Gramercy: Red Velvet Cake at Duke’s Rocks…Maybe. And the Top 5 Red Velvet Cupcake Places in NY

My friend Charles and I have a longstanding tradition of ordering red velvet cake when we go out to lunch at Duke’s, the sports bar in Gramercy and Chelsea in New York. I think this all started when Charles helped me successfully pitch the Times a few years ago; we celebrated with huge slices of red velvet cake.

Red Velvet Cake. Photo: Southern Foodways Alliance.

These days, we head for the Duke’s on Third Avenue for our red velvet fix. Is it the best in town? The waitress told us some folks love Duke’s rendition. Others give it a hearty thumbs down.

Here’s what we thought about the door stopper-sized piece we were served:

Me: Maybe because it was refrigerated, the cake is heavy and dry. The frosting, which looked like it had been applied with a trowel, rocks. Does Duke’s really need to gild the lily with whipped cream?

Charles: The cake’s too dry, but the frosting’s great. (He took the leftovers; I guess he’s scraping the cream cheese icing off right now.)

Duke’s
560 Third Ave.
at 37th St.
212 949 5400

99 E. 19th St.
212 260 2922

Here’s Yelp’s top 5 places to get Red Velvet cupcakes in the city:

Two Little Red Hens

Sugar sweet Sunshine Bakery

Cake Man Raven

Make My Cake

Billy’s Bakery