Catch up #1: Bakeries, Coffee & Snacks

I feel like my regular life has been put on hold for the last few months because of school.  I expected the course to be hard, but I didn't expect that it would suck up every free moment I had because the material was really THAT difficult.  Now I need to play catch up with blogging.  I just looked and I have posts that I should have done back in June July....so I figure the best way to do this would just be to try and categorize many of the food visits into grouped posts.  I'll try my best to make it short and sweet.  Shouldn't be hard I think because to be honest I no longer remember the fine details.  This past term honestly has fried my brain.

Allans Pastry:
I used to love eating these Jamaican patties.  Not sure if it was for the flavour, or if it was just because they were affordable as a student.  Allan's makes the best pastry shell for the Jamaican patties.  But this last time I had it, the filling.....kinda lacking.

Jamaican Patty

3064 Don Mills Rd.
North York, ON
M2J 2T9
416-494-5438

Blackbird Baking Co.
On the days that I needed to go to class in the middle of the day, I would park at Kensington Market to save money.  UofT would have cost me $20, but Kensington Market was only $5.50.  10 minutes of walking each way is worth saving the $14.50.  Which in a way allowed me to buy some snack foods from Blackbird, for the super long drive home in rush hour traffic.  They have this chocolate cake/muffin so amazingly good. I don't even know how to describe it.  The closest thing that I think it resembles is a cross between a meringue and a mousse.  I don't think that even exists, but the texture of it just melts in your mouth.  I have some amazing willpower not to grab a snack from here every week!

Chocolate Cake

172 Baldwin St.,
Toronto, ON
M5T 1L8
416-546-2280
http://blackbirdbakingco.com

Baker & Scone
I never would have thought that a bakery could exist by pretty much only selling scones.  But I guess when they do such a good job with the scones, it will work!  Hubby had their brunch 'special' which was a chive and cheese scone with some smoked salmon and micro greens sandwiched in.  I had a current scone.  Sooo good that we bought 6 more scones as we left so we could try other flavours.  All of them were so delicious, crispy crunchy outside, with buttery inside.

Current Scone

Smoke Salmon Scone

693 St. Clair Ave W.
Toronto, ON
M6C 1B2
416-657-2663
http://bakerandscone.com

Pain Perdu Bistro
I actually went to Pain Perdu right after eating at Baker & Scone.  And no, I didn't eat the croissant right after.  I saved it for later.  The scone was pretty darn filling.  The choice to visit Pain Perdu was because of its close proximity to Baker & Scone.  Its pretty much across the street from each other.   From reviews that I read online, I pretty much figured that the croissants were good, but the service is horrible.  And right they were!  The lady at the cash asked me what I wanted in a snotty tone, then immediately left before I could even answer.  To do what I don't know.  She didn't return until a good 5 minutes later.  Not sure how they can survive with such horrible service.  So I expected their croissants to be amazing for customers to want to come back.  When I tried the croissant later on that day, it was just meh.  Nothing that blew me away, not even sure how it made top 10.  So unless you are int he neighbourhood, don't bother.

Pain au Chocolat & Croissant

736 St. Clair Ave W.,
Toronto, ON
M6B 1C7
416-656-7246

JTown Summer Festival
It was one of those weekends where I said that we need to go do something fun.  Majority of the summer was spent at my parents place because I needed help taking care of the dog.  So there was no time to relax. So we decided to check out the JTown Summer Festival.  I knew it would be small, but at least it was something to do.  We got there early, and they were still setting up.  But I saw a lineup. It was a line up for takoyaki balls.  Since visiting Japan a few years back, I still haven't found anything like the takoyaki balls I ate in Japan here! The ones here are like the equivalent of chicken balls served at the Mandarin, but with a piece of octopus instead of chicken.  So happy to have lined up.  Tasted just the way they did in Japan!  I can't remember which restaurant was selling them though.

Takoyaki Balls

3160 Steeles Ave E.
Markham, ON
L3R 4G9

Kekou Gelato House

Gelato, Italian.  But that’s not the type of gelato Kekou makes.  Kekou’s gelato has an Asian twist.  The flavours that they offered off the top of my head are Vietnamese coffee, durian, taro, green tea, something with sago and a few other flavours that I can’t seem to remember.

