O&H Danish Bakery

Bakery: O&H Danish Bakery 
Address: 5910 Washington Ave., Racine WI (@ Trader Joes) 
Website: http://ohdanishbakery.com/
Style: Danish 
Price: $$-$$$ 

While at the Trader Joes in Buffalo, NY, one of my "American bakery tour suppliers" chanced upon these 'authentic' Danish kringles, produced by this bakery from Wisconsin and shipped throughout the country (available in various stores as well as sold online). Knowing of the fondness we both share for Danish pastries, he could not pass up this opportunity.

Without a doubt, O&H's signature item are their kringles, rings of flaky Danish dough stuffed with a variety of fillings and topped with icing. Officially counting more than a dozen varieties, selection does vary in-store and at the time of purchase, there were a couple to choose from, namely a more classic almond, Wisconsin, I believe, and the special edition pumpkin spice (or something along those lines) that was bought in the end.

Packaged in wax paper sleeves, the one major minus going into it is the freshness; you know these must have been sitting on the shelves for at the very least several days (the list of preservatives and additives isn't very appetizing either :/). This resulted in a dough that wasn't as flaky as it should have been; instead, it lacked the texture it looked like it was supposed to have. A few samplers (myself included) thought it was a little too sweet, but all of us seemed to wonder why the purchaser chose the pumpkin kringle over the more traditional varieties. The kringle on the whole was alright, but I can't say I liked the flavour choice, even if I do like my pumpkin baked goods; it would have been nice to sample the almond one, which is the classic variety.

Overall, it doesn't come close to beating local Danish bakeries and still had the texture of a packaged supermarket baked good, but it wasn't bad. Next time, though, I'd have to get another flavour....

Rating: **1/2

Wheatberry Bakeshop

Bakery: Wheatberry Bakeshop
Address: 3985 Harlem Rd, Snyder NY 
Website: http://wheatberrybakeshop.com/
Style: American 
Price: $$ 

Whenever anyone goes across the border, a stop at a bakery is always in store, especially since my coverage of the Buffalo-Niagara area is getting better and better. :)

Wheatberry Bakeshop, in the conglomerate of towns around Buffalo, is the latest entry. This place specializes in -- or seems to specialize in -- European-style artisan breads, but also offers a more or less classic repertoire of down-home baked goods like squares and cookies, cakes and some flaky dough (and cupcakes too, but I never count those *scowls*). And unlike previous tour stops in the area, with their flamboyant amounts of icing, sugar, and coloured gloop, Wheatberry's fare is simpler and more low-key, but this in itself is a good thing, because it actually looks and tastes pretty good.

For today's sampling, there was the pecan whiskey bar ($2.50), a square that reminded me of a pecan tart: a rich filling with chunks of pecan, a definite splash of whiskey (it's always nice when you can detect that hint of extra fun ;D), and a tasty shortbread bottom. Pretty good. It was nothing fancy, but sometimes looks can be deceiving: a scrumptious treat that puts this bakery in among the top in western NY.

Rating: ***

St. Urbain Bagel Bakery

Bakery: St. Urbain Bagel Bakery 
Address: 7077 Bathurst St, North York ON 
Website: n/a
Style: Jewish 
Price: $$ 

Very often, these "bagel places" have limited options for those who are there for something more sweet. I popped in to try the bagels, not expecting too much for the Cake Tour, and came away ecstatic. That being said, St Urbain does not have very much selection. On a Saturday afternoon, the store was more or less empty, with a few racks of "danishes" (poppy seed, chocolate or what looked like prune) and a couple pound cakes as well as absolutely enticing, giant apple cakes (which, given the bakery's success, I need to try next time). There was a deal going on with the danishes (buy 4, get 2 free) which I should have taken advantage of, had I known; nevertheless, limited labelling and no prices on anything besides flat bagels.

Mooooore, give me more!! *______*

No matter the price, though, I could not resist the poppy seed bun. ;) It turned out to be (or must have been) around $2-something if I subtract it from the cost of a six-pack of regular bagels. Not bad, and that's certainly the case given how amazing it was. Just a few days earlier, I had been thinking that, whether it was me or quality is constantly going down, I had not been "wowed" by a bakery -- especially a new bakery -- for some time. There have been fairly good bakeries along the way, but it's been a while since anything has blown my mind. Until St. Urbain's poppy seed bun. Oh man, there is still hope! *-* One bite and I could not believe how delicious this was! Everything was perfect: generous poppy seed mass folded together with the thinnest layers of dough. The sugar/honey pooled at the bottom, creating a chewy crust and then a crunchier one on top with a layer of hardened sugar and glaze; add the soft, poppy seed-rich inside and you get three different taste sensations and all transport you to cloud nine. This was so insanely good that my mouth is watering as we speak. Wow. Perfection.

