bakery – Page 8 – Michael Eats

Outstanding Pastries at Barbershop Patisserie

Published on September 11, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 859 College Street, Toronto
Website: https://barbershoppatisserie.square.site/

I’m sorry to have to inform you, but this is one of those “stop whatever you’re doing right now and visit this bakery” moments, so whatever you’re doing right now — even if it’s important — stop it immediately. Get in your car, or get on public transit, and head over to Barbershop Patisserie. It’s the real deal.

I’ve been there a few times now, and everything is fantastic. Apparently their most popular pastry is the lemon bichon, which is kind of like a kouign-amann — it features a flaky, croissant-like laminated pastry and an exterior layer of crispy sugar, which has a deep, dark caramelized flavour. But it’s also filled with a generous amount of creamy, tart lemon curd, which contrasts perfectly with the sweet exterior. It’s not the most photogenic dessert ever, but man it’s amazing. It’s probably one of the best pastries I’ve ever had.

The chocolate chip cookie isn’t quite as mind-blowing as the lemon bichon (what is?), but it’s a top-notch cookie, with a great contrast between its crispy exterior and chewy interior, and a very generous amount of above average chocolate. The light sprinkling of salt on top helps to balance things out.

I also tried the wild blueberry custard tart, and hey, guess what? It’s delicious. It features a great balance between the creamy custard and the sweet blueberries, and of course that buttery pastry is outstanding.

But why are you still reading this? You should be on your way already.

Amazing Pastries at Cho-Kwok-Lat

Published on August 31, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 31 Main Street North, Markham
Website: https://chokwoklat.com/

There are a whole bunch of really good bakeries doing fancy French desserts in the GTA, so if you want to stand out, you’d better be really good.

Cho-Kwok-Lat stands out.

They have two display counters; one with tasty looking croissants, and the other with fancy cakes. I wanted to eat everything in both displays immediately. The woman behind the counter said that the chocolate rum almond croissant is their most popular, so I figured that was probably a good choice.

It’s immediately clear why it’s so popular. It’s basically like an almond croissant and a pain au chocolate had a baby, and it’s just the absolute best. The combination of the tasty almond paste and the great quality chocolate is so good, and the croissant itself is buttery, flaky, and perfect. I was worried that it might taste overly boozy, but if “rum” weren’t in its name, I don’t think I would have known it was there.

The woman behind the counter heated it up for me, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen with a croissant like this before, but which is clearly the way to go. The croissant was just barely warm, but it had been heated up enough to really emphasize the pasty’s exterior crisp-factor, and to make the chocolate nice and gooey. Good stuff.

Sticky Bun Perfection at Sticky Bakery

Published on August 10, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 621 Saint Clair Avenue West, Toronto
Website: https://stickybuns.ca/

I was thinking recently about how much I miss the Prairie Girl Bakery, which served the best cupcakes in town for years, and then became a tragic victim of the pandemic. A quick googling revealed that the owner has subsequently opened a new place which, as you might surmise from its name, specializes in sticky buns.

I’m not sure why it’s not getting more hype, because it’s seriously, seriously good.

They serve a stellar sticky bun. It’s sweet, saucy, and perfectly moist. The pastry itself is ultra-fluffy and delightful, and the cinnamon/caramel flavour is right where you want it to be.

I just checked their website and apparently the default version has pecans, which I either didn’t see or they didn’t have when I visited. Clearly, I’m going to have to go back, because it seems pretty clear that pecans would enhance this thing.

I also tried the version topped with cream cheese frosting, which was very good, though I have to admit that I preferred the plain. The frosting was tasty, but the sticky bun was already so incredibly delicious on its own that the cream cheese kind of just got in the way.

Seriously though, pecans?? I need to go back ASAP.

A Pleasant Cheesy Scone from Prairie Boy Bread

Published on August 3, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 201 Geary Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/prairieboybread/

I mainly came to Prairie Boy to try the double-fermented multigrain sourdough, which Toronto Life recently called one of the best loaves of bread in the city. And yeah, that’s a serious loaf of bread; it’s dense, hearty, and has a delightfully aggressive sourdough flavour, with a sour tang that’s almost too intense (tang for days!). It’s very good.

(Alas, I completely forgot to take a photo, so you’ll have to use your imagination; it’s round, rustic, and seriously seedy.)

I figured I’d try one of their pastries while I was there, so I went with the cheesy scone. I wish they had heated this up, or served it fresher, because it was a bit clammy. But aside from that it was quite tasty, with a nice buttery flavour and a good amount of cheese.

Also, I don’t think this bakery has any affiliation with the sadly departed Prairie Girl Bakery, but man, remember that place?? Because I do. RIP.

Amazing Croissants at Geste Croissanterie

Published on July 20, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1183 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://geste-croissant.com/

I love croissants. I mean, who doesn’t? They’re crispy, they’re fluffy, they’re buttery, they can be sweet, they can be savoury… they’re one of the world’s perfect foods, and there are few things more delightful than eating a really great one.

Well, Geste Croissanterie specializes in the stuff, and as you’d hope, they’re great. I tried a sweet one and a savoury one, and they were both seriously delicious.

I started with the smoked salmon sandwich, which they make with a croissant that’s been formed into a ring like a bagel. The croissant itself is top-notch; it’s super flaky and buttery, with a great contrast between the crispy exterior and the tender interior. But the rest of the sandwich isn’t an afterthought, with some seriously good smoked salmon that’s definitely a cut above the stuff you can buy at the supermarket.

But it was the pistachio pain au chocolat (which the man behind the counter said is their most popular item — and I can absolutely see why) that really blew me away. I’m sure it helped that it was clearly super fresh, but oh man this was easily one of the best things I’ve eaten in a while.

It features that same outstanding croissant base, which is filled with tasty chocolate and a gooey pistachio paste (I wish I had taken a picture of the interior so you could see how glorious it is). It’s very sweet, but not overwhelmingly so, and the balance of all of the components is absolutely perfect. It’s so good.