dessert – Page 34 – Michael Eats

More Dipped Cones at Les Epicuriens

Published on July 29, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2109 Yonge Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.facebook.com/indulgeyourtastebuds/

Hey, it’s yet another place doing dipped cones. Hooray?

Look, I can’t say no to ice cream, but as I mentioned in my review of Chocolats Favoris last year, we’ve got a lot of places that serve dipped cones in Toronto. It’s a crowded field.

So does Les Epicuriens stand out? I dunno, not really? I mean, they have a lot of dip options (a dozen when I visited), but then most of these places have a lot of dip options. They also have a handful of toppings (various nuts, candy pieces, etc.), but that’s also par for the course.

I went with the “special vanilla” ice cream (vegan chocolate is also an option) with a pistachio dip.

The ice cream is really good. It’s very rich and creamy with a nice, clean flavour. I’d say it’s about on par with Tom’s.

The dip was fine, though it was aggressively sweet and had only a mild pistachio flavour. It basically tasted like white chocolate with a vague whiff of nuttiness. I’d probably try a different dip next time, or just get the ice cream on its own.

Delicious Doughnuts at Glory Hole Doughnuts

Published on July 25, 2019May 24, 2020 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1596 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.gloryholedoughnuts.com/

I checked out Glory Hole Doughnuts when it opened and was thoroughly unimpressed. That was a few years ago, and in the meanwhile it’s been piling up accolade after accolade. Another visit was in order.

Yeah, everyone is right about this place: it’s great.

I had the bread and butter doughnut, which is a classic raised doughnut topped with brown butter icing, toasted breadcrumbs, and cinnamon.

The doughnut itself was perfect; just the right amount of fluffiness and chewiness, with a really nice flavour and no oiliness (this was an issue on my first visit, but not even a little bit this time).

The icing was creamy, slightly nutty from the brown butter, and perfectly sweet. The breadcrumbs add some crunch and a mild toasty flavour.

The sweet cinnamon-infused flavour, the creamy icing, and the crispy breadcrumbs are an irresistible combo. It’s an amazing doughnut.

Simultaneous Love and Hate at Blackbird Baking Co.

Published on July 23, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 172 Baldwin Street, Toronto
Website: https://blackbirdbakingco.com/

You win some and you lose some.

I just tried the almond croissant from Blackbird Baking Co. On one hand, the croissant itself is fantastic; it’s lightly crispy on the outside, satisfyingly buttery, and has an absolutely perfect texture. The exterior crispiness is maybe a bit too subtle, but for the most part it’s one of the better croissants I’ve had in the city.

But the almond part of this almond croissant is disappointingly anemic. Almond croissants are traditionally stuffed and topped with almond paste; the paste on top gets crispy and caramelized, and the paste inside is gooey and sweet.

That’s how it’s supposed to be, at least. Here, on the other hand, the layer on top was so thin that it may as well not have even been there, and it was filled with a crumbly, dry almond mixture that had almost no sweetness. It’s not at all what it’s supposed to be.

I get wanting to put your own spin on a classic, but if you’re going to do that, maybe make sure that your new creation actually tastes good?

Still, the croissant itself is so amazing that it basically doesn’t matter. Just don’t expect anything particularly sweet or almondy.

Danish Cinnamon Rolls at Brod

Published on July 17, 2019July 17, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 100 City Centre Drive, Mississauga (inside Square One)
Website: https://shopsquareone.com/brod

If the only cinnamon rolls you’re familiar with are the doughy and diabetes-inducing ones they serve at Cinnabon, Danish-style cinnamon rolls (a.k.a. kanelsnegl) are going to come as something of a shock. It’s like comparing “Macho Man” Randy Savage to Daniel Day Lewis. They’re both entertainers, but that’s about where the similarities end.

The kanelsnegl at Brod is solid. The pastry is quite nice — it’s flaky and a bit buttery, with crispy outer ring that eventually gives way to a softer, sweeter interior.

It’s a little bit bland, however; the pastry itself doesn’t have a ton of flavour, and the cinnamon/sugar level is probably a notch or two more restrained than it needs to be.

I know it’s not fair, but I couldn’t help but compare it to the kanelsnegls I had on a recent trip to Copenhagen, and there’s no contest. Those ones featured a much better balance of sweetness, with the pastry itself being downright magical.

Still, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with what they’re serving at Brod. It’s not amazing, but it’s very good.

More Tasty Ice Cream at Nadege

Published on July 15, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 780 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: http://www.nadege-patisserie.com/

The last time I tried the ice cream at Nadege, I found it to be quite tasty, but not quite on par with the best ice cream in the city, like Bang Bang or Greg’s.

On a recent visit, I tried the Baked Caramel Crunch, with features vanilla ice cream swirled with caramel sauce and chocolate chip cookie dough (the menu just says chocolate chip cookies, but the chunks were chewy and tasted like cookie dough to me). I normally go with a cup over a cone, but having heard so many good things about the cone, I figured I needed to try it.

The cone is as advertised. It’s amazing. It’s crispy but not overly crunchy, with a rich buttery flavour. It’s easily one of the better cones I’ve ever had.

The ice cream is as I remembered. They’re incredibly generous with the sauce and the chunks. That sounds good, right? And it is, but there’s a limit. It’s like that episode of the Twilight Zone where the guy in the afterlife has everything go his way until he finally realizes that he’s actually in hell, not heaven.

The scoop was so saucy and chunky that I could barely even taste the ice cream. It was overkill. From what I could taste of the vanilla, it seemed like it was above average, but I honestly couldn’t particularly tell. It was basically like eating a tub of caramel sauce with cookie dough mixed in.

I had better luck on another recent visit with the strawberry pistachio. This one features pistachio ice cream with a light and frothy strawberry sauce mixed in. Strawberry and pistachio sounds like an odd combo, but it works; the sweet fruitiness of the sauce compliments the rich, nutty ice cream very well.

And since there weren’t any chunks, I was able to taste the ice cream itself, which is quite good. I really wish they wouldn’t work so hard to obscure it.