darn fine donut. But.....they're a donut, not the cure for cancer. Why people used to drive from LA to Las Vegas for one is beyond me.

So while in LA this week I decided finally check out the phenomenon that was Sprinkles. Note the "was." I think the cupcake craze has come and gone. Also gone are the 45 minute lines out in front of the Beverly Hills store. Good thing too as I didn't have much change for the meter and was on a schedule to meet my cousin for lunch. (I sensed the tide had turned on cupcakes when parking was a snap).

The staff was super nice, and I decided I'd only try two (at $3.25 a cupcake, who can afford a dozen or so??). I picked the Chocolate Coconut and the Peanut Butter Chocolate. They were nicely packed and I was good and didn't dig into them until I was safely back in San Diego.

They were tasty and pretty, and the presentation was very nice. The coconut topping was good, but the chocolate cupcake was a little bland. Not so the peanut butter cupcake -- both cake and topping were delicious.

According to their website Sprinkles has 6 stores currently open with more stores opening in other parts of the country (including one here in San Diego). I feel kind of bad for them -- I just can't imagine in this economy people plunking down hard earned money on cupcakes. But as I've shown above, I've been wrong before. It will be interesting to see what happens to them once they get out of California and into Kansas City.

So......have you had these cupcakes? What did you think?