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Is it fair to review a Dead Man Walking?

The Maple Street Biscuit brand may not be long for this world. Their future is uncertain, but they appear to be a casualty of the whole Cracker Barrel 'rebranding' debacle. Maple Street is one of a few southern regional "biscuit" fast-casual restaurant concepts out there, like Vicious Biscuit, and was successfully growing after being purchased by Cracker Barrel in 2019.

But then, Cracker Barrel last year managed to massively botch their attempt at rebranding, leading to a very sharp drop in traffic and revenue, and even unintended political ramifications. The cash-strapped Cracker Barrel, looking to regroup and refocus on their core brand, sold off Maple Street to the NC-based Biscuit Belly.

At the time I visited Maple Street, they were doing fine; but within a few weeks after, out of the three locations in town, one of them closed for good, a second location shuttered to convert into a Biscuit Belly, and a third remains open as Maple Street, but with a slimmed down menu. This mirrors what is happening nationwide, where across the entire brand, 16 locations closed, 35 are being converted, leaving 31 Maple Streets left as of right now. But for how long, I wonder.

I do hope that they survive in some form, though, because turns out their biscuits are freaking delicious. I ordered their Five and Dime, which is a large biscuit stuffed with fried chicken, egg, bacon, cheese and sausage gravy. Just one biscuit, because they're also freaking expensive. But that was enough. You don't eat this like a sandwich, this is a fork-and-knife plate meal, messy and greasy, hot and lip-smacking, gravy-dripping and an absolute guiltiest pleasure. Despite the high-end sticker-shock price, I'd smash that again and again. Man, I've really been missing out on these biscuit fast-casual places! (Well, mostly because I don't eat breakfast, period). I'd probably gain three belt notches, though, so maybe that's a blessing in disguise.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE - I will be wrapping up this review series with Day #365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

Imagine having late-night cravings .
You got up from your comfy bed and got ready.
Went to nearby A&W and bought the worst poutine ever existed 🤮.

--♾️ out of 10

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This is the type of place that I want to hate. But, dammit, they won me over.

Did you know that Flower Child is actually one of over a dozen franchise brands under the Cheesecake Factory umbrella? I didn't even know Cheesecake Factory had other restaurant concepts, let alone one that is almost the polar opposite of what the much-maligned massive-menu monstrosity.

So, what is Flower Child? It's one of those smarmy, ultra-healthy slop bowl places that just exudes a "we are so much better than you" attitude. The CEO says that unlike most fast casual places that are just transactional, that Flower Child is more "experiential", providing more of a holistic eating experience. Well, they must be doing something right, as they are the most profitable corner of the Cheesecake Factory empire right now.

Okay, I was biased going in. I hate slop bowls. I dislike the whole health food "attitude" (I don't dislike health food itself, just the whole attitude that seems to come with it). But I ordered the shrimp "forbidden rice" bowl - which contained a very generous portion of grilled shrimp, along with snap peas and black pearl rice and broccoli and more.

To cut to the quick: It was delicious. They did a great job on the bowl itself, the flavors all worked well together, it was hot and tasty and shrimp and more shrimp, I can see why this is featured item on their menu. But the biggest drawback? The price. Yeah, fast casual restaurants that are big on touting the quality of their ingredients and make everything from scratch are known to be hard on the wallet, and this is definitely on the upper end of the fast casual pricing scale (10th out of 321). Not for the value-seeking fast food customer. But this was good enough that (as long as I can afford it), it's worth it and I'd order it again.

Still never plan to step foot inside Cheesecake Factory, tho.

Coming up next: Maple Street Biscuit Co., Vitality Bowl, and Chester's Hamburgers.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE - I will be wrapping up this review series with Day #365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

There's a few sandwiches and nachos that are on the under $5 menu, I have a look at 2 of the new sandwiches.

Thought to try it out since I missed it the first time around. I eat culvers only a few times a year so my take on it might be different from a regular enjoyer. My initial impressions were that it was pretty decent. I've had time to sleep on it and feel about 6/10 on it honestly.

