34 JUNE 23 – JUNE 29, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP
Little Cupcake reinvents classic
Strawberry Shortcake ice cream bar
Photo courtesy of Little Cupcake Bakeshop
The Good Humor-inspired strawberry shortcake cake at Little Cupcake Bakeshop.
Artists wanted for Fifth Avenue’s
upcoming Weekeend Walks
BY HELEN KLEIN
HKLEIN@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
With the first of this summer’s
Weekend Walks
right around the corner,
the Fifth Avenue Business Improvement
District is inviting artists to
join the ranks of participants in the
popular street event.
At the BID’s annual meeting,
held at the Bay Ridge Manor, 476
76th Street, Taste of Fifth Avenue
Weekend Walk organizer Chip Cafiero
made a special pitch for visual
artists and craftspeople in a variety
of media — from painting to photography,
pottery to sculpture, and
pretty much everything in between
— to bring their works to the outdoor
event taking place on the evening of
Friday, June 23.
“Artists from the community who
would like to display and sell their
own artwork” are welcome, said
Cafiero, noting that — while no
sales can take place on the public
sidewalk during the Weekend Walk
(unlike the Fifth Avenue Festival),
arrangements have been made for
transactions to take place inside
specific locations along the avenue.
“There are tons of artists and a lot
of craftspeople in the neighborhood,”
Cafiero stressed. “I think art is very
important. We see what the Sidewalk
Art Walk (SAW) brought to the avenue,
and we’re hoping they can get
involved.” In SAW, artists are paired
with businesses on the strip and create
site-specific installations for the
locations that remain on display for
several weeks.
The Taste of Fifth will stretch
from 73rd to 84th Street along
the strip, and run from 5 to 10 p.m.
During those hours, no traffic will
be allowed on the thoroughfare,
turning it into a pedestrian promenade,
with strollers encouraged to
enjoy everything Fifth Avenue has
to offer, as merchants bring dining
and shopping opportunities out of
doors for the evening.
In addition, there will be free
rides and games for the kids, and
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/file photo
A scene from last year’s
Taste of Fifth Avenue.
entertainment for the adults along
the stretch.
There will be a second Taste of
Fifth Avenue Weekend Walk on
Friday, August 18.
Interested artists should email
chpster52@aol.com.
BY DYLAN CAMPBELL
EDITORIAL@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
On June 7, the classic Good
Humor strawberry shortcake
bar took a fluffy new form,
inspiring a limited edition cake at the
Little Cupcake Bakeshop.
“Growing up, the original Good
Humor strawberry shortcake bar was
my ultimate favorite ice cream, “ said
Salvatore LoBuglio, owner of Little
Cupcake Bakeshop. “To me, it's more
than just great tasting ice cream, it's
a time capsule. It takes me back to the
days of playing in the street on Bay
17th with my brothers and friends.
To me, this ice cream bar is Bay 17th
Street.”
The idea for the cake came to LoBuglio
when he picked up his childhood
favorite while with his nieces. He says
he was taken back to fond memories
and became inspired.
The goal was to match the flavor
exactly. He said the journey down
memory lane to a flavor replica wasn’t
easy and that perfect ingredients were
hard to find.
“We had to experiment a bunch of
times until we, and a bunch of volunteer
taste testers, finally felt we had
something that we thought was very
close,” said LoBuglio.
The hard work paid off, though.
Lines formed and the bakery sold out
at all three shops — Third Avenue
in Bay Ridge, Vanderbilt Avenue in
Prospect Heights and Prince Street
in Manhattan — on opening day. For
customers who have tried it, the flavor
is undeniable.
“It definitely tastes like the outer
part of the ice cream. the texture, the
dried strawberries, the crunch, the
cake itself, ” said Lamar Dawson who
tried the new cake. “Any dessert lover
will love it.”
LoBuglio says the cake will be available
for a limited time in store, but no
end date has been set.