Longo's [Updated]

Bakery: Longo's
Address: 3163 Winston Churchill Blvd, Mississauga ON
Website: http://www.longos.com/Home/Home.aspx
Style: Italian, North American
Price: $$-$$$

The Great Zeppola Challenge!!!: chapter 2

*pseudo-commentator voice* And the challenge continues with this entry from Longo's. Longo's is a fairly major supermarket chain with locations throughout the GTA. As with Michael-Angelo's, Longo's is also supposed to be Italian-focused, although I've found the former to be more authentic. Going to the bakery, Longo's bakery is fairly large -- and all locations pretty much maintain the standard -- though walking through it, you kind of come to realize that the vast majority is just stacked with cakes and pre-packed cookies, mostly their own and some from other bakeries such as La Rocca.

As a supermarket, though, they do actually have the majority of items made by them, which isn't always the case. A long while back, we used to buy any birthday cakes from Longo's, mostly their real-cream tiramisu, which was by far the best. Anything else, namely any sort of fruit and "mousse" combination, all tasted pretty much the same. :P Anyways, at my usual location, their few baked goods (cinnamon buns, danishes) used to be better and it's kind of gone downhill from there. They had these flaky raspberry twists that were quite yummy, and I'm not sure what happened to them. Actually, I don't even know if they still have that tiramisu I mentioned above either. :/ Out of all their signature items, their Frutta di bosca tart (berry) looks the most promising, though I've never had it myself.

To the challenge, Longo's actually advertised their zeppole ($2.99/each or 6/$14) in their flyer for a few weeks. It's not a constant thing, and therefore, seen as a special treat; unfortunately, despite the appetizing description promising cheese cream and those imported Amarena cherries, the actual product really disappointed and was the worst out of the other zeppole in the challenge. For one, both the pastry rings and the cream itself were just too white. With the former, that means they were baked instead of fried (the "real" way ^^); with the latter, it means... not sure what. The dough itself was the best part, since the towering mountain of cream was really unpleasant. For one, there was no hint of cherries or sauce on the inside (despite what promised); if it was there, there was way too little in comparison to the cream. Secondly, I'm not a fan of those sandwiches were you bite down and everything just oozes out from the other end and this had the same problem. Worst of all was that the cream just was *way* too stiff to be natural and tasted neither like cheese nor like whipping cream. There were hints of the latter, so you can taste they did use real cream, but whip fix? gelatin? I can't account for the semi-solid texture and it was just... ugh, this made you feel *nasty*. D: One brother explained: it tastes supermarket-made. Maybe that's it? Not sure...

Overall,  I always get this idea that Longo's bakery *should* be better than the big names like Loblaws and Sobeys. Given these are almost beyond hope, Longo's is better, but still retains that commercial feeling. So, no podium standing for you! :(

 [NEW!] Well, well, well. I have yet to determine whether this is a constant throughout all stores or just a stand-alone surprise (such as poppy seed buns in the Oakville Sobeys), but I have found -- without a doubt -- the best doughnut in Mississauga and it came from Longo's, the Longo's on Winston Churchill (near Dundas) to be exact. I haven't been to the bakery section in my last, rare visits to the supermarket, but I chanced upon their version of "paczki" (Polish doughnuts). The last time I saw their doughnuts, they were different, so I'm not sure where these came from. I need to find out the next time I'm there, because these babies better stay. In an incredible turn of events, I nabbed a pricier poppy seed (!?!) stuffed doughnut ($1.69). Just looking at it, I knew. Generously coated in a clear, orange-infused glaze, stuffed with Polish poppy seed filling, and fried until golden brown: crunchy exterior and soft on the inside -- if they were fresher, it would be phenomenal. One word: Granowska's, back from the dead!! O_____O Either I went to heaven or heaven came down to me, because there is no doubt in my mind that there's some Granowskas connection: a former baker makes them, they get them from a bakery with former bakers? I'd love to solve the mystery, but in the meantime, Longo's has risen in my esteem and I have to grab as much of these as I can before they inevitably disappear, which seems to happen with all great things. Doughnut rating: ***1/2

Rating: **