Location: 856 Weber Street North, Waterloo
Website: https://fritterco.ca/

The apple fritters at The Fritter Co. in St. Jacobs Market are popular.  I’ve been hearing about them for years, so when I recently found myself in St. Jacobs, checking them out was a must.

The first challenge: actually finding the place in the surprisingly massive St. Jacobs Market compound, which encompasses several enormous buildings and a seemingly endless outdoor market.  I’m not sure where the largest farmers’ market in the world is, but I have to imagine this one is in the top 10.

The second challenge: mustering up the patience to stand in the gigantic, slow-moving line, which wound up taking about half an hour.

Maybe after all of that, no fritter could have lived up to my sky-high expectations, but the apple fritter here was… not very good?  This place is universally beloved, and sorry everybody, but I don’t get it.

The fritter is interesting, I’ll give it that — each one features a full apple ring that’s the approximate thickness of a finger.  And I did enjoy the contrast between the very tart apple slice and the sweetness of the sugary exterior.  But the crisp apple slice also seems to impact the pastry itself, which was slightly undercooked around the middle in both of the fritters I tried.

Otherwise, the very pancake-like pastry was fine, I guess?  And the whole thing was certainly not unpleasant to eat (the fact that they serve them piping hot from the fryer helps), but was it worth the epic half hour line-up?  Absolutely not.  If you’re coming from Toronto, save yourself the time and just go to San Remo or Dipped Donuts.  You’re welcome.