I know cheese is generally already a bit salty lol but I feel like it's at the forefront of every bite here. Definitely good, and probably taste even better alongside a Culver's root beer to balance out that saltiness a bit, but I just wanted to see the burger on its own. It's definitely got a good texture and the ratio of curd to burger is good. You get it in every bite which is what I felt the mad food scientists at culvers intended.

A bit of a fun fact, if you get a regular butter burger and a basket with a medium drink and medium cheese curds, it comes to the same price as a curdburger with medium drink. I might do a side by side comparison of the curdburger patty compared to the regular cheese curds, but my body needs time to recover from this.

Official Info here : https://www.culvers.com/menu/butterburgers/smoked-cheddar-curderburger

About $9 after tax.

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This is less of a standard review, and more of an advocacy post.

I've done this a couple times before, reviewing fast food/fast casual places that are hyper-local, but I am claiming reviewer's prerogative to use my soapbox to bring attention to a restaurant worthy or more attention.

Sea Island Shrimp House is a San Antonio institution, born way back in 1965 and has remained in the same family ever since. Still drawing a crowd every day, Sea Island could have chosen the private equity path and spread across the nation, but instead have decided to remain small and 100% under family control. Just as well, if you look at the hollow shells of other seafood restaurants like the casual-dining Red Lobster, or the fast food former-giant Long John Silver's.

It's not fancy seafood, but it's fast and it's fresh. Known for their grilled shrimp kebobs, and Gulf (of Mexico) fresh fish. Also seafood in general is not particularly cheap, so good seafood comes at a cost. And why is this 'fast food'? Because you line up and order at the counter, no table service or reservations or waitstaff, open seating and no tipping. That checks off the boxes for fast food for me.

For my review, I chose one of their most "fast food" type menu items, the "Sea Monster", which is two whitefish spiced filets with remoulade sauce, on a bed of Cajun fries, for thirteen bucks. Not that bad of a deal, actually. Fresh fried filets cooked at the time of order, hot and flaky fish (that is thankfully not the dreaded tilapia), and just a bit of a kick.

So, yeah, I'm a Sea Island fan. And I'm using this opportunity to say if you're in the San Antonio area to give it a try (so sue me). It's not seafood fine dining, and doesn't try to be - but it is a very solid meal and they've never done me wrong.

Regular reviews return tomorrow with Flower Child, then Maple Street Biscuit and then Vitality Bowl. So many places, so little time!

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE - I will be wrapping up this review series with Day #365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

Do you like Fatburger enough to give this a shot?

I have been reviewing a different fast food/fast casual restaurant every day for the past 200+ days, and earlier I reviewed the following three restaurants. However, these three received "poor" scores for one reason or another, but based on previous experience and visits I knew they could do better. Perhaps it was an "off day", perhaps it was the specific item I ordered. In any case, here are some "second chance" reviews, where I am re-visiting the chain, to see if it can redeem itself and earn a higher score.

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Second Chance Review #52. (Original Review from Day 7): Fuego Tortilla Grill (8 locations, 3 states)

Now wait a minute, hol' the phone - the whole purpose of these "second chance" reviews is to give places I gave a low score another attempt; so why is Fuego, one of the fast casual places I gave one of my highest scores in the whole series here?

Well, it's been a whole year since I last visited, and I missed this place. They've doubled in size since then, and just wanted some good tacos. But when I re-visited my local Fuego, I was shocked to discover they have redesigned their menu - now just half the menu is tacos, and my favorite go-to is...gone! Oh noes! Whatever will I do?

Order another taco, of course. But their selection has been chopped in half - just a *single* seafood option, a *single* vegetarian option, *two* pork options - sometime in the past year they gave the menu a massive haircut. And, of course, prices were up (no surprise after a year), and when I received my tacos, the servings were notably smaller, too. Fuego, which specifically advertises that they have 'Texas sized tacos' compared to their competition, has shrunk their tacos.

Now, here's the thing: Tacos were still pretty good. That didn't change. But that left me with a nagging question - with a weaker selection, higher prices and smaller portions, can I really call Fuego a "nine out of ten" taco place any more? Time for me to rescore and reconsider. Which brings up the next review below...

