Granowska's [RIP]

Bakery: Granowska's
Address: 175 Roncesvalles Ave, Toronto, ON
Website: N/A
Style: Polish
Price: $$-$$$

[I never imagined that I would be writing death notices on my site and I NEVER, ever imagined that my first would also happen to be the best Polish bakery in the GTA. Whhhhyyyyy??? Yes, brace yourselves.. erm, myself: Granowska's is no more. Fortunately, I read it first in a Polish newspaper because, I swear, if I went to Roncesvalles and saw the bakery shut down with paper on the window, I think I would have had some sort of panic attack there on the streets. After years and years, they shut down the bakery and I'm stuck all alone in oponki-less desolation! O__O Life is just not fair. Granowska's, rest in peace. Your delicious, hint-of-orange baked goods will not be easily forgotten by this fanatic. *goes off to weep somewhere*]

Granowska's is pretty much a staple on Roncesvalles, which is (maybe 'was' is better) the centre of the Polish community in Toronto, although many more plazas have popped up in the suburbs (yeah, I would know -_-). It's been here forever and, sadly!!!!!, is still probably the only Polish "pastry shop", in that not only they actually know what they're doing (their pastry chef certificates are hanging next to the cash register ^^v), but they're not somehow adjoined to a deli, market, butcher and/or ready-to-eat counter like everything else is. Of course, they make a whole bunch of other stuff as well, including ice cream, sandwiches, pierogies, and other bakery/cafe fare. Nevertheless, it's a must-see and is somewhat revered amongst many Polish people here -- when we came here years and years ago and visited Roncesvalles for the first time, we had to get something from this place. When my grandparents came from Poland, they also got treated to it.

Most unfortunately, it's something that you can only really be treated to on a sporadic basis, because they seem to value themselves as the greatest and price their stuff accordingly. When we came here years and years ago, we bought a small piece of szarlotka (apple cake) and paid more than $10 for it. Some of their cakes are (were?) available at Starsky (Polish supermarket which will be reviewed one of these days ;D) and are priced per kilo about $5-10 more than all other cakes, which is just ridiculous. One more thing: nothing at all has a price on it (which is standard almost everywhere here, which absolutely sucks) so you won't know how much you're paying until they bring it to the cash and, trust me, you'll be surprised when you get there. :/ This wouldn't pose much of a dilemma if it were bad, because then, he he he, I wouldn't go to it. But alas, it's so damn good and I can't help but actually want to get something every time we go! ;__; Another sadly: it seems that their selection of slab cakes and actual baking has slowly gone downhill; I so remember there being so much more before! Now, that variety doesn't seem so impressive and they seem to prefer filling the case with doughnuts and cookies and other per piece items, probably because no one is rich enough to afford their cakes (hint from Mimi: maybe if you guys made the prices more reasonable, people would actually buy it -___-).

Still, because *I* can't afford anything from them, so I've settled for their oponki [$1.13] *pictured by me ^__^* which are the BEST THINGS EVER! *squeals* My brother was so laughing at me when I was raving about these things and said they couldn't be that good because they were just doughnuts. Then he tried them. XDDD These things are just perfect; I've heard people love their pączki [around $1.30] (round doughnuts with plum jam in the middle... I'm pretty sure they might have other flavours as well: the usual raspberry, budyń (custard), róża (rose). Maybe??), but seeing as I'm not a big fan of the plum filling, I gave these a try and they're... so mcuh better. :P Perfect dough with a hint of orange essence with the tastiest glaze that *never* flakes off like the Starsky pączki (on the pic, some of it got stuck to the paper bag after it had been lugged around the city at +30 degree temperatures, which is why it doesn't look so perfect...). *glares* Yup. Oponki are heavenly.

NEW! Really, I don't know what I was thinking giving this a 3 1/2 instead of a 4. *shakes head in horror* Yup, the week between Christmas and New Year's, we went to Starsky (Polish supermarket) for some small shopping and, to my utmost excitement, they had a fresh shipment of some of Granowska's cakes, so for the holiday, I was allowed the opportunity to try their "famous" babki ($9). As far as babki go, it was a little expensive, as can be expected. I have to say I'm not the biggest babka fan; they're a little too dry for me, but this was seriously like a baked oponka: the same fluffy dough and the same orange glaze. Add in the occasional bit of candied orange peel, and this was so good (along with the oponka my mommy bought me ^___^;;;;;) that I realized the mistake in my rating. Four stars all the way!! ;)

NEW 2.0! Well, I've returned for another gorgeous pic (and an even more gorgeous sampling experience)! I was at Starsky yet again and found out they had Granowska's doughnuts and thought it would be a great time to try their pączki ($1.49) (well, I had one and the others were for my guinea pig brothers), since everything Granowska's makes has that something... special about it. And boy, was I right this time around! *-* I picked out three different flavours for the sampling: the standard plum (orange peel on top), budyń (custard -- with the dollop of cream on top), and... poppy seed. POPPY SEED! O_O I was in shock when I heard that such a thing even existed, to such a degree that I didn't even hear what the last flavour on the tray was. ;D I didn't need to think very hard which one was for me... Nevertheless,the same (perfect~~) hint-of-orange dough and glaze as with the babka and the oponki, but just filled with delectable fillings. One brother, without being told where they came from, took one bite and said they had to be Granowska's, and they were the best pączki he'd ever eaten. So, it's not just me. The poppy seed one wasn't actually filled afterwards, but baked with a nice, super generous centre of poppy seed mass. It was a little weird, I must say, but, what can I say? The four-star rating is here to stay. ;P

Rating: ****