Sam's Queenston Bakery

Bakery: Sam's Queenston Bakery

Address: 341 Queenston Rd, Hamilton, ON

Website: http://www.samsqueenstonbakery.com/

Style: Italian

Price: $$

In addition to the one zeppola from Markham for the latest zeppole challenge, I managed to get two more places in Hamilton that had not yet been reviewed. The first was this well-established bakery that looks and feels - and without a doubt is - like an institution. Just check out that sign, not to mention those rows upon rows of golden brown, bubbly cannoli! 

But of course I wasn't there for cannoli (this time around), but the zeppole. Sam's set itself apart in that it had offered two types of zeppole: the classic custard with Amarena cherries and a sort of zeppole/cannoli hybrid with ricotta cream. The ricotta cream version had, in my opinion, this round's best shell. The dough really was fantastic, though it could do without those gross candied fruit bit on top. ;) The cream was also very good, but it felt a little wrong to have a zeppola with ricotta cream. Turns out, I do have a huge soft spot for those Amarena cherries; however, having taken both versions from Sam's, I thought this bakery's ricotta version was better than the cherry.

 

Rating: *** 

Calabria Bakery

 Bakery: Calabria Bakery

Address: 5694 Hwy 7, Markham ON

Website: http://www.calabriabakery.ca/

Style: Italian 

Price: $$

It being zeppole season, I thought of reviving the good old Zeppole Challenge. This, however, proved to be easier said than done, as I had a hard time finding unexplored bakeries that sold zeppole and hadn't taken part in any zeppole challenges from previous years. Finally, there was this entry from Markham. 

This contender really didn't look bad: it had some nice amarena cherry presence. The dough looked nice and airy; however, what really got to me was that with every bite I just got a fridge taste (perhaps my initial "tastes like mortadella" was a little harsh...), as in it had been sitting around for some time. As such, the dough was a bit soggy, especially on the bottom. Honestly, this one looked so promising - actually seemed better than its winning competitors in appearance - and wasn't all that bad, but when you can taste something is not fresh, it's quite the disappointment. Sadly, I was far from impressed.

Rating: **

Fleur du Jour

Bakery: Fleur du Jour

Address: 603 St Clair Ave W, Toronto, ON 

Website: http://www.fleurdujour.ca/

Style: French

Price: $$$$

 

This bakery has quite the rave reviews, so I was curious about checking it out - especially since I heard something about kouign amann. And you know my opinion on kouign amann... Nonetheless, Fleur du Jour is a sparsely filled patisserie selling a handful of flaky baked goods and pretty pastries. It felt and looked a little barren when I was there. I mean, perhaps it gets super busy in the morning and people snatch everything up, but being there before noon, it seemed more dismal than anything else. 

The reason for coming, the kouign amann, has to take the prize for the most expensive individual baked good of all time. At $8.95 (!?!), I was assuming there was a mistake, but it was not a misprint. Had it been anything else, I just wouldn't have taken it. The higher you charge, the higher my expectations... This mini loaf-shaped was browned and crusty on top while the bottom was soft and somewhat wet, thus lacking the caramelized sugar crust that, in my opinion, is what makes the kouign amann so great. In addition to this, it didn't have that multi-tiered, buttery dough I love; you could see there was some folding going on on top, but it seemed a shame, since you didn't have that taste and texture inside. Honestly, it didn't taste buttery and (especially with that extra crusty outside) felt like a cinnamon bread - I was almost tempted to slice it up, stick it in the toaster and serve with butter. For the price, it was a huge let-down! 

The raspberry pistachio pastry was more reasonably priced; it was also softer and less browned on top, which was appreciated. That being said, I wasn't the biggest fan of the all-over glaze, which ruined that initial crunch and layered softness underneath you get when biting into a French pastry - isn't that the best part? 

Was the opera cake the best? Probably. I'm not the biggest chocolate fan and the opera cake in general is a little too rich, too creamy for my palette, but I thought it better executed than the two flaky pastries. The cream swirl on top had a bit of a crust on it from sitting for too long, but I enjoyed the different layers of chocolate and coffee cream. However, for all the effort I spent in coming here and all the money I spent, I can't say I was satisfied with what I got in return. 

 

Rating: **

Artisan Bakery

Bakery: Artisan Bakery

Address: 864 Dundas St, London ON

Website: http://www.artisanbakery.ca/

Style: Canadian

Price: $$ 

 

With a storefront as well as a spot in the public market, Artisan Bakery serves up a pretty good selection of homey classics and a couple fancier pastries such as croissants... as long as you know their hours, since they're closed half the week. 

