Crumbs 10 Year Anniversary

Close your eyes for a minute.
Think back to New York City at the beginning of the millennium.
What do you remember?
I recall Y2K, running around a party holding 4 flashlights and a package of beef jerky (the power didn't go out, and the Slim Jim was eaten long before midnight).
I remember when there was no B train to bring you to South Brooklyn but the Q and Q diamond, because the MTA seemed to temporarily run out of letters of the alphabet and moved along to differentiation by shapes.
I remember friends letting each other know their whereabouts via AOL instant messenger away messages.
What I don't remember, is cupcakes.
And since I've been a chocoholic since birth, you can bet I'd remember having cupcakes that didn't come from a Duncan Hines box.
But the reason I don't remember (and I'm sure you don't either), is because they didn't exist!
There were a couple out there - Magnolia (overrated) was around in the mid-90s, but cupcakes just weren't a thing...until there was Crumbs.

Working at an ad agency right out of college, I clearly remember Crumbs.  It was the next big thing back in 2004.  Reps would bring them in for meetings, and the second they were placed on the snack table the hoards of starving media planners would pounce from the woodworks to get a glimpse of these amazing giant calorie-ridden baked miracles of god.  Having never been a fan of any sort of chain establishment (Chipotle is exempt from this statement), it's rare to hear me say that I so much as like a chain, let alone call it my favorite.  But Crumbs has done a phenomenal job of making cupcakes a necessity - a sugar, sprinkle-covered treat that comes in every imaginable flavor, size and seasonal theme.

Crumbs originated in 2003 on the Upper West Side (originally a little mom & pop bakery managed by Mia and Jason Bauer).  They gradually opened up additional locations and spread like wildfire - today there are a total of 62 stores throughout the state of New York, as well as Chicago, DC, Boston, Viriginia and LA.

One of the things I love about Crumbs is their ability to change with the times.  When their abundance of locations forced them to post calories, and the world was able to see that there were over 1,000 calories in some varieties, they worked around it by creating additional sizes (most cupcakes are now available in a "Classic" (regular), "Signature" (original, large, double-the normal size of  a cupcake size), and mini "Taste".  If you're bringing cupcakes for a group you can get a 12 pack of an assortment of the "tastes".  If you're going to a birthday party you can get a giant Colossal cupcake and 6-8 people can share.

They have holiday themes (Red Velvet Hearts, Hugs and Kisses) for Valentine's Day.  They just had football cupcakes for the superbowl; some that had green frosting and footballs on top and others that had chocolate covered potato chips and pretzels.  They have every flavor imaginable, from your basics like vanilla frosting with sprinkles, to red velvet, to peanut butter cup and cookie dough.  Every location carries different flavors as well; and some are named based upon their location (there's a Bryant Park cupcake at the 42nd street location only for example).  I like to stop in sometimes just to see what new flavors there are.

As I mentioned they change with the times - well, they know there's a lot of competition out there.  With Baked by Melissa's mini bite-size cupcakes, Magnolia's boring but somehow widely loved Carrie Bradshaw cupcakes, and places like Butter Lane, Billy's, and Sugar Sweet Sunshine - Crumbs has to keep up to maintain their popularity.  While at Roosevelt Field mall last week, I was amazed to walk into a Crumbs to find a make-your-own cupcake station!  Those Crumbs folks know that us New Yorkers are all about customization, so they're now allowing you to design your own cupcake, selecting your base flavor, filling, frosting flavor and toppings.

That was what caught my attention while passing by.  But once we entered, we were amazed at all the other new novelties I hadn't seen at my usual Crumbs near Grand Central.  They had cake pushpops.  Candy bars in Crumbs flavors (Cookies and Cream, Red Velvet, etc).  They carry their usual brownies and cookies, but there was also chocolate cookie pizza!  With a cookie crust for dough, chocolate layer for sauce, MMs, marshmallow, Reese's PB cups for topping and caramel sprinkled across for cheese - it's almost as good as getting a slice at Spumoni Gardens!!  It was of course amazing, and Caryn and I splitting it still were only able to finish half.  I'm sure I don't have to tell you where your nearest Crumbs is (you should really know that!) but if you don't: http://www.crumbs.com/locations
Comment below to let me know your favorite flavor of Crumbs!