GiaVia Sweets

I’m going to begin this review by informing you I am a total cupcake snob. There. I said it. That said, I just thought these cupcakes were alright. Usually I find that the cupcake is dry or flavorless but the frosting is typically pretty good but in Gia Via’s case, it was the opposite. The cupcake (the white wedding) was actually really flavorful and vanilla-​y, albeit kind of dry, and the frosting was awful. It tasted like butter. Just plain old butter. I was really surprised by how much I disliked the frosting. We also got a cookies and cream cupcake and my man didn’t seem too impressed with his either. Sorry, GV, I really wanted to like your cupcakes. As it turns out, I’m going to have to keep on driving to Wisconsin to get me some Gigi’s. Bah.

Gia Via was my very first food truck experience.EVER. I found them in the Petsmart parking lot in Schaumburg at Mecham & Golf, have visited them in the old Pizza Hut parking lot at Gary & Army Trail in Bloomingdale and have seen them several times at local fairs and food truck gatherings.
First visit, was good. I liked the salted caramel cupcake and the red velvet was yummy as well. We have eaten from this truck a few times and the most recent visits were disappointing. The cupcakes were very dry. The icing and toppings are yummy so they get a few stars from me there, however, their stupid overpricing is a bit on the ridiculous side.
The staff is friendly and the pink truck is cute but I think the refrigerator storage they use dries out the cupcakes. That, or perhaps I got old cupcakes the last few times we have gotten cupcakes here.
I love to support local business owners so I still want to try the macaroons and after hearing that they are so good from people I know, I think their macaroons could be their saving grace for me.

When it comes to tasty cupcakes. GiaVia Sweets seems to be on top all of all other places. The Triple Chocolate was quite delicious and addictive. I love how sweet the taste of it, its not like the other cupcakes that you would get bored eating it after you ate a lot.
They had this fine place that will suits you well when you want to eat those fine cupcakes.
The cupcakes here are awesome, would come back again for sure.

For over $ 3 a cupcake it better be moist, large and tasty. NOPE
The cake itself was dry and very dense, the icing was the only saving grace, I am a sucker for cream cheese frosting.
We tried the Red Velvet, Turtle, White Wedding & Lemon Drop. None of them had much flavor and to be honest it was a rip off.
I do appreciate the idea of a cupcake truck but and so bummed that the «baker» who makes these hasn’t tweaked the recipe since most of these reviews state the same thing.
Oh well. I will stick with My Sweet Kake on Roselle in Schaumburg.

4.5 stars. After having The Fat Shallot and BBQ at a food truck festival, I finished off the day at Arlington Park with a GiaVia cupcake. We were now at the end of the festival so unfortunately when I got to the GiaVia truck, they were out of 3 of the 6 cupcakes that they had to offer. I saw some really good looking oreo cookie thing that I was not able to get. So I opted for the Banana Chocolate Truffle cupcake. I almost went for the red velvet, but in my past experience, red velvet always catches my eye but falls short on flavor. However, my friend got the red velvet and said it was very good.
I walked around with the cupcake for a bit, allowing for some time to digest the rest of the awesome food that we just had.
Then, it was time. Wowza was this cupcake good! I am going to chalk it up to the fact that it was made with cream cheese frosting. I dislike butter cream greatly, so this icing made this cupcake extra delicious. I licked the container clean. I was told I was like a fat kid when doing so, but I did not care AT ALL! Yum!
I saw a few reviews where people were saying that the cupcakes were expensive. This one was $ 3.59. How often does one eat a gourmet cupcake off a food truck?! I think the price was justified. Yum!

I go to school nearby where this truck is located on a select few days. I have to say I was very excited to see a cupcake truck nearby: a perfect sweet treat before class! I had the Potato Chip and the Salted Caramel and I was actually pretty disappointed. Although I absolutely appreciate the health standards this truck has (keeping all cupcakes refrigerated) it actually takes away from the cupcake. If I came again I would most definitely leave the cupcake out at my desk for a half an hour to get the frosting less dense and the cake less hard. The cupcakes were not moist and thicker than I usually like, and the buttercream was ok.
I enjoy sweet/​salty combination, but the potato chip was a no-​no. It was not very good and the texture was strange. The service was very good and friendly though, so I absolutely appreciate that!

