Hagabakarí [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Hagabakarí
Address: Hagamelur 67, Reykjavík 
Website: n/a 
Style: Icelandic 
Price: $$ 

Last year, my lodging was in this neighbourhood and so I went to this bakery on my last day in Reykjavik, only to find that it was closed for the long weekend. Not being anywhere in the area this year, it was nonetheless the last bakery in Reykjavik proper that I still needed to review, so I made the walk over here and have officially done every actual bakery in the city! A few in outlying cities still remain to be done and the cafes are next, but I am on my way to conquering Iceland! Yes! ^o^

Anyways, this place is your typical neighbourhood bakery, with not very much in it save for a single glass case of sweets, all being of the usual variety: danish-dough slices, cinnamon rolls and one or two others. Ha ha I hate to say that I look back on this place with not too pleasant feelings, solely because I somehow miscounted my money and had to end up paying by credit card. I don't know what happened... This is nevertheless one of the emptier, less impressive bakeries in the city, but in terms of its goods, it's certainly far from disappointing. It also happened to be home to my favourite cheese bun of the year (not that anyone wants to know that), the other not managing to wow me.

In terms of the sweets purchase of the day, I picked out the usual: a slice of "Vienna bread", with pink icing of course (250kr). Seeing as I probably had more than my fair share of these on my trip (I kind of look back in some alarm at how many danishes I ate in this two-week stretch :D), this one landed somewhere in the middle. The flaky dough (in fact, you can one see one part flaked off completely prior to the photo...) was pretty good, although I found it a little too airy; this thing weighed almost nothing and this meant slightly larger air bubbles than desired. A little skimpy on the custard, it still had a fair bit of sliced almonds... and of course the pink icing. :P Pretty good, but I've had better; at any rate, it's worth it if you're in Vesturbær, but otherwise it's not really anything making a special trip for.

Rating: **1/2

Bakin' Donuts

Bakery: Bakin' Donuts
Address: 48 Water St, Summerside PE (plus other locations in PEI)
Website: n/a 
Style: Doughnuts 
Price: $

Well, there's one bakery in Summerside and somehow we didn't go to it -- there must have been a reason for it such as it being too early or that we didn't want to drive back towards downtown in the morning when we were going in the opposite direction. Whatever it was, simply to have said I tried some sweets in the city of Summerside, seeing as this was where we spent our single night on the island, we went to Bakin' Donuts for some local doughnuts. I just had to have PEI on my tour.

Nevertheless, Bakin' Donuts (not to be confused with "bacon doughnuts" -- north of the border, that's just Toronto XD) is a local chain of Tim Horton-like coffee shops found relatively throughout the island. With what seems like five total locations, it's certainly not a large chain and, as such, I guess it deserves some mention. However, despite its name, Bakin' Donuts has a lot less well, doughnuts than I imagined. In fact, they're more or less the same: deep-fried cake doughnuts with a couple varieties of toppings that resemble each other quite a bit nonetheless: plain, maple, butterscotch or chocolate. At the Summerside location, there weren't that many in terms of quantity and the fact that they were saran-wrapped was a little off-putting, but biting into them (and examining the greasy paper bag ^^) revealed that they were fried that morning. And that made all the difference, especially compared to the other guys.

Essentially, there's nothing that remarkable about the two doughnuts we got (unglazed and maple; $0.85/each). I'm not a big fan of cake doughnuts, but these were well-done: fried to a golden brown with a crispy outside and soft, fluffy inside as well as a nice fresh glaze on top. Perhaps it can't beat out any real bakeries, but for what it was, it wasn't bad. Especially nowadays, freshly fried doughnuts don't come your way often. Seize the day. :D

Rating: **1/2

Chrusciki Bakery

Bakery: Chrusciki Bakery 
Address: 2872 Delaware Ave, Kenmore NY (plus two locations around Buffalo)
Website: http://www.chruscikibakery.com/
Style: North American, Polish
Price: $$$

I think this is quite possibly the first Cake Tour inspired by a commercial. My brother, seeing an ad for this bakery on the Buffalo TV station, just couldn't resist giving it a try; after all, there was something exciting about trying out a new Polish bakery -- and one that seemed to have "chrusciki" (deep-fried strips of dough coated in powdered sugar) as their specialty!

