... but I kept looking, and found some!

This is Cupcake Week in Palo Alto -- I have declared it so, and why not, seeing as my birthday is approaching? Sprinkles may be famous and all that, but my new favorite place for a personal-sized cake is Kara's Cupcakes, which opened last week in Palo Alto's Town and Country Village shopping center.

I wasn't sure I was going to like Kara's cakes, based on my first bite. My two boys go for plain vanilla, and neither of them finished their "sweet vanilla" cupcakes, to my surprise. E said they were too sweet, and I had to agree when I sampled (OK, finished) the leftovers. The frosting was pure sugar, held together by a little butter and a solid layer of vanilla sprinkles. The cake had a genuine, home-made flavor.

The "grown-up" cupcakes were a real treat. The filling of the passionfruit cupcake was wonderfully fruity and tart, and this frosting was just sweet enough.

The "fleur de sel" cupcake was intense. Dark chocolate cake was topped with bittersweet chocolate ganache and a sprinkle of coarse salt. Inside there's a dollop of caramel. I would have liked more filling in this one; the caramel was a little lost within all of that chocolatey goodness.

Next time, I'll try chocolate velvet (chocolate cake with bittersweet chocolate buttercream) or java (chocolate cake with espresso buttercream).

Baker Kara's bio on her Web site gave me a chuckle. Her father, a dentist, disapproved of sugary treats. "Thankfully... she no longer needs to hide sweets."

A good cupcake is hard to find...

When I learned that a Sprinkles cupcake bakery had opened in Palo Alto, I was suddenly in need of a sugar fix.

Me and a lot of other people.

My sweet tooth was sated, but I'm still in search of the ideal cupcake.

I tried two flavors, red velvet and mocha. The red velvet had lovely brownish red cake, not food-coloring red. But can a cupcake be too moist? When I peeled off the paper liner, the cake nearly collapsed under the weight of the frosting.

The cream-cheese frosting was achingly sweet. A flat candy decoration on top -- the trademark "modern dot," color-coded for each cupcake flavor -- was stylish, but so hard that I wondered belatedly if it wasn't meant to be eaten.

The mocha cupcake was more satisfying, with delicious frosting. There's no substitute for real butter in cake frosting, and this one had it in spades, with just the right amount of coffee flavor to match the deep chocolate cake.

(Sorry I don't have pictures of the cupcakes. I love my iPhone, but it takes inexplicably bad pictures. No one else I know has this problem.)

Next time I'd try the black and white cupcake, or chai latte (which apparently only makes an appearance on Fridays), or maybe ginger lemon.

I've gone by the store twice, and each time there were lines out the door, perhaps 30 people long. I'm going to have to study that flavor schedule to plan my next visit.

Seen in the city

If you have a motorcycle, do you even need espresso?
MotoJava, 9th Street @ Bryant, San Francisco





















Stick to reusable shopping bags, or become a fashion victim like this poor soul. (It's a little more effective when you see it in motion, but there is a pair of legs underneath the bags.)
University Avenue, Palo Alto, Ca.

















Happy hour with a view.
Locals (those of a certain age, at least) call this the "jukebox Marriott," which is just what it looks like from the street.
The View, 39th floor, San Francisco Marriott, 55 Fourth Street





















It's just another Westfield Shoppingtowne, but I like the curvy escalators.
Westfield San Francisco Centre, 865 Market Street