Ran into this by accident. The truck was in the Schaumburg Petsmart parking lot.
I honestly don’t get the popular love of food trucks these days (we used to call them roach coaches). I’ve never experienced phenomenal food at a food truck. Ever.
GiaVia is no exception. For the price, the cupcake was small. I’d be fine with that if it were totally delicious. It was not.
I got a vanilla cupcake that was dry and boring. Definitely not my cup of tea.

What a pleasant surprise to find a cupcake truck in the pet store parking lot. Excited, I purchased a $ 3.25 blackberry cupcake. It came in a plastic clamshell and I couldn’t really see the cupcake really well.
I got it back to the car about 10 min later.
It was really small– like less than 2 bites and the edges were dry– like the cupcake was not fresh. The frosting was tasty but huge– The frosting was almost as high as the cupcake itself.
While it was a interesting experiment, I don’t think I’ll be purchasing a 3.25 dry small cupcake again. I kinda felt had by the whole thing.

Tried to write this last summer. Saw the truck in Bloomingdale & finally stopped. The cupcakes I bought, Vanilla & Red Velvet were dry & overpriced. Also purchased macaroons, which were prepackaged & very expensive. I don’t fault them for buying their macaroons from a wholesaler, they’re very difficult to make & take a long time. I liked that they accepted credit cards. It’s quite possible that I was there on an off day. Maybe in time they’ll improve.
UPDATE… I’ve read the other reviews & need to jump in here. Several people have complained about the cupcakes being cold. A product that contains perishable materials must be refrigerated. It would be dangerous & careless on her part to allow such a product to rise to an unsafe temperature. In the summer, it would certainly be hot in the truck, with minimal ventilation. Would you eat a cupcake with cream cheese frosting that has been in 90 degree heat? Another reviewer mentioned that a cupcake & a napkin would suffice. This is against health code. Imagine McDonald’s handing you your sandwich, held only by a napkin! Health codes are very stringent for food trucks & they are carefully monitored. Gia Via is playing by the rules. I’ll look forward to visiting her again!

I had followed this truck around Bloomingdale for a while. I tried it a cpl times despite how expensive they are. The last time I stopped there I purchased 3 cupcakes which is almost $ 13. The flavors are amazing but they were so dry that all 3 sat half eaten on the counter for 2 days before I tossed them away.
I then attempted to email them on Facebook about my experience, and I received no response. Needless to say, I never returned. I’ll go to panera and get a ginormous cupcake for a dollar less!

I’ve driven past GiaVia a number of times and I’m so glad I finally have stopped for their cupcakes… and then stopped again. I think what I like best about GiaVia are their smart & creative flavors. Each cupcake comes in a nice little container for one and has all ingredients right there in the sticker on the label. I went up to the window after a trip to PetSmart (they look to be in the Meachem & Golf PetSmart parking lot every Thursday & Saturday from 11 – 3) and was greeted by a very lovely lady who was nice & helpful.
What I’ve tried so far:
+The Triple chocolate Gluten free had chocolate cake, frosting and chocolate chips with chocolate in the middle. Considering it had been sitting on a truck, all tasted pretty moist although not quite as fresh as I would have liked. The flavors went together well. Chocolate was rich, frosting was sugary in the best way possible.
+Potato chip chocolate was lame. Just tasted like chocolate with a weird texture thrown in every now and then. Although a good idea in the theory, the chips became soggy and added no contrasting salty flavor… Actually no flavor at all to add. I wish the chocolate cupcake just didn’t have the chips.
+Salted caramel. Normally I’m not too into non-​chocolate cupcakes but this may have been my favorite of the bunch! The vanilla cake was ultra most with great flavor. When I tried the frosting on its own, it didn’t seem to have much flavor however paired with the cake it all tied together quite nicely.
Cupcakes came out to about $ 3.60 each. I need to go back and try even more flavors! Mmmmm~

I had Gia Via for the first time today at the Food Truck Extravaganza in Schaumburg today. I ordered the Chocolate Potato Chip cupcake and left with mixed reviews. The frosting was very smooth and rich while the cake part was extremely moist with a delightful chocolate flavor. Unfortunately, the potato chips on the cupcake had gone stale so they didn’t give the salty crunch that I was looking forward to with this cupcake. I have no doubt that if the potato chips were fresh that I would have been swooning over this cupcake.
I definitely want to try some of their other flavors and I LOVE that they have the option of mini cupcakes.

