Barb's Bakery & Bistro

Bakery: Barb's Bakery and Bistro 
Address: 121 McPhillips Ave, Ganges BC 
Website: http://www.barbsbakeryandbistro.ca/
Style: Canadian
Price: $$ 

Despite the fact that Barb's is tucked away behind a plaza, just behind the main street, this seems to be the popping place in town when it comes to bakeries. With its large outdoor patio, ample indoor seating and large selection (and large, somewhat confusing lines), Barb's is a busy place. Which can definitely be a good sign. Another good sign is the shelves and baskets of rustic pastries and baked goods and unique takes on classics, like ginger buns alongside the more traditional cinnamon variety. Of course, my attention immediately went to the not one, but two poppy seed baked goods! Oh yeah!

So, would it be the poppy seed twist bun on top of the counter? Or the poppy seed raspberry square in the fridge along with the other squares? It was quite the dilemma, but seeing as the twist didn't seem to have that much poppy seed rolled up inside it, I opted for the latter. The poppy seed raspberry square ($2.95) consisted of two thicker layers of shortbread dough with a poppy seed mass in the middle of bit of raspberry jam spread along the bottom. Good flavours, with just the right amount of jam, a slightly crusty, cookie-like dough and a nice poppy seed mass, though I felt like it was lacking in poppy seeds; a little more would have made it much more flavourful. Still, a surprising, and quite tasty find.

As a final note, though, I still can't seem to forgive the worker for throwing my poppy seed square into the same paper bag as a tomato pesto stick... There are some things that just can't come into contact with each other. x___x

Rating: ***