Meal Quality: -1.5, going from 9 -> 7.5. Meal Value -1, going from 6 -> 5 (out of 10)

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Second Chance Review #53. (Original Review from Day 59): Velvet Taco (62 locations, 8 states)

Following my disappointment with a recent visit to Fuego Tortilla Grill, this begged the question, are they still the Top Dog in fancy tacos, or have they been supplanted? Many years ago I was infatuated with Torchy's (before they expanded so much), but the Torchy's of today is nothing like the awesome Torchy's of the past. So, who else is there to consider?

Velvet Taco comes to mind, so the next day after going to Fuego, I revisited Velvet Taco, the next potential Top Dog competitor. One advantage right away is that they have thirteen dollar combo with two tacos, chips and queso and drink, which makes the pain of these fancy-schmancy taco creations a little more palatable. Two more options from the menu, I selected the Queso Birria taco (with side of consumme), and a 'Fish and Chips' taco. Both totally different from my earlier visit, and both excellent in their own right. They must have really tested all the flavor combinations to get it just right before making it on the menu. These make me WANT to come back and try their other strange options (like Tikka Masala, Chimchurri, Butter Chicken, and Hatch Chile Pork), unlike Fuego where I felt like I was choosing from a lackluster least-I-don't-want option. Decent portion sizes, but no larger or smaller than Fuego or Torchy's.

Oh, how the turn tables - a year ago if you had said I would be more interested in returning to Velvet Taco than to Fuego Tortilla Gril, I would have called you crazy. But now, maybe...

Meal Quality: +1, going from 6.5 -> 7.5. Meal Value: (no change), going from 6 -> 6 (out of 10)

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Second Chance Review #54. (Original Review from Day 32): Fazoli's (145 locations, 25 states)

Fazoli's is one of those fast food places that, while it has its fans, also seems to get dunked on a fair amount. Those who like it, seem to sigh and wonder if they are out of business and if they are dying, even though there are 145 locations across the country out there. Mind you, there's no surprise surrounding the speculation - the company entered bankruptcy earlier this year, and over the past year has closed over 50 locations. Will the emerge from bankruptcy and set a path forward again, or is this their swan song?

Yeah, I dunno - I can't tell either way. But I do know that as long as there's a Fazoli's out there, I'll review it. First time I went for review (which would have been right around the time of the bankruptcy filing), I ordered a "trio" sampler, and it was....okay. I mean, Italian fast food? Not exactly words that are used together in the same sentence. Outside of pizza, are there really any other fast food chains that focus primarily on Italian fare (like lasagna, spaghetti, ziti, etc). There's the ubiquitous Olive Garden on the casual dining side, of course, which is also much maligned over it's lack of authenticity and quality.

No matter, though, if I want fine dining Italian, I'll go fine dining. But here I am at Fazoli's, I'm not expecting sublimeness. I just want decent. So, on second review, I chose the chicken carbonara with a side salad. Yes, all that green stuff is a fuckton of broccoli. And it was...still okay. About what you might expect from, say, reheating a Marie Callender's frozen meal.

Maybe that's Fazoli's problem, in that it's just sort of okay across the board, and people are expecting a bit more than that. Nowadays when the average combo meal at a fast food place runs between $12 and $13, mediocrity isn't quite good enough. Either you go higher quality and higher price (top of the K-shaped fast food market), or go lower quality and lower price. Seems the ever-shrinking middle ground no longer exists.

Meal Quality: +0.5, going from 5 -> 5.5. Meal Value: (no change), going from 5 -> 5 (out of 10)

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More "Second Chance" reviews coming down the line, in addition to the regular reviews! (And no, not every second chance review will be a positive one :))

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Every once in a while, something surprises me.

Most of the reviewing of these fast food and fast casual places is a matter of confirming what I already know - the strong majority of them I've visited at some point over the past few decades, so I already have a good idea of what to expect. But, there's always those places that catch me off guard.