[I wrote this review already for GiaVia, but it seems there’s a separate listing for the truck when it’s in Schaumburg (?), so I’m posting this review here too!]
For months, I kept seeing this elusive pink truck in the parking lot near my usual PetSmart location. I was always in a hurry, or it was raining, or something, so it was awhile before I noticed a cupcake on the side of the truck. I didn’t realize at the time that it was an actual cupcake food truck! Once I started to discover the awesomeness that is food trucks, I remembered this pink & white beauty and was determined to give it a try. One cold day, we finally met.
I just wanted to try one cupcake. Maybe some macaroons. After scanning the menu and seeing many chocolate/​peanut butter/​caramel cupcakes to pick from, my preferred choices were pretty limited — I don’t like chocolate/​peanut butter/​caramel baked sweets. I decided on the Hummingbird (I think) — a blend of light fruity flavors. I purchased a chocolate cupcake for my husband. The macaroons were tempting, but my wallet didn’t want to break. Looking back, I probably should have tried them to get a better idea of what this lovely truck was like.
The cupcakes — mine was delicious! Just perfect. The right size — not too big and not too small. The right frosting. The right taste. The right texture. The right price — slightly expensive as you would expect gourmet cupcakes to be, but not ridiculous. There was nothing I didn’t like. My husband told me he liked his cupcake but it sat half-​eaten in the fridge for a month before I ended up tossing it out. I’m assuming it was good and he just forgot about it. Poor, lonely uneaten cupcake.
I hope GiaVia and I meet again. If I had to choose between fro-​yo or cupcakes, cupcakes win. Almost every time. Especially from a food truck!

Do you feel powerless to resist a cupcake? I do! And now I don’t have to, thanks to the GiaVia mini cupcakes in half ($ 9.50) or full ($ 18) dozens. They are just the right size for a taste and stay moist throughout the week so I can enjoy a taste a day without feeling too guilty.
But let’s be real; sometimes, you need the full monty ($ 3 ish), and on those days, you can get the full fix here as well. My current favorites are the Hummingbird, chocolate turtle, and salted caramel. On my hit list is the chai and white chocolate.
If you like a dense, sugary cupcake, these might not be the cupcakes for you; but if you like a delicate, light cupcake, get thee to their Facebook page to view the schedule (it’s a truck; they aren’t there everyday), and enjoy to your heart’s content. These cupcakes are worth every penny, at the top of my cupcake list, the top of the food pyramid, which should be comprised entirely of categories of cupcakes IMO.

Great cupcakes at an acceptable price.
Unbeknownst to me I’d actually eaten their cupcakes before (at least a year ago… all I remember is «chocolate… mmm…») so when I noticed a cupcake truck was *always* at the corner of Army Trail and Gary in Bloomingdale on Sunday afternoons, I decided to check it out.
This was a good decision, even though most of their popular flavors (blueberry lemon, salted caramel, red velvet, every single macaron, and maybe more) were sold out. I just got Hummingbird Cake and Coconut.
The Hummingbird Cake flavor was lovely. Moist, just the right amount of pecans, and oh, a little bit of honey in there. The Coconut, though was even better. There were several different kinds of coconut in the cupcake; coconut in the cake batter, unsweetened shredded coconut on top, with an egg white sticky meringue on top and gelatinous coconut gluing the meringue and the cake together. Perfect.
They’re at this particular location from 11 to 2, so it’s advised to get there early (not at 2:45… when technically they should have left) before the flavors sell out. Since they’re based out of Carol Stream, maybe I’ll just arrange for a special delivery?

