Quick Bites: Slow Jams, Cotolet, Bakerbots Baking

Smoked pork sandwich from Slow Jams
Smoked pork sandwich from Slow Jams

Slow Jams is a Filipino pop-up shop that you can find at various street festivals.  I previously tried their fried chicken sandwich, and between that one and the smoked pork sandwich (“tamarind & sweet soy sauce, spicy pickled cabbage”), they clearly need to get their own location ASAP.  The sandwich features a very generous amount of pork that’s meaty, tender, and satisfyingly smoky.  The slightly sweet, squishy bun suits it perfectly.  Between the strong vinegary punch of the sauce and the cabbage, it’s kinda acid overload, but the pork is tasty enough that this is only a minor complaint.

Pork loin katsu with brown demi-glace sauce from Cotolet
Pork loin katsu with brown demi-glace sauce from Cotolet

You can’t go wrong with a good pork katsu.  I mean, you can’t go wrong with basically anything that’s breaded and fried, but there’s something about katsu that’s particularly magical.  And the version at Cotolet?  Quite good!  The pork was maybe a bit on the dry side, but the panko-breaded exterior was perfectly crispy, and the brown demi-glace sauce (“made with various fruits and vegetables”) has a very nicely balanced fruity sweetness that’s a bit different from any katsu sauce I’ve had before.

Pecan sticky bun from Bakerbots Baking
Pecan sticky bun from Bakerbots Baking

Yep, Bakerbots is still chugging along, serving some of the tastiest baked goods in the city.  I’ve written about them a few times before, so I don’t need to dwell here, but I do feel like it’s my duty to tell you that their sticky bun is very good.  Sweet but not too sweet, nice texture on the bun itself, gooey but not complete mush like certain national chains that sell sickly sweet cinnamon buns… it’s very tasty.  But then I’ve never had anything that was less than delicious here, so I guess that goes without saying.

Quality Cinnamon Buns at Sweet Trolley Bakery

Sweet Trolley Bakery
Location
: 3056 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/sweettrolleybakery/

Sweet Trolley Bakery was featured in the Toronto Star, with the article specifically calling out the deliciousness of their cinnamon buns.  I have a hard time saying no to a delicious cinnamon bun, so yeah, I checked it out.

Sweet Trolley Bakery

I’ll admit that I’ve passed by this place several times, but — to my great shame — never bothered to go in until now.  Well, better late than never.

Sweet Trolley Bakery

The cinnamon bun is indeed extremely tasty.  I’m not sure if it’s the best in the city, but it’s very good; it’s got a nice tender/fluffy texture, a good amount of sweet icing on top, and a nice hit of cinnamon flavour.

I should note that this place is cash only, however, so come prepared.

Cinnamon Roll Centres Blizzard at Dairy Queen

Cinnamon Roll Centres Blizzard
Location
: 325 Central Parkway West, Mississauga
Website: https://www.dairyqueen.com/

Dairy Queen is currently serving their Fall menu of Blizzards, which means the Pumpkin Pie Blizzard (a.k.a. the king of Blizzards) is back.  I probably should have ordered that, but how could I resist something called a Cinnamon Roll Centres Blizzard??  You’re going to take the best part of a cinnamon roll and mix it with ice cream???  Yes please, give me a million of those please.

Dairy Queen describes this as “soft cinnamon roll pieces and brown butter cinnamon topping blended with our world-famous vanilla soft serve,” and alas, it’s not nearly as great as you’d hope.

They mix some cinnamon flavour right in with the soft serve, which is nice, but the “soft” cinnamon roll pieces are actually not soft at all (they have more of a chewy cookie consistency), and taste absolutely nothing like the sweet, gooey, delicious middle of a cinnamon roll.  They’re just kinda dry and chewy, and while they’re cinnamony, they also have an odd flavour that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

I didn’t hate eating it, I guess, but the notion that this has anything to do with a cinnamon roll honestly feels like false advertising.  Can we sue Dairy Queen?  I feel like we should sue Dairy Queen.

Quick Bites: King’s Tacos, Bakerbots Baking, Hanyang Jokbal

King's Tacos
Tacos at King’s Tacos

The most interesting thing about the tacos at Kings Tacos might just be the way they serve them — an order comes with a very generous platter of meat (in this case the King’s Special, which comes with pork, beef, chorizo, onion, bacon, and cheese) and tortillas on the side, and you build it yourself.  It’s interesting, and it’s a great value, because that pile of meat is not kidding around.  That’s not to mention the very generous bowl of free (and tasty!) tortilla chips and sauces that comes with the meal.  It’s not just a good value, however: it’s quite tasty, too.

Bakerbots
Cinnamon Bun at Bakerbots Baking

I’ve heard the cinnamon bun at Bakerbots referred to as one of the best in the city, and yeah, that sounds about right.  It’s absolutely fantastic, with a slightly crispy exterior and a gooey (but not overly gooey and sweet, like a Cinnabon) interior.  The pastry itself is top-notch, with a nice chewy texture and a flavour that ensures that the cinnamon bun isn’t just one-note sweet.  Is it the best in the city?  It could be!

Hanyang Jokbal
Jokbal at Hanyang Jokbal

I mean, look at that glorious pile of pork.  Do you even need me to say anything?  Jokbal is a Korean dish featuring braised pig trotters; I tried the half and half, which is half jokbal and half bossam (pork belly, if I recall correctly).  You eat it wrapped in lettuce with some of the tasty sides and condiments on the table, and yeah.  It’s delicious.  Again: look at it.

Sticky Bun Perfection at Sticky Bakery

Sticky Bakery
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.

Sticky Bakery

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.

Sticky Bakery

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.

Sticky Bakery

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.