 I chose Vietnamese coffee and durian.  The Vietnamese coffee was very good, tastes just like a Vietnamese coffee except in a creamy frozen form.  The durian, I cannot say enough good things about it.  Here is where I would declare my love for durian.  Stinky goodness with a creamy custardy pulp.  That’s exactly how the durian gelato was.  It even had chunks of durian in it!

Kekou Gelato

13 Baldwin St.

Toronto, ON

M5T 1L1

416-792-8858

http://kekou.ca

Sense Appeal Coffee Roasters

I have a friend that tells me his co-workers love the coffee from here, but since he's not a coffee drinker himself, he can't vouch for it.  Paypal had a promo running where you get $5 off your purchase if you use the Paypal app to pay.  Perfect chance to give this coffee a try.  I ordered a flat white and it was delicious! I want to go have another one....but not convenient for me to get to at all.

Flat White

96 Spadina Ave., 

Toronto, ON

M5V 2J6

416-907-8524

http://senseappeal.ca

The Bakery

I still believe the best butter tart is not available in Toronto, it's in Gravenhurst.  When I get the chance to pass by, I make sure to stop off and grab a few butter tarts to eat.  The filling is sweet, but not overly sweet.  I love the fact that it's runny and not gelatinous like most other butter tarts.  Just thinking about it makes me want one now.....Unfortunately I did't take pictures of the butter tarts.  But I did take one of the chicken pot pie and the sausage roll.  This stuff I didn't like as much because I found it to be too salty.  

Chicken Pot Pie

Sausage Roll

141 Brock St.,
Gravenhurst, ON
P1P 1X2
705-687-2579
http://www.thebakeryingravenhurst.com/our-story.html

Randoms and Almond Milk

Just a few random thoughts have been floating in my mind lately and thought I would share.

1.  I have started listening to podcasts on the drive home from work.  This is because my 1-1.5 hour commute time would result in probably listening to the same song (whatever is popular at the moment), at least 3 times.  My friend recommended a few popular ones that she likes to listen to, but I have found 2 that I have become obsessed with.  I literally can't wait to the drive home the next day so I can listen to more!  First is The Alton Browncast.  I have been a huge fan of his Good Eats days, have a few of his cookbooks and an avid Cutthroat Kitchen watcher.  I love his humour and nerdiness in explaining the science behind food.  Each episode Alton interviews a 'celebrity' chef, has a food of the day, and a recipe relating to the food of the day.  The second is My Life As a Foodie.  Each episode focuses on a different food, and there's usually a recipe that is linked to it.  I'm still in the very early episodes (circa 2007).

2. A pickle is a mature cucumber.  This one cracked me up.  I couldn't stop laughing at work.  Yes I was listening to the Alton Browncast (And the Winner Is...).  Some of my coworkers found it funny.....others looked at me like what are you talking about.

3. Some people (they label themselves "Foodies") wonder WHY I blog about the restaurants that I blog about.  The restaurants I blog about usually are not necessarily high end fancy restaurants and are not listed on the top of any restaurant list.  I don't think that theres anything wrong with going to and blogging about restaurants that are hole in the walls, or in general affordable good food.  In fact, most of the restaurants that serve really delicious food ARE hole in the walls.  It is also not that I cannot afford to eat at the pricier restaurants.  I have eaten at 3 and 1 Michelin starred restaurants.  And to be honest, I'm not sure I would go back to those restaurants.  For me, expensive restaurants do not necessarily give me feeling of satisfaction or comfort that I am looking for in a meal.  In one of the podcast I listened to, the best feeling that a chef/cook can give someone is the feeling of bringing back that person to the past where they first ate that item, in general feeling of comfort.  That is something that I totally agree with.
I am a simple person who appreciates the simplest of foods.  My favourite "meal" (breakfast is my favourite meal), is a slice of freshly baked crusty bread (non toasted since it's fresh) with butter, with a farm fresh soft boiled egg and a good cup of coffee.  In my opinion, it's easier to make a complicated meal (flavour wise, you can always do some hiding), than to keep things simple and bring out the clean and natural flavours of food.
The restaurants, bakeries etc that I blog about are mostly the every day places that people can choose to go to on a whim.  You don't need a special occasion or a special reason to visit.  No food snobs required.

4. Almond Milk
I usually buy my almond milk from Costco.  And no, I am not drinking it because I am lactose intolerant