For me, the unique, stand-out item from this bakery had to be the Nanaimo bar mini doughnut. You don't see so much Nanaimo bar love in this part of the country, and the idea was an intriguing one. The idea was probably the highlight, as the doughnut itself was a ring-shaped marble (chocolate/vanilla) coffee cake with a dab of cream and some chocolate chunk on top - there was nothing in this that evoked the decadent chocolate and custard cream creation that is the Nanaimo bar. I'm not even sure if this qualified as a doughnut... 

In addition to the doughnut, I grabbed a cheesecake slice and the berry danish. Despite it not looking the greatest with that fruity centre running off to one side, the danish was the tastiest of the bunch. I liked the real fruit (none of this gloopy stuff) and the dough - though more a sweet bread than danish dough - was pretty good. The cheesecake wasn't too thick and cheesy, but I wasn't a fan of the granola topping, especially the big oats. I felt it detracted from the smoothness of the cheese mass. All in all, not bad but could use some work. 

Rating: **1/2

Pasaj

Bakery: Pasaj

Address: 1100 Queen St E, Toronto ON

Website: http://www.pasajtoronto.com/

Style: Turkish 

Price: $$$$

 

I recently posted a review for a Turkish bakery and, being in the mood for more Turkish, did a little research and found out about to this cafe famous for its breakfast/brunch. Though not quite a bakery, they have a small selection of Turkish/Middle Eastern pastries and other sweets. A very pricey selection, that is. It's always puzzled me... does this part of Toronto have ridiculously high rent for retail or something? Because it has to be the most expensive destination for food in the city. I am not kidding. Is it just me? I mean, it's not like the neighbourhood is that prestigious or something... 

I read that the signature item is their "famous" Istanbul eclairs. I was dubious of the whole "famous" part, but there are actually websites listing where you can get the best eclairs in Istanbul... who knew? These are smaller than expected and, in my opinion, overpowered by the chocolate topping. Not that much cream could actually fit inside, so it lost the whole concept of an eclair. Equally tiny was the piece of baklava. For its size it had a nice amount of nutty filling and the ratio was quite good, but it was too wet and soggy - there was simply too much syrup. 

Lastly, the surprise winner was the date square. Now, I do love dates, so why the surprise? In truth, I was expecting something different, perhaps infused with more Middle Eastern flavours than a classic Canadian date square with an oat granola topping. That being said, it was nice and chewy and I liked the texture of that top. Overall, I wasn't the biggest fan of the miniature pastries - I think they would have been more in proportion had they been slightly bigger. The price, on the other hand, really was too much for what you get. 

Rating: **

Basket of Bread

 Bakery: Basket of Bread

Address: 2783 Lake Shore Blvd W, Etobicoke ON

Website: n/a

Style: Polish

Price: $

 

This newer Polish bakery took a few attempts to actually get something sweet to review, but boy was it worth it! The first time I found it completely closed when it was supposed to be open. The second time all they had left was three loaves of bread. At last, on the third try, I hit the jackpot: trays of "mini" Polish doughnuts (pączki; $0.79) in the window along with small and larger sweet breads. The thing that really sets Basket of Bread apart is the fact that it's a bakery and not a Polish deli. No cold cuts here, that's for sure!

As a pączki expert, I have to say that the GTA is certainly lacking, especially after the good spots closed their doors. Those available are all the same: gigantic balls of puffy dough that hardly even qualify as doughnuts and can be never be considered fresh. Finally, there's someone who knows what they're doing! These are just the perfect size for you to appreciate that fantastic golden brown crust and yummy glaze. Inside, the dough is fresh and spongy. Amazing! My only real issue was that the raspberry filling is too generic and more gloopy than fruity, a somewhat lacklustre finish to a fantastic doughnut. 

Besides the doughnuts, I tried the peach cheesecake, which was excellent (the cherry cheesecake I had on another occasion, not so much; again the "cherry" was just tasteless red goop that ruined the cheesecake instead of embellishing it), as well as the poppy seed strudel ($4.99). This fresh, moist sweet bread had a delicious poppy seed mass (it could have used more) and was topped with crumble and icing. In short: my new favourite destination for Polish baking! I've been back since my inaugural trip and will keep on returning. 

Rating: ***1/2