Mr. Sticky's Homemade Sticky Buns (and cinnamon rolls)

It all started with a routine visit to the vet for our new puppy, Montoya. This guy. The good news is - he's fine. The better news is- What's this trailer selling sticky buns? OH MY GOD THEY ARE DELICIOUS.

Located in the parking lot of Lancaster Harley-Davidson (which is too big of a parking lot for Lancaster Harley-Davidson, by the way... how many bikers do they expect in one day?) - if you blink or turn your head you'll miss it - a white, unassuming trailer, that looks like some long gone carnival remnant who forgot to pack up and leave after all the carnies had drifted to the next town.  I had my reservations; however, Mr. Sticky's took exactly 15 seconds (or however long it took to shovel the second deliciously gooey bite into my mouth) to win me over and become my new go-to place for cavities and heart-attacks. I can't wait to have so many cavities and heart attacks!*
Let me explain... 

That first day, just after Monty's check up, we pulled out of one parking lot and into another (the vet's office is conveniently located right next door to Lancaster Harley-Davidson) and I approached the trailer. There were signs all over the place telling me just how "addictive" these things were. Bold claims. I attempted to order 2 cinnamon rolls, one with peanut butter icing, and one with cream cheese icing (homemade apparently) AND 1 original Mr. Sticky Sticky Bun, I'm not sure if the guy didn't hear me correctly, or what happened exactly, but he was trying to give me a full BOX of sticky buns. I figured I just didn't understand the protocol for ordering, and the cinnamon buns were all they had and thats all I would ever get. It was 1000 degrees outside, and I didn't feel like explaining myself or getting to the bottom of this great mystery (the cinnamon rolls are different than the sticky buns? I want 1 additional sticky bun... no not another cinnamon roll... oh, never mind) I retreated to the air conditioned comfort of the car with 2 cinnamon rolls and cups of icing... but not before getting some heating instructions (20 seconds in the microwave, in the box, good to go).

I opened the box and revealed the cinnamon roll. The examples sitting out on the counter looked like giant fists of delicious gooey goodness, my naked cinnamon roll looked like... not that.

okay, I would still eat that, plain as it may be.

Nonetheless, I popped it into the microwave for 20 seconds, and thought, we'll see how it is after I apply the icing. MOTHER OF GOD.
First of all, 20 seconds is truly the PERFECT amount of time. Soft, and hot, but not too hot, ready to melt that icing into its spiraling cinnamon oblivion.
Second - OH! THAT ICING. I chose peanut butter because I am a sucker for peanut butter, and the idea of peanut butter on a cinnamon roll kind of weirded me out a little bit at first, but then I remembered that peanut butter on ANYTHING is amazing, so of course I'll get the peanut butter icing. My girlfriend opted for the cream cheese icing. A classic, for sure. This allowed me to try both for a fair comparison. They give you nearly a 1/3 cup of icing. That's a lot, but what kind of insane-o would complain about this:

 somewhere under all of that is a cinnamon roll

It was time to dig in, knowing that a 1/2 inch barrier of icing was going to get all over my face if I just picked it up and ate it, I opted for a fork. Wise move. at least for now...
Absolutely incredible. The cinnamon wasn't too overpowering, and the peanut butter complimented it surprisingly well (no surprise, really). The icing was slightly granulated, as if it was a softer peanut butter fudge, which made it even more awesome. Eventually I was able to peel away ribbons of this "dough-cocaine", and then I got to the core. The sweet delicious core. Everybody knows what this bite is all about. Well... two bites.
Next I tried some of my girlfriend's regular cream cheese cinnamon roll... Of course my comparisons went immediately to the cinnamon roll that everyone knows, the dreaded calorie-counter-KILLER, The Cinnabun®. Cinnabun's are fine... once... per year, if that even. Like, if you are at the mall and YOU NEED A CINNABUN RIGHT NOW!!! okay, I guess go get one, but you know, its a Cinnabun, its going to taste the same in this mall, that mall, or whatever mall you happen to find yourself in. That taste is unmistakable. Cinnabuns taste like the mall. And I don't just mean their generic flavor... I mean the gluttonous corporate attitude of the mall is baked right into those things. If I have to get some sweet Billabong® gear from PAC-SUN®, the last thing I want to lug around with me is a dripping mess of a bun in a box thats twice the size of a child's head... But people do it. "GOTTA HAVE MAH CINNABUN!!! NOM NOM NOM!!!" I'm not above going to the mall for food. Sometimes I need that stuff in my life, but you'll never see me carrying around a Cinnabun. Even I have my limits. Now I know that if I want a cinnamon roll, I must go to Mr. Sticky's because it tastes like they actually care about what they are doing and its not just some kid's crappy summer job, and also because Cinnabun, who? Mr. Sticky's have breathed new life into the cinnamon roll. I had given up completely, Cinnabun sucks, and my only other option had been those cans of Pillsbury "cinnamon rolls" that I always manage to burn in the oven, and that little baby cup of icing they give you is NEVER enough. So now, a reason to love cinnamon rolls again: Mr. Sticky.

