Photo of cupcakes by Mia's Cupcakes (not the ones I ate, but similar in appearance)Bad news for cupcakes: Red Robin has added them to their menu. I have to say, I'm filing this as a "jumped the shark" moment.

Happily, on the same day I heard aforementioned news, I also received a surprise delivery of delicious cupcakes to the store from Mia's Cupcakes of Bellingham, WA. Now, you must know that I was primed to like the cupcakes made by someone was so passionate about their baking, and about sharing their baked goods, that they trekked to Seattle with them and hand-delivered me a batch. And someone who shopped at my store too. Yeah!

But you know what? The cupcakes were really amazing, and not simply because of the circumstances mentioned above (though, you know, it didn't hurt).

So, let's talk about the goods: vegan dark chocolate cupcakes, with (dairy) peppermint frosting. A beautiful marriage of dark and light, these cupcakes hit the perfect contrast in both color and in flavor, with a dark, moist (yet not oily or over-dense) cake paired with a light yet decidedly buttery swirl of subtly peppermint-y buttercream. It's the kind of flavor that somehow goes down very easily after a rich meal (as we found after the first annual CakeSpy employee dinner party at Cheeky Cafe in Seattle) and yet doesn't leave you with a sugar-hangover sort of feeling.

If you're in Bellingham, seek out this special-order bakery, toute-sweet. Yes, I said that.

Mia's Cupcakes, Bellingham, WA; find 'em on Facebook!