Business Review: Galaxy Cupcakes

Our family moved to Georgetown around the same time Galaxy Cupcakes made its transition from their old location to their new location.  I remember waiting in anticipation to try their cupcakes.  I love the idea of a cupcakery.  I don't mind paying for one cupcake and not have the daunting task of eating the rest of the dozen. Recently, they have made the transition to a full bakery and are now called Galaxy Bakery and CoffeeHouse.

Today, on a whim, we decided to visit the bakery and try their other confections that were not part of the menu when we first became patrons.  We purchased cupcakes in Red Velvet, Cookies & Cream, and Peanut Butter.  They added mini cheesecakes to their lineup, so I picked a Chocolate Cheesecake mini and Casey tried their cannoli.

THE VERDICT:  RED VELVET CUPCAKE

The cupcake was moist and not overly large.  I don't understand the mentality of the "jumbo" cupcake.  I appreciate that they are normal sized cupcakes.  The icing was your basic cream cheese.  No complaints here.  When it comes to comparing cupcakes, I am not an expert.  I can tell you that it wasn't horrible.  I have had better cream cheese icing.  They have a very sweet cream cheese icing.  I could do with more cream cheese flavor and less in-your-face sugar.  Overall, I love their cupcakes.

THE VERDICT: COOKIES & CREAM CUPCAKE

  

My son had the Cookies & Cream cupcake.  He said, "I definitely did taste the cookies and cream and the cookie on top is a cute addition.  My first thought was 'OMG! There's ice cream on this cupcake!'  But when I took a bite into it, there was this awesome flavor.  The cake part was pretty good.  I give it four out of five stars.  It was a little dry.  The icing was amazing."

THE VERDICT:  MINI CHOCOLATE AND PEANUT BUTTER CUPCAKE

My son also had the mini peanut butter cupcake.  He states, "I'd have to say I barely tasted the peanut butter.  The candy on top was a very cute addition.  The cupcake was very moist.  I give it a 5 out of 5 stars."

THE VERDICT:  CANNOLI

Casey had the cannoli.  He states, "It was a perfect mini cannoli."  Wish I could elaborate more, but he honestly said it was really good and tasted like a cannoli.

THE VERDICT:  CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE MINI

I wish I could rave about this sweet little morsel.  First, there was a lack of a graham cracker bottom.  It had melted into the cheesecake.  That kind of disappointed me.  It did have a nice hint of cinnamon, though.  Secondly, there was kind of a lack of that cheesecake bite.  I've eaten some fine cheesecakes in my time, but this wasn't my "style".  I prefer the more adult cheesecake.  The kind of cheesecake that isn't so sweet.  This reminded me more of a no-bake cheesecake.  It was kind of airy and I'll be honest.  It is good in a pinch, but probably something I will not be purchasing further.  The little chocolate ornamentation was pretty cute.  I won't say they're bad.  I ate the whole thing and got my cheesecake fix.  What I am saying is I am pretty positive they use a no-bake recipe because of the lack of carmelization on the top.  The tops of all their cheesecakes were blemish free.  No browning.  There is NOTHING wrong with that.  I just tend to notice that no-bake type recipes use quite a bit more sugar than the baked counterpart.

Overall, we love our local bakery and would recommend it to any of our friends.  They have outstanding cupcakes and are always friendly.  I wasn't really impressed with the cheesecake, but that doesn't really mean you won't like it.  Cheesecakes are made in many different ways.  This just wasn't what I prefer.  Casey really enjoyed the mini cannoli.  It took a small bite and it was good.  If anything, we recommend their cupcakes.  You will not be disappointed.

Restaurant Review - Yaghi's Pizza in Georgetown, Texas

On a whim, we decided to try out Yaghi's Pizza in Georgetown.  On our first visit, we ordered their Pizza Rolls.  They were really, really good.  The crust was crispy, yet chewy, with awesome filling.  Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture.  On our second visit, we ordered a regular pepperoni pizza.

Casey and I both think that either their oven wasn't quite up to temperature (we got their right after they opened) OR they slightly under cook their pizzas.  It was really good, but very floppy on the bottom.  When we reheated the pizza, we put the slices on a pizza stone and baked them until bubbly.  It was a whole other ballgame!  The crust was crispy on the bottom, not over cooked on the top, and still had some chew to it.  I won't bore you with the prices.  They're on the Internet.  I think they're reasonably priced.

How do they compare to Home Slice Pizza in Austin?

Put simply, they don't.  While we will continue to visit Yaghi's and partake in their pizzas, we will still choose Home Slice over Yaghi's.  They are a similar type pizza, but we had to go that extra step of heating up the house to get what Home Slice gives us the first time around.  The good thing about Yaghi's is they have good coupons and dine-in/carryout specials.  I do prefer Yaghi's over the chain pizzerias.  I am so over Domino's and Pizza Hut.  I prefer this type of pizza over what they offer.

Restaurant Review: Yogurtland vs.Yogo Bowl

I had initially heard about Yogurtland in my weekly Sanrio e-mail newsletter.  I blew the e-mail off because it said it was yogurt chain in California and Mexico.  I remember scoffing and saying, "Why does California get all the cool stuff?"

Of course I was raging with jealousy.  A yogurt place AND partnered with Sanrio to produce cute Hello Kitty bowls and free spoons?!

Last Friday, while at work, something stirred within my soul.  It whispered to me, "La Shell...go to the Yogurtland website and revel in its glory..."

So I did...and found out they had a location in AUSTIN!  I immediately sent Casey a text message demanding that he take me out to Yogurtland.  Of course, Casey loves me and knows my love of Hello Kitty knows no bounds.  Immediately, he responded, "Okay."

When we drove up, I was filled with excitement.  All the patrons were eating of out SANRIO bowls!  HOT DOG!  And, they had a flavor near and dear to my heart.  Say it with me...RED VELVET CUPCAKE BATTER.  According to the sign, RVCB is a favorite of My Melody.  And I was okay with that.  Casey had RVCB with their Dragon Passion.  Both were equally as tasty.  We loaded up our yogurt with our favorite toppings.  For me, I had brownie bites and chocolate cookie dough.  Casey had piled what seemed like every topping they had.  He goes crazy.  I keep it simple.

The verdict:  My favorite yogurt place.  Hands down.  Not because of the melding of Yogurtland and Sanrio.  Oh no.  Their toppings were properly thawed and not rock hard.  Their yogurt was to die for.  It was creamy and full of flavor.  The 35 calories per ounce was nice, too.

The comparison: We have a frozen yogurt place in town called the Yogobowl.  It's the only place without going into Round Rock.  They don't give sample cups AND they never change their flavors, which sucks.  Their yogurt is also more icy than Yogurtland.  I noticed that it won't dispense into a swirl without breaking.  I am not sure what this means, but I know that Yogurtland's yogurt was creamy, the way it should be.  Not to mention, Yogurtland came out to half the price!  Casey and I spent $11 for two bowls that were only about half full.  At Yogurtland, we filled up and managed to only spend $6.  There is no comparison.  When we go to "the towns", we're going to Yogurtland.  I don't really care for the other place that is just around the corner, but it will do in a pinch.


**I was not compensated or solicited to write this review.  All products are purchased by me.  All opinions contained and expressed in this review are my own.**