Europa Deli and Bakery [RIP]

Bakery: Europa Deli and Bakery
Address: 10520 Yonge St, Richmond Hill ON
Website: http://www.europadeliandbakery.ca/
Style: Romanian
Price: $$

Tucked into an obscure corner of a plaza in Richmond Hill, Europa Deli has eluded me for a great many years -- I found about it while combing through the free ethnic newspapers I picked up at Starsky supermarket, in the hopes of finding some new bakeries. Not taking note of the address, but knowing it was on Yonge, I assumed it to be in downtown Richmond Hill and, not finding it, I assumed it had closed. Going north for more bakeries, I checked the plazas along the way, seeing nothing of interest. At last, I finally did see the sign of this place and, of course, could not resist pulling in for the sake of expanding my Romanian selections. ;)

Europa is nonetheless the only Romanian store in Richmond Hill and neighbouring areas. More a deli than a bakery, they nonetheless have a case of homemade sweets; the baked goods -- as in breads, buns, etc. -- aren't that numerous and include little more than a few sweet and savoury puff pastries and a whole walnut strudel. Instead, the focus of the 'bakery' part of the store is on the cakes. The glass case is filled with a modest assortment of cake slices, mostly with some sort of chocolate in them, and some cream-filled confectioneries and baklava as well. All cakes these are labelled, priced, and often include a description in English. On a Saturday afternoon, it got a bit chaotic (there is, after all, only one lady working there) so a little patience is required, but it may just be worth it.

I picked out two items this time (I was actually on my way to pick up a cake, so technically this stop wasn't needed, but well, one must always seize the day ;)): from the cake selection, I got a slice of Carpati ($3) which was made up of vertically alternating rows of sponge cake and chocolate cream. This was very good and, as a matter of fact, one sampler commented that it was better than the (full-sized) cake we bought elsewhere.

The second item was this stuffed pastry ($3) I was talking about above. I don't know what it's called, but I'd put it somewhere between a strudel and a burek. There are similar pasties on the other side of the counter, stuffed with cabbage or cheese, but I'm here for the sweet stuff! ;D The scent of apple and cinnamon filled the whole car by the time we returned -- was this ever aromatic! I had a feeling it couldn't be bad based on smell alone: delicious filling of shredded apple (very thankful for the absence of raisins!) cooked with cinnamon and sugar wrapped in a slightly thicker puff pastry. Mmmm... this was most certainly a satisfying trip.

The Richmond Hill area is teeming with great bakeries (many of these Persian) and it may be difficult to limit yourself to one, or two... or three at a time -- I hate to say it just got more difficult with Europa joining the ranks. :P

Rating: ***1/2