Dining in the Rough: Yummy in Abbotsford

Mia Stainsby
Vancouver Sun
Wednesday, September 03, 2008

VANCOUVER - I'm familiar with Tracycakes cupcakes and they pass the yummy-in-the-tummy test with flying colours. I happened to be passing through Abbotsford one Saturday and thought I would try Tracycakes' savoury side.

This is the second Tracycakes, the first having launched in Fort Langley (9090 Glover Rd.).

The one in Abbotsford looks to me like a page out of Liberty furniture store with dark antique tables, crystal chandeliers and a heritage feel - it's feminine but not in a frilly way.

I ordered the salad special, a taco salad, which looked like an alarmingly generous heap of salad. It was topped with ground beef, but I was relieved the bulk of it were greens studded with taco chips. My partner hoovered down his soup/sandwich combo for $9.95, both ample and homey. We were glad we'd ordered our cupcake dessert ahead of time because suddenly, during our lunch, a blizzard of customers came in for cupcakes, one woman wanting two dozen for guests. The kitchen had more coming out but we wouldn't have had as many choices.

The most popular cupcake, interestingly, is the simplest - Va Va Vanilla. Other flavours include Sleepless in Seattle (chocolate mocha cake with chocolate buttercream and a shot of java); A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts (coconut cake with vanilla cream icing and shredded coconut); 24 Karat (carrot cake with cream cheese icing); Princess (white cake with pink lemon butter cream and sprinkles); Creamsicle (vanilla cake filled with Bavarian cream, topped with orange butter cream and candied orange); It's Five O'Clock Somewhere (vanilla cake filled with raspberry filling, topped with lime butter cream, raspberry - like a cupcake margarita). Anyway, there are about 35 in the roster (not all available at one time) and come in baby size or normal size ($1.50 and $3.25). They're worth a detour of a few kilometres. On Sunday, the farmers' market is just down the street from Tracycakes so it'll be double-worth it.

Lunch items, by the way, includes quiche, chicken pot pie, chili, shepherd's pie, sandwiches, soups, salads. Afternoon tea is also served with finger sandwiches, scones, lemon curd, dainties, baby cupcakes, fruit and of course, tea.

mstainsby@vancouversun.com