Lauren Drewes Daniels
Audio By Carbonatix
The Bishop Arts District is a lovely place to spend a day. A mix of great bars, restaurants and shops tucked below tree-lined streets offers up a lot of something for everyone.
Recently, a bright new storefront popped smack-dab in the middle of it all. Pinkitzel is hard to miss; pink extravagance pours out the front door. I kept seeing the word “tinsel” in there, thinking of the bright silver tree decor and – yes, it’s like tinsel on Bishop Avenue.
“Pinkitzel” is a marriage of words: kitzel means “tickled” in Yiddish (so, see … tickled pink). Jonathan and Christa Jantz are the duo behind this sweet shop. Two other stores are in Oklahoma City and McKinney.
Lauren Drewes Daniels
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Icing on the Cake
The store’s vibe is one of playful, over-the-top elegance, mostly evident in the form of cupcakes and sweets. It’s Marie Attoniette blowing bubble gum. It’s vomiting pink after one too many cupcakes and red drink.
On a recent visit, while gawking at the goods (everything is visually stunning), I asked an employee where all the goods were made and got a very effusive, “Oh, we make them all,” without a chance to ask, “but where?” Which is fine. We’re not here for ceremonial-grade icing or farm-fresh sponge cake. This is let-’em-eat-cake decadence.
In addition to the cupcake counter, there are rows of bulk candy with saltwater taffy, chocolates and bars. Bright lollipops, rock candy and bubble gum, along with pop art tchotchkes that might be for sale or might be the decor.
Cupcakes are available in seasonally themed options, such as Chocolate Candy Cane Lane, for $5.50 each.
But What’s it Taste Like?
These make for great “eye candy” that will make little kids (and adults with a hardcore sweet tooth) squeal in delight. If you brought one of these cupcakes home for your boo, you’d get gold stars. Food like this makes one feel loved. How do they taste? We hate to use this word, but the taste is generally fine. It’s three to four bites of sponge cake and a lot of icing and toppings. The Chocolate Candy Cane Lane did the job.
Lauren Drewes Daniels
An almond cupcake with a raspberry filling, however, was quite bad. We’re going to chalk it up to a recipe going off the rails somehow (“Did I add extract already? Nah, I don’t think so … more won’t hurt”). The almond flavor was metallic and overwhelming: lick-your-sleeve-to-get-the-medicine-taste-off-your-tongue level. Did we finish it anyway? Actually, no, we didn’t. Would we go back and buy more? Yep! For the kids, surely. We would just stay away from any of the almond numbers.
The accoutrements adorning the top of the intricately decorated cupcakes are all edible with a neutral taste.
We reached out to Pinkitzel about recipes and a possible commissary, but did not hear back.
Pinkitzel adds to a day out at the Bishop Arts, not as your next great culinary adventure, but as a fun spot to pick up gifts and to get a sugar rush.
Pinkitzel 417 N. Bishop Ave. Sunday – Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday – Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
