I live within walking distance of Main Street Cupcakes and have been there about a half a dozen times since it opened up.
Over the years I've found the best approach with Main Street Cupcakes is to lower one's expectations before entering the blue building.
Want a larger than normal sized cupcake found in cupcake shops in NYC; nope not here. Want elaborate top/frosting adornment worthy of a bakery whose sole mission is cupcakes; nope not here. Want a cupcake produced with perfectly moist cake; nope not there. Want anything remotely close to the cupcake shows that can be viewed on the Food Network; nope not here.
That pretty much sums up MSC. If you change your expectations to want none of the items above, you may actually have a decent experience going to Main Street Cupcakes.
I even gave MSC another shot for Valentine's Day 2012 and purchased their special four pack. My wife and I sampled each of the cakes and came the same conclusion again; small, dry, and unexciting frosting/adornment. The red velvet was especially poor, with terrible taste, super dry, and nearly unedible.
So why have I continued to return to MSC? Well it's close (we are in walking distance), there is a lack of competition, and it is a nice stopping point when on a walk to the Hudson farmer's market and around First & Main. Returning each time to MSC, I think my wife and I secretly hope that the cupcakes will become dramatically better, but over the years they never have.
How does this place survive, I don't know; novelty I guess.
In summary, two stars. When I'm with the family walking around Hudson, I don't mind stopping in and picking up a couple of cakes for the fun of it, but I also have lowered my expectations to tolerate MSC. However, there is no way I would ever use Main Street Cupcakes for any sort of event as I would never place guest experiences on the line with cupcakes that are only tolerable.