The concept, however, far exceeded the reality. In the first place, one could hardly call Chrusciki a "Polish" bakery. The only baked good that was actually selling at the moment of the brother's visit were the bakery's cannoli. Excluding the four items that were purchased (that is, every single Polish item for sale), expect your North American staples as well as a few Italian ones -- for whatever reason. And expect these North American staples to be better than anything Polish (this does seem to be general opinion online) they have to offer. As a rule, the Polish baked goods were either stale, laughably unauthentic, or both; prices were a little steep for what you got. No one was expecting grandma's old-country baking, but we were still pretty... startled.

The first purchase (not pictured) was the famous -- or infamous -- pączek (jam-filled doughnut) which the brother ate on the spot. He was greatly disappointed at finding it old, the dough stale and the icing cracked (a sure sign it's been sitting somewhere for a while), and was quite angry that they sold it at all, at regular price.

The second item was their mazurek, which was a mazurek in name only. This relatively small cake (check out the Karlik post for a photo) traditionally eaten during Easter and is usually made up of two layers of shortbread dough (at least, I think that would be the translation of it) and filled with a thick filling of either jam, chocolate or sometimes caramel. (I've encountered all three) The top is then intricately decorated with dough and icing. Chrusciki's version, for one, should not have even taken the name of mazurek; if they wanted it to be "Polish", they would have gotten away with "ciasto" (cake). This was like the bouncy castle of mazurki: bloated and puffy with a sponge cake dough that had a commercial boxed-cake feeling to it and filled with alternating layers of orange and red jam, though no one could really pinpoint what fruit it was. Sickly sweet and simply not at all Polish-tasting, my mom called it a disgrace. At the very least, the vacuum-packed plastic prevented this from getting old....

There was, however, one item that did pass with (relative) flying colours: their makowiec (poppy seed roll). This was by far the best thing we had and most certainly the most authentic. The mom commented that some old lady who still knew what was doing probably made it. ;D Certainly not the best I've had, but it still manages to beat out a bunch of the, especially commercial, GTA bakeries, both in terms of taste, quality, and freshness -- perhaps it didn't taste freshly baked, but here was absolutely nothing wrong with it and this is probably the worst criticism I had. A surprise, at any rate. Had I judged this bakery on the makowiec alone, I would have given it **1/2.

Naturally, the namesake did need to be tried. Given the fact that this is supposed to be their signature baked good, the chruściki proved to be yet another disappointment. Maybe these things don't get stale as quickly as doughnuts, but no matter if they're in a not-so-sealed contained, they do get old. And these were old. :/ Actually, chruściki/chrusty are one of these things that need to be eaten hot and fresh, dusted with sugar once they've been taken out of the oil, otherwise you get a totally different and not that great experience. The dough had lost its crispiness and tasted artificial -- at first we thought it was the powdered sugar, but then realized it was in the dough. Not sure what it was, but no one liked it.

Final verdict: obviously TV is the last place to get bakery inspiration. -__- Even if they are the only Polish bakery in the area (please feel free to contradict me; this is what the brothers tell me from their regular trips), there are better places to get baked goods in Buffalo -- at least they'll be fresher, that's for sure.

Rating: *1/2

Jói Fel [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Jói Fel
Address: Holtavegur 10 (in Holtagarðar), Reykjavík 
Website: http://www.joifel.is/
Style: Icelandic
Price: $$$

One of the last bakeries within Reykjavik that still needed to be covered by me, Jói Fel is a bakery chain with a few locations mostly on the outskirts of Reykjavik -- their branch in Kringlan mall is probably their most "central" location, so for someone staying in the city centre (for once, ha ha!), it was a bit of a hassle to get there... then again, I walked to Holtagarðar, a shopping centre on the edge of town, which perhaps wasn't the wisest decision. 