PB Cinnamon Roll - 8.7
CC Cinnamon Roll - 8.4

After the confusion of cinnamon roll vs. sticky bun (which, no way would I have been able to eat a sticky bun in addition to the cinnamon rolls, that day) I took to the internet to do some research. I learned a few things. Mr. Sticky's was started in Williamsport where they actually have a storefront, and then decided to open a concession truck in, oddly (thankfully) enough, Lancaster.  This concession truck opened in March, and has been thriving ever since. Thanks, everybody for not telling me!

Their website included a menu for both locations, here I realized that I in fact HAD been duped, or the heat had just made me delirious, the sticky buns are TOTALLY different from the cinnamon rolls (duh!). I couldn't write this review about Mr. Sticky's Homemade Sticky Buns WITHOUT ACTUALLY HAVING a Mr. Sticky's Homemade Sticky Bun!!! "Oh hey guys I went to Mr. Sticky's Sticky Buns... let me tell you: Their cinnamon rolls are awesome!" Luckily the next morning, my girlfriend and I decided to go to the beach, conveniently on the way: Mr. Sticky's.

It was a Sunday morning, around 11, and business was booming. This could have been because it happened to be the start of customer appreciation week (which goes until July 31) where the first 50 customers each day get 1 free sticky bun. Sadly, they hit 50 customers by 10am, I was a little late... I ordered 2 regular sticky buns, and one with walnuts. While standing in line, I got to see half sheet after half sheet of sticky buns get turned out, wafting an intoxicating sugary cinnamon aroma out into the parking lot and deep inside everyone brains. Apparently the "highly addictive" claim is more true than I thought, like drug-fiending zombies, everyone lined up salivating. I had fast become one of them. That smell was irresistible. Fresh out of the oven, the bubbling symphony of syrup and walnuts (sometimes just syrup) was almost too much to take, I was hoping there was a trailer hitch on Erin's car so that I could just drive away with the whole thing and have all of the cinnamon rolls and sticky buns to myself, unfortunately, there was not, so I had to settle for my three measly sticky buns (one of which was for Erin).

I'm not sure if it was because it had just come out of the oven, or not, but the regular sticky bun, in the car on the way to the beach, was one of the best sweet things I've ever eaten. That molten sugar-cinnamon syrup oozed over the whole thing and somehow GOT BETTER as it seeped through the bun and cooled into a glaze. That "glaze" I would be happy to put on everything I ever eat again for the rest of my life. I could only eat the regular sticky bun, I didn't want to stuff myself TOO MUCH for the car ride to the beach, that would just be no fun at all. I DID kind of want to stuff myself into misery though, because now I am addicted to these things and I can not get enough. Resisting miserable temptation, I saved the walnut one for the next day.
I wanted see how well the bun would hold up: in a car all day, without refrigeration overnight, and microwaved the following morning. Guess what - STILL AWESOME.
Maybe not the most ideal of circumstances, and probably not up to the quality standards of a Fresh-Out-Of-The-Oven Mr. Sticky, but it still blew away anything Cinnabun (or anyone else) has ever created.  Essentially it was the same (as the regular Mr. Sticky), but the walnuts, candied from the glaze, added a perfect bonus to an already perfect thing.

Original Mr. Sticky - 9.3
Mr. Sticky w/ Walnuts - 9.5

Now here's the bad news:

The Lancaster location only has a 9 month lease in that parking lot... which means, come November 30, they'll be gone, or at least closed for the winter (the best months to eat cinnamon rolls and sticky buns) so unless they do well enough to renew the lease in March 2011, or perhaps REALLY WELL enough to open an actual storefront here, they could be gone. Like a distant memory. I don't mean for this to cause alarm, not yet anyway, but does this mean that there is a TIME LIMIT to get these wonderful things?... yes it does. You have until November 30. Do it!


Mr. Stickys is located at Parking Lot of Lancaster Harley-Davidson, 308 Beaver Valley Pike (Rte. 222), Willow Street, PA
HOURS - Tues - Fri 6am-6pm Sat - 8am-5pm Sun - 8am-3pm CLOSED MONDAYS :( 




*I do not promote improper hygiene, or unhealthy overeating. Please remember to always brush your teeth, and when consuming foods high in (probably) all the things that are bad for you, please do so responsibly and in close moderation. 6 Mr. Sticky's per day is probably a little excessive.