Sweet Suburban Food Truck Alert!
I’d been wanting to hit up this elusive food truck for some time now, but since I’d only ever seen it parked from afar while I was already en route to work meetings and couldn’t quite make out the name of the biz from the cute cupcake-​y font, making it difficult to know how or where to find them for a future patronage. I had the good intentions to Google my answer but somehow I always got sidetracked and fell into a cascade of YouTube-​ing instead… and then today I saw it. A macaron mirage parked in the Schaumburg PetSmart parking lot. Huzzah!
GiaVia is based out of Carol Stream, but also has a certified kitchen in Highland Park. They run mainly through locations in the western ‘burbs currently, and is the brainchild of father/​daughter duo Carl and Carli Curatola. How freaking cute is that? As a daughter who has always been a (albeit non-​traditional) ‘Daddy’s Girl’, my heart can’t help but melt a little knowing this.
I decided to go with one cupcake and one of their macaron sampler rolls in variety of Asian flavors. I’m not really a macaron expert– in fact, I’ve only had a macaron one other time in my entire life and though I liked it, when I see a variety of dessert choices I usually opt for something dangerously gooey or chocolatey over dainty, creamy, cutesy. The macaron sampler comes in a tube and is perfect for gifting. It runs about $ 8.50 for the tube of 6 macarons, but after tasting you’ll understand that the price is more than fair for the goods. My Asian macaron sampler had Black Sesame, Red Bean, Yuzu, Coconut Mango, Lemongrass Ginger and Green Tea flavors and each were outstanding. I wasn’t expecting so much flavor to be packed into such a bite-​sized treat. Every flavor was flawlessly executed with the Black Sesame being my standout and unexpected favorite.
For my cupcake, I went with the truck shop girl’s fave, the White Hot Chocolate. I wasn’t sure what to expect since I’m not huge on marshmallows (there were 4 small ones atop the cupcake) or white chocolate, but let it be known that this cupcake was one of the better ones I’ve had in my life. The shop truck girl (possibly the daughter of the food truck duo) knew her stuff. And while the cupcake didn’t taste like hot chocolate, it was outstanding and I’m actually kind of embarrassed to say that I didn’t think I was going to like cuppy at first glance. The thick, white frosting and vanilla based looked too perfect– like it was either going to be dry ad hell and/​or have an all-​too-​sugary and gritty buttercream icing, but I was sooo wrong. I didn’t even actually eat the cupcake until several hours after buying, but it was soft and moist, but still kept it’s shape and didn’t fall apart when eaten and the frosting was as all frostings should be – Cream cheese. I HATE buttercream frostings. So bland and boring and in my opinion, a waste of perfectly good calories. The treat wasn’t a huge cupcake, but rather the average, medium size of a cupcake or muffin you’d make at home, and perfect for one person with no sharing. The cupcake was light, and perfect in every imaginable way and the marshmallows on top didn’t bother me one bit– they just melted into the frosting on my tongue and went down the hatch before I was even able to offer a sample bite to my boo – Oops!
The cupcakes are priced competitively at $ 3.25 each and the macaron pack at $ 8.50. At first I was all like, ‘oh man, sh*ts pricey and they don’t even have a storefront to pay for,’ and then I stopped being lame and crabby just because it was raining on me and put the price into perspective. Everyone knows the going rate for gourmet cupcakes these days is $ 2.75– $ 3.50. It’s not cheap, but hell, these bad boys are WAY better than the sh*t I would’ve tried to whip up at home and wasted 2 hours trying to make and clean up after… ain’t nobody got time for that. And they’re also about 5,000 times better than the dry, cheap, sh*tty cupcakes from Jewel and Dominicks and places like that. And you know what else is way more expensive than the cupcakes you’re buying? Gas, a giant food truck, a license to run said food truck in multiple towns, and a kitchen up to health code standards to bake those cupcakes in, and hundreds of little individual packages that ensure your cupcakes and macarons make it home safely. So while $ 3.25 may be a bit pricey in general, this is 2012 and that’s the going rate for this gourmet product– suck it up and quit yer b*tchin’.
I’ll make it easy for you. Here’s they’re typical schedule, but follow them on FB for updates and give GiaVia Sweets a try:
— Wed 11−2pm, Wheaton
W. Danada Square, near Jewel
— Thu 11−2pm Schaumburg
NE Corner of Meacham & Golf, near Petsmart
— Fri 11−2pm, Bloomingdale
SE corner of Army Trail & Gary, near Speedway
— Sat 11−2pm, Schaumburg
NE Corner of Meacham & Golf, near Petsmart
— Sun 2−4pm, Bloomingdale
SE corner of Army Trail & Gary, near Speedway

So I was out for lunch around the Schaumburg area and then I saw this HUGE pink truck with a cupcake on it in the parking lot with a line of people waiting. But of course being a foodie and all, I had to check it out!
My first food truck purchase, I was excited. I purchased the doz mini assortment cupcakes. He was a very nice guy, I told him I’m a newbie and I felt like I was a 5 year old kid asking for ice cream from the ice cream man, LOL!
I had to be careful or I’ll end up spending all my lunch money on cupcakes!
Yes, it’s a bit pricey, but if what I read from my fellow Unilocalers that the ingredients are natural, from scratch, organic, etc. then I see paying for the price they ask. Ask yourself this, do you want McDonald’s coffee or Starbucks coffee? That will give you an idea on how much you’re willing to spend on a cupcake.
He even said the baker is from Charlie Trotter or was trained by Mr. Trotter? Something like that, I was drooling over my purchase, really what?

