My wife, Carrie, really wanted to go to Georgetown Cupcake on Saturday after we had wolfed down a few slices at a neighborhood pizzeria. I liked the idea, except for one thing: The thought of going to Georgetown made me want to lop off a body part. I convinced my beloved that there were closer cupcakeries than Georgetown and, besides, it’d be good to visit a place we hadn’t been to.

Sometimes it’s a bitch to be married to a food writer. You rarely get to eat where you want.

The pain became more acute once we sampled our two treats from Hello Cupcake, a shop that, I should note, fared pretty damn well in the Washington Post‘s recent Cupcake Wars epic, which is coming soon to a theater near you, I believe.

Carrie ordered this tart concoction made with a pink-lemonade cake and lemon frosting. Have I mentioned that she’s a sour freak? I ordered a classic black and white, with chocolate cake and what the clerk described as vanilla frosting. Both treats had issues.

Carrie found her cupcake dry and dense; I found it slightly gummy and dense, which didn’t immediately turn me off. In fact, I think it’s safe to say that I liked the tart beast more than she did. Just don’ t spread that around, OK? I can’t be seen preferring anything with pink lemonade.

We both, however, made faces after sampling the black and white. The cake itself was moist, rich, and chocolate-y. It was the frosting that was off. We couldn’t put our finger on it exactly. Yes, the frosting had hardened a little. But Carrie also thought it had a chemical taste. I thought it might be some dairy product gone bad.

Whatever the case, we didn’t finish either cupcake, which tells you everything. I apologized on the way out the door for not taking Carrie to Georgetown Cupcake in the first place.