Nonetheless, with their artisanal breads and baked goods, classier stores, and black and white photography, Jói Fel seems to be Sandholt's only competitor in terms of "chic" bakeries in the capital, but while Sandholt is a little crammed with its small storefront along Laugavegur (there was literally a line up out the door when I walked by), these guys seem to overwhelm with the absolute vastness of their sit-down bakeries, from their restaurant-calibre seating area to their large counter. On a weekday at around lunchtime, I can't say their assortment of comfy couches and large tables was being put to much use and only a corner of this large counter was actually dedicated to baked goods (though they had a lovely assortment of cakes at the very end), but there was nevertheless a sophistication that doesn't exist in the homier bakeries. Of course, sophistication comes with a price tag. This place does not look cheap and, I must say, it was a little daunting at first, especially considering that Sandholt -- one thing which I don't like about them -- has nothing priced, but upon closer examination, I found everything labelled. Expect to pay slightly more than other bakeries (50-75kr for single items), but I was relieved to find it was nothing too outlandish -- at any rate, that place in Stykkisholmur was still the most expensive. 

I went away with a danish (I should really remember what the Icelandic equivalent of "spandauer" is, but I'm almost certain, everything -- regardless of its shape -- is known simply as "vinarbrauð" Feel free to contradict me), rather the round danish (325kr). Without a doubt, these guys had the most "Danish" of danishes I've seen in Iceland, with a very simply adorned circle of flaky dough lacking the typically Icelandic pink icing option (^^). There was the custard and marzipan filling, the delicate drizzle of chocolate and vanilla, and definitely the more browned appearance. What about the taste? Based on its look, I think I was expecting it to knock my socks off a lot more than it actually did. I would have liked it a bit more buttery, slightly flakier on the outside, so you have that wonderful crunch and softness in the middle, but other than that, it was very good. The Vienna bread did not disappoint, that's for sure! ;) 

Perhaps it's not worth going out of your way for it, but if you do happen to spot one of their locations, pop in for some flaky creations and you'll find you won't regret it. Of course, seldom does that happen, but I digress... :P 

Rating: *** 

Main Street Restaurant and Bakery

Bakery: Main Street Restaurant and Bakery
Address: 37764 Cabot Trail, Ingonish NS 
Website: n/a 
Style: Canadian
Price: $$

Arriving somewhat late at our cabin for the night, we were given the dinner suggestion to either go 20 minutes backwards and overpay for "home food" or go 25 minutes the opposite way and get good seafood and slow service. Fortunately, we chose the latter, not only because it proved to be quite tasty, but because the restaurant also doubles as a bakery -- don't let the lobsters distract you from that! ;) Another lovely, semi-remote dot on the Cabot Trail for the Cake Tour map! *-*

Anyways, even though the bakery seems to be a side-project of the restaurant, there is still quite a selection -- empty shelves at the end of the day indicated that they normally have a lot more selection -- of some classic baked goods. They seem to be particularly proud of their pies, though we weren't sure what we'd do with one; rather, when and how we'd eat it. In the bakery corner, they have either ready-packed breads, cookies and squares -- only a couple varieties remained. There are also individual options such as cinnamon buns (which also come in packs), but, as one may expect, these were also already gone, which was a shame, since I would have preferred trying a few things than committing to a six-pack tray of one item. Prices were located on a list attached to the side of the shelf, although most, if not all, trays of treats are priced at $4.95.

So, of the small selection remaining, I picked the date squares ($4.95 for a pack of six). These were pretty much the same date squares as you'll pick up anywhere in terms of appearance and assembly: dough on the bottom, date paste in the middle and topped with a pretty generous layer of crumble. Taste-wise, I'd have to say I've had better. For one, these things just would not stay together and trying to handle it with either fork or fingers caused it to turn into cobbler, not a square. Dates on their own are very sweet, so adding sugar in the paste and dough was unnecessary -- they were too sweet! First it was my mom who remarked and I thought little of it, because she usually says almost everything is too sweet, but these really were sweet -- and I found them a little too greasy/oily as well. Once you got everything into your mouth, it was alright, but nothing spectacular (at this point, though, it would have been nice to have had something else other than a whole tray of these). Suffice to say, the dinner we had there was much better.

Rating: **

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