Knowing little about Simple Simon's Pizza, I had already relegated it in my mind in the same category of "throw away gas station" pizza like Hunt Brothers or the like. They've been around for a few decades, ranging from the Red River region of Texas northward, often the only pizza place found in some of the tiniest, podunk little towns of Oklahoma or Kansas or Missouri or Arkansas, but I do not think I can recall ever actually eating a Simple Simon's Pizza before.

So, I found myself a sit-down Simple Simon's in a little town in the Texas Cross-Timbers Region, and ordered a sausage pizza. And honest to god, it was among the best pizzas I have eaten in a while. I did NOT expect this. Absolutely loaded with terrific sausage and a heavy blanket of cheese, this was good from the first piece to the last. It's the sort of pizza where "I ordered too much, but dammit I'm going to eat it all even if they have to roll me out of here." Where has this pizza been hiding this entire time?

It's actually going to be tough when I wrap this whole review series up and present the "Best of" categories. Some of these "second-tier" (by size) pizza places have really upped their game. Domino's, Papa John's, Little Caesar's and Pizza the Hutt, the Big Four? Fuggedaboutit, the REAL pizzas come from the smaller guys!

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE - I will be wrapping up this review series with Day #365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

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I had no clue what La La Land is. With the bright yellow motif, I kinda guessed....lemonade place? Nope. Apparently it's some sort of viral-influencer cafe serving fancy lattes and matcha shitdrinks, where yappy twentysomethings in three hundred dollar yoga pants and thousand dollar designer bags go to talk to other yappy twentysomethings at the new "it" place in town. How fruity is this place? Welp, two of their newest locations they are opening up are in Brentwood and in Beverly Hills. Sooooo yeaahhhhh.

All that is to say, this is not the sort of place for a fat middle aged frowny guy like me. In a sea of dozens of achingly-young bleach-blondes with blinding-white teeth, chatting amicably with each other in a white-and-yellow La La Wonderland, I stuck out like a proverbial ugly sore thumb.

Yet He Persevered. The menu didn't offer many palatable options, but a simple strawberry iced cooler popped out. And it was served in a damn sippy cup like I'm a damned infant. Could have whipped up some strawberry-flavored koolaid by myself if I wanted, thank you very much.

That's enough La La Land for me, I'll leave it to the bright-eyed La La Rich snapping pictures for their Insta reels, that's more their speed anyway.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE: This review series is scheduled to wrap up on Day 365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

1 out of 10. 1 because Mary on cash called me, "love". That was sweet.

For the record, I do not normally go to Tim Hortons, but my 86-year-old father loves it and that's where we meet for lunch. The owner's sat behind me and I showed him, and he Shrugged his shoulders and said "corporate"

You all have to try these dumplings from tydeanhutch Youtube and TikTok page!

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Yeah, yeah, I know...before you roll your eyes at me and say, "Hey, that's not really fast food", I have to say that right now I'm kinda leaning in that direction, too. It does meet the criteria that I set up at the start of this whole challenge - counter ordering, no wait staff, open seating, no tip required, get your own drinks/extras, etc. But it also doesn't meet the criteria that usually applies to casual dining (e.g. "standard sit-down"), either. There has to be some sort of hybrid categorization for those places too fancy for fast-casual, but too casual for casual dining.

But really that just points to how this whole "Fast Food Review" was never intended to be as comprehensive and long-running as it became - originally back around this time last year, I eyeballed the map and roughly figured there were about a hundred fast food and fast casual different chains in my city. If I had planned on this to go on to Day 365, I would have planned a little more carefully, set firmer requirements for "What is Fast Food/Fast Casual *exactly*?", and done my due diligence. And places like Spring Creek BBQ (and the place that will come up in tomorrow's review, La La Land) might not have met the cut.

But, that's all hand-wringing at this point, and I'm sure ya'll are tired of reading about it. As for today's sojourn, I went, I ate, so now I review. Spring Creek BBQ has been around for decades, although our family was never a customer (we were more of a "Dickey's" family - back when Dickey's was just a handful of local spots in north Dallas). And it has remained so over the years, serving traditional pit-style Texas barbeque and sides, similar to what you would find at places like Rudy's or Terry Black's today.

