Bagel Plus

Bakery: Bagel Plus Bakery Restaurant
Address: 634 Sheppard Av W, North York ON
Website: n/a
Style: Jewish
Price: $$$-$$$$

Bagel Plus was my second stop on my trip along Bathurst. As the name suggests, they indeed do have more than bagels, including your Jewish baking staples such a rugguleh, challa bread, and a few (though not a lot) of poppy seed goods. Everything looks pretty tasty, though the prices are a little over-the-top, especially in comparison to the bunch of bakeries in the immediate area; a chocolate cupcake was $3, loaf cakes $7, fruit buns and danishes $3.25 . Add to that some items are for take-out only, others are priced specially for eating it there. It gets a little confusing and overwhelming!

What wasn't very overwhelming was the poppy seed selection; true, I came a few hours before closing which seems a given that there won't be anything left (??), but I don't think there was anything there to begin with. This is the poppy seed strudel (I could have sworn the price said $8.99, though we paid $6, taxes included O.o) which does, in fact, make the price understandable: this thing is stuffed, loaded, bursting at the seams (do you get it now? ;P) with poppy seed and nothing but poppy seed, raisins and made moist and sticky with extra generous amounts of honey. This monster of a mass is then wrapped with a thin, flaky dough with rock sugar on top.

Whoa, I'm not sure I've ever had so much pure poppy seed in one sitting... *_* If you're going for a drug test or something, I recommend you not eat this beauty beforehand. I'm sure you're going to be tested a hundred times positive for opiates, ha ha ha! :D Ahem, fawning aside, I must actually say -- believe it or not -- that for the amount of dough, there really was too much poppy seed. *gasps in horror* Omg, I know, I know! How can I possibly say such a thing? The ends are excellent, but once in the middle, the poppy seed just oozes out onto your plate (I wanted to turn the slice upright in my photo and it. just. wouldn't work!) and you're stuck with nothing but a mountain in the end and while I do love poppy seed like there's no tomorrow, eating it plain is pushing it. I think it would be a lot better if they actually rolled the strudel instead of just making a flaky shell (in the same way as an Austrian apple strudel), so you got at least a little bite of dough with each mouthful.

Still, with so much commitment to ingredients, I can't scold them too much -- taste-wise, this was delicious!! ;) However, their prices are a bit of a setback for a return trip; I can go north or south and get some equally delicious, wholesome baked goodies for less.

Rating: ***