Absolute Bakery

Bakery: Absolute Bakery
Address: 547 Danforth Ave, Toronto ON
Website: n/a 
Style: European 
Price: $$

[Note: The short-lived Danforth location listed above is no longer existence, after about a year (quite sad, because this was more accessible for me than Cabbagetown), but their original location on Parliament is still there: 589 Parliament St]

I have actually had this bakery's original location in Cabbagetown on my to-visit list for quite some time now, but never got around to touring this neighbourhood. Having read online that its owners were of Sri Lankan descent and already a huge fan of Sri Lankan food, I was intrigued to check out what others described as a mix between French pastries and some South Asian baking. So it came to me as a very pleasant surprise when I was in Greektown the other day and found they had opened another location on the Danforth. Perfect! ^-^ And while there is nothing actually South Asian here (not sure about the original location?), there were plenty of delectable, flaky French-inspired pastries such as danishes, croissants, along with slices of cheesecake, challah bread; not to mention savoury quiches and crepes. Prices are reasonable for what you get and are listed on a board above the cash.

Besides this, I have to say I never expected what greeted me through the window and made me bolt inside as quickly as humanly possible: a heaping pile of poppy seed buns (around $2.25 each... I assumed they were $2.50 with the rest of the danishes but turned out cheaper)! O_O These were the poppy seed buns of my dreams: oozing with black poppy seed mass and folded over with egg-washed dough.

There are times when an amazing baked good is behind a not so tempting exterior; other times it's quite the opposite and something that looks delicious disappoints. Then there are those times when one look is enough to tell you this will be a good Cake Tour; this was one of those times. In fact, I bought two right away and froze one for another day. Great decision. These were scrumptious! Tons -- and I mean tons -- of delicious poppy seed mass; great dough that was slightly fluffier than the usual dense poppy seed dough. Mmmm... what a find!

The verdict: an absolute delight! ;)

Rating: ***1/2