I recently visited Mount Pleasant to do consulting work for CMU, and one morning I had a particular craving for baked goods. My friend who lives in the area told me that to his knowledge, The Flour Uprising was THE place to get "healthy" baked goods. Well, someone lied to that poor boy, because no it is not. The store is owned by two perfectly lovely women of color, which was exciting for me because that's a rarity and because I myself am a woman of color. But the food was, to be blunt, horrendous. The cupcake I had was desiccated and flavorless and the frosting was a greasy, sloppy mess--it was so bad, I found myself wondering if these women had ever actually tasted a well-baked cupcake. I also got a muffin, a brownie, and a loaf of bread and encountered a similar disappointment with each: the muffin was undercooked (so much so that the inside of wet) and green(!) in the middle, the bread was utterly stale, and the brownie tasted like sugar and the color brown--there was nothing even remotely chocolatey about it. Worse still, none of the baked goods were even decorated attractively, making it difficult for me to want to purchase them (I'm not exaggerating when I say a chocolate scone--which I did not buy--looked exactly like a pile of dog mess. This is what they chose to display to the public.) I wouldn't even give this bakery one star, except that, despite the fact that these women have no demonstrable skill baking whatsoever, as fellow women of color, I still want them to succeed. But someone needs to teach them how to bake first and how to make handsome sweets that look enticing. Also, someone needs to share with them what the definition of "healthy" is because what they're selling ain't it.
Final verdict: Save your money and go somewhere else. There are several bakeries on/around the main drag and a health-food store that sells baked goods. read more
