Good, but not the best local cupcake art

My official testing of the Nashville cupcake shops began at The Painted Cupcake, located downtown on 4th Avenue in the Arcade. Although the painted street-side window is inviting and the staff was wonderfully pleasant, the cupcakes were not quite as "artful" as advertised.

I sampled 6 flavors: a "White Wedding", a"Black Velvet", a "Strawberry Fields", a peanut butter-and-jelly, a classic yellow cake with chocolate icing, and a lemon-filled cake with lemon buttercream icing.

Of these, the lemon-filled was the only one that really stood out to me. The filling was delicious and, combined with the icing and cake, there was the perfect balance of sweet and tart.

As for the others, although they were good, they frankly did not taste any better (or maybe even not as good) as some of the cupcakes I've made at home (although much prettier). I could taste all the different components of the standard cream cheese icing, and some of the cake tops were overcooked just enough to take away from the moistness of the rest of the cake.

While tasting homemade can be good, for $2.65/treat at a specialty cupcake shop, I expect something special with a little extra "umph". Overall, I'm not sure if I'd go out of my way to go back, but it's worth the stop if you're downtown and craving something sweet.