All I'm hoping for now is that the next time I'm in the neighbourhood (which isn't often, unfortunately), that buy 4, get 2 free deal is still happening, because it's going to be 6 mind-blowing poppy seed buns for me... and maybe I'll throw that apple cake in there as well. :)

Rating: **** 

Steeles Bakery

Bakery: Steeles Bakery
Address: 6235 Bathurst St., North York ON
Website: http://www.steelesbakery.com/
Style: Russian, Jewish
Price: $$

I was driving along Steeles from Yonge when I started wondering whether there were any bakeries in the Bathurst bakery strip that still needed reviewing. And turns out there were. :)

Steeles Bakery, located in the Price Chopper plaza, is one of these blink-and-you'll-miss-it bakeries. The small sign under the overhang doesn't help, but neither did the rolled down blinds that made me wonder if it was open at all. Driving right up to the door revealed someone standing behind the counter, so the car was parked and a mad dash for baked goods was made. :D   

The majority of baked goods (and products) are housed right in the front window: a variety of large yeast buns, rings, rugullah (sp?), and pastries line the shelves while some cakes (cheesecake, notably) are located further down by the cash. Most, though not all, items were priced and at $3.50 for a bun and $4.00 for a rugullah, I found the prices somewhat steep, particularly in comparison to nearby bakeries.

However, I just pounced on the poppy seed ring ($10), which looked stunning! Poppy seed tucked between layers of fluffy dough and coated in glaze, the occasional slivered almonds, and rock sugar, the outside held much promise. I was, however, pretty disappointed that the amount of poppy seed on the outside did not reflect the amount of poppy seed on the inside. The latter contained little more than a soft, rather airy dough reminiscent of sweet bread; there wasn't that much poppy seed after all. I also thought that, although the top was the best part of the ring, there was too much of the rock sugar, which ground against your teeth and was not the most pleasant of sensations.

Great tasting on the whole, but it didn't manage to wow me in the way I thought this baby would. :(

Rating: *** 

Roma Bakery and Deli

Bakery: Roma Bakery and Deli
Address: 233 Barton St., Stoney Creek ON 
Website: http://romabakery.ca/ 
Style: Italian
Price: $$ 

Someone with business in Hamilton brought me back baked goods from another "new" bakery: Roma bakery, an Italian institution that seems to focus more on pizza (at least that's what both the website and customers seem to consider the signature item) than on any sort of baked goods. This, however, is the case with most Italian bakeries -- they always seem to smell more like tomato sauce than anything else... 

Anyways, besides the pizza, there is the usual counter of sweets available for those who are *not* there for the tomato sauce. ;) Despite the name of the bakery, these include your classic repertoire of traditional Sicilian pastries, the majority of which are stuffed with a cheese-based, creamy filling.

Of these, I got two versions of cannoli: the Sicilian and the Venetian... which I doubt actually is Venetian. Disregarding the authenticity, both were stuffed with the same sweet cheese filling and the difference between the two were the shells (besides the candied fruit things): one was a thin, slightly wafer-like shell while the other was a big, airy roll of puff pastry. Of the two, the Sicilian was by far the best, although it wouldn't make it onto the podium for greatest cannolo. Both, especially the latter, were quite large though, making the amount of cheese a little overwhelming for the amount of dough. I always find that when it comes to cannoli, or any cream-filled pastry, bigger isn't better.

Perhaps it was for this reason that my favourite (and all samplers, at that) was the ricotta pocket. As the name indicates, this was more a dough pocket than a pastry of slightly flaky dough stuffed with just the right amount of ricotta cheese filling. I especially liked the fact that there was more dough than cheese, making it -- for me -- a lot more enjoyable than the rich, very cheesy cannoli offering little else besides.  

Roma is a pretty good Italian bakery, but I think that their "homestyle", focaccia-like pizzas are after all their specialty.  

Rating: **1/2