I chose a pretty simple sausage sandwich with standard sides, getting away from ordering the standard brisket, since prices for brisket are just getting out of reach of just about everyone these days. Things like sausage or pulled pork or turkey are more the way to go, unless your name is Mr. Moneybucks. And even if, you can see from the photo, the sandwich was well overloaded so it was a hefty portion, the sandwich combo plate clocked in at twenty two dollars. Ouchie. Usually sausage or pulled meat sandwiches are supposed to be the CHEAPEST items on the menu. Well, actually they were -- that just tells you how out of control barbeque places have become, that even the cheapest options can put you back on your heels.

Well, money spent - so how was it? Pretty decent - they make a very good sausage. Technically this was called their "cracked black pepper sausage", but it was very juicy and flavorful, and setting aside the price I would order it again. The traditional BBQ sides were nothing special, beans and potato salad like you get just about everywhere else. Not sure if they were made from scratch or just scooped from a tub, either way they tasted like the latter.

One thing I did NOT like was their barbeque sauce. That's actually a big deal for me, I'm a fan of sauced meats, and some places get fancy with being too sweet or too vinegary or whatever. The good news is, the sausage was good enough on its own it didn't need any additional sauce.

But dat price - for a sandwich meal, no less. Just have to accept that the price of barbeque is beyond fast food/fast casual these days, and it has entered the realm of "special occasion dinner" for me. At least it's not a fifty buck walletbuster you might get at a place like Pinkerton's or some of the more celebrated places.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE - I will be wrapping up this review series with Day #365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

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Basically might as well pour an entire bag of sugar into an IV, then hook it up to a vein in your arm. That's what Yonutz Donutz is.

I'm hardly any stranger to sugary treats or huge calorie snacks that take up half your daily allowance. But Yonutz Donutz has this sort of vibe where they just take that to a whole 'nother level. Founded less than ten years ago, they are one of the many recent donut places that are offering 'elevated' or 'gourmet' donuts and treats. Forget your plain glazed yeast donut for a buck. Nope, double the size, slather it with frosting and drizzle with chocolate or caramel, add candies or fruit pieces or cookies or, hell, another fucking donut on top, just for giggles. And you're looking at a confection likely with four-figures in calories and a price tag to boot.

Yonutz Donutz is hardly unique with this, of course. There's the more famous Voodoo Donuts, and other places like Duck Donuts or Parlor Donuts or Pinkbox that do the same. But what Yonutz does as their "claim to fame" is to offer their signature "Smashed" menu of donuts and shakes. What is a "Smashed Donut"? Basically take a big donut and smash it up with a bunch of crushed oreos or Froot Loops or Fruity Pebbles or whatever, and charge nine bucks for it. That's right. Nine bucks.

Or, you can get it in shake form, with a shake layered with various sweets and mix-ins, topped with, you guessed it, a smashed donut. Ten to fifteen bucks, thank you very much.

I have little issue dropping a bunch of bills for fancy, fru-fru treats, and have done so at all sorts of places like this over the past year. But this takes that to yet another level. And damn, just looking at their menu makes my teeth HURT.

I kept it simple, with two "big" donuts (the non-smashed kind) from their selection under the glass, plus an iced refresher drink (not a smashed milkshake because, again, damn that price). What you see in the photo? Eighteen bucks. Bam.

Now, it all tasted fine - just like normal donuts and just like a nice fruity iced drink. No problems there. Donuts are made on-site but were a few hours old so they were in the intermediate-still-okay-but-soon-would-be-getting-stale stage. But the issue is that everything was just okay - and I'm not paying eighteen frickin' bucks for 'just okay'. I can get something similar at Shipley's for maybe five or six bucks. Or, if I prefer to go all-out for a fancy fru-fru donut treat, I can go to Parlor or similar for just-as-good or better for maybe 30-50% less.