Anyway, I ate the Turtle cupcake and the peanut butter cupcake… WOW so light and the icing was not overly sweet. I said to myself, dang one bite and that was it, LOL!
Take advantage of their special deals on Facebook or Twitter if you want more and become a follower.
I haven’t found a good cupcake bakery around here. All those yummy shops are in the city, Sprinkle’s, Molly’s, More, etc.
I’d order from them again when they are here in the burbs, they have so many other flavors and macaroons too.

GiaVia cupcakes are totally worth the calories! Last weekend while heading to lunch, we noticed the hot pink truck in the old Pizza Hut parking lot near the corner of Gary Avenue and Army Trail Road. My hubby was so excited to see a food truck that he pulled in without a second though.
We wandered up and found that they were nearing the end of their day. We got lucky though. We bought their last two caramel apple cupcakes and a few s’mores cupcakes. The gentleman running the truck was very kind and patient with me.
Words of wisdom? Let the cupcake come to room temperature before inhaling it. This takes me to my next point. Don’t inhale it. Take bites. You will enjoy it much more. Finally, share with your husband. Mainly because he will then likely share with you.

No thanks. Cupcakes are way too small for the prices they are charging. The cupcakes are dry and I doubt theyre even fresh made the day of sale. They are refrigerated! The owner acts as though a cupcake truck is an out of the box concept when in actuality there have been cupcake trucks in New York and Los Angeles for the past 5 years. Do yourself a favor spend a dollar on some duncan hines boxed cake mix and a dollar on confectioners sugar. Make two dozen cupcakes with homemade frosting for the cost of one old cupcake from this truck.
EDIT
Owner should spend more time on their recipes and less time rebuking Unilocal reviews. Owner makes assumptions about where I am from. Reading is fundamental, which could explain why they cant get their recipes right. Im from Chicago. I just currently live in Los Angeles. Since Im not the only one complaining about their prices, they must NOT be priced comparably to other food trucks! Look at their business info. They get 3-​$$$ for pricing! Math and reading, math and reading!
EDIT
Careful, owner is obsessive and will harass you if you give a less than 4 star review. She kept sending me obnoxious private messages until I had to literally BLOCK her from contacting me. What a crazy person. No wonder why her cupcakes suck.

I had never heard of GiaVia Sweets until running into them this weekend. Imagine my surprise when I was driving around, running errands in the Western Burbs and saw this bright pink food truck. Heck Yeah I’m stopping! Bright Pink meant possible sweet treats!
There was a nice selection of cupcakes to choose from and the selling point for me – French Macarons!
Their Macarons come 6 assorted flavors to a package. I opted for the traditional flavored package – Vanilla, Lavender, Pistachio, Chocolate, Raspberry, Coffee.
I only tried three (had to share them of course!) The cookie/​meringue part is perfectly delicate and crispy and then gets that nice soft chewy texture like good meringues should. Vanilla was my favorite, the Raspberry was good too, the Lavender was a bit too flowery for me. The part about these Macarons that wasn’t my favorite, was that the filling for these three was just whipped cream. It wasn’t bad at all, I just wished that the raspberry one at least had the jammy type filling that I like in Macarons.
The other flavor package is their Asian Inspired selection – Black Sesame, Red Bean, Mango, Coconut, Yuzu, Lemongrass Ginger and Green Tea. These sounded so good too and I’ll most likely try these the next time I run into their truck.
I did get some cupcakes for later of course. Orange Dreamsicle and Salted Caramel. These cupcakes are on the smaller size and are denser and heavier than what I like (I really like light and fluffy). The Orange Dreamsicle was good, but didn’t haven enough «orange» in the cake for me, too subtle. But the Salted Caramel was amazing. They hit that salt/​sweet combination right on the head – deliciousness in every bite. Like them on FB or follow on Twitter to get their schedules and flavors of the day. Sometimes food trucks only hit the bigger suburbs, but I’m so glad GiaVia hit lil olé Bloomingdale!!!