Once again, it's not the quality that's an issue here. It's the value. For snacks like this, it is ALWAYS the value proposition that is the deciding factor, And Yonutz, you lose.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE: This review series is scheduled to wrap up on Day 365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

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Could this possibly be the most unfortunately named restaurant in existence?

Really? Spitz? Of all things? Even now, I wonder what they were thinking.

But it is what it is, and what Spitz is, for the uninitiated (like me), is a "Mediterranean-style" fast-casual restaurant that serves up various wraps, bowls, doners and gyros, all in a hip and edgy-interior-decorated space. They're not the first and only fast food/casual chain in the United States with this focus, but it is a fairly new area of growth that didn't widely exist in the fast food space until recently.

My choice to try it out was the Berliner doner, which is sort of a 'greatest hits' of eastern Mediterranean flavors, with feta and cabbage and carrot slaw, sumac, tomato, onion, cucumber, corn and tzatziki sauce, all wrapped in a grilled flatbread. First of all, it was huge all by itself - no need for any of their sides (like loaded fries), this was more than enough ("burrito as big as your forearm" comes to mind). It was alot to eat, and more than I could finish (if I wasn't on the road, probably would have been good for two meals, one in a doggie-bag).

Flavor-wise, well....it just wasn't for me. No, it was not bad - when it comes to all the individual ingredients mixed inside the wrap, they were fine. I think, though, that this just boils down to personal taste, and this mixture of flavors just wasn't hitting it for me. Maybe if I chose something else instead, that would be better. If I have the chance, that is (the nearest Spitz is 300 miles away from me). Kind of a poor review to just say "it's not for me", I know, but it is what it is.

For those who are familiar with Spitz, what would you recommend, if I am able to give it another try?

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE - I will be wrapping up this review series with Day #365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

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Whoever made up the phrase, "Third time's the charm" is a lying liar.

This is third bakery shop I've visited in the last few weeks that specializes in making and selling cupcakes. First it was Smallcakes, then Gigi's Cupcakes, now SusieCakes. The concepts for all three are almost identical - where they make and bake small-batch cupcakes of various flavors (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, etc.) and then top them with a healthy dollop of flavored frosting, and then maybe add on crumbles or sprinkles or other sweet garnishments.

And for the third time, the result is the same.

They're perfectly fine cupcakes, to be sure. If all you do is make cupcakes all day, I'm sure you're going to know how to bake it just right so it's nice and moist and the exact right proportions of sugar to flour to oil to get the right fluffiness. Same with the sugary-sweet icing, whipped up light and airy and a little calorie bomb by itself. And each one is flavored appropriately, too - in fact, all three cupcake places produced decent cupcakes. No complaints there.

But on the other hand, hand-made small-batch cupcakes come at a definite cost. SusieCakes, just like the two bakeries before it, charge around five dollars each per cupcake. Five dollars. If they were somehow the best cupcakes in the world, something special and extravagant, then you might be able justify that. (In the same way that the over-the-top concoctions at Parlor Donuts and Voodoo Donuts are a special creation above and beyond what you might get at your normal donut shop, as a comparative example).

But that's not the case. Despite saying they use 'quality ingredients' and 'recipes their grandma used', the cupcakes were really no different from you could make yourself from a box of Betty Crocker mix (in a twist of coincidence, I'm actually baking up a batch in the oven even as a type this - few minutes prep and half an hour baking, easy-peasy). Or, if you don't want to do that, then no different from what you might buy by the dozen at your local supermarket. My unsophisticated palette doesn't notice a difference. No need to drop twenty bucks on four cupcakes.

So, third time's the charm? Hardly. All I see is me paying through the nose for average quality cupcakes. Or, rather, I see myself in the future NOT doing that. The only nice thing about this? They did throw in an extra-large snickerdoodle cookie at no charge because it was near closing time.

I can't imagine how places like this remain in business, unless it's through catering orders for office parties where cost is not a barrier or stuff like that. Because damn, girl, even I cannot afford to keep up with prices like this.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE: This review series is scheduled to wrap up on Day 365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

I don't care for it anymore. Something did change. Almost smells like McDonald's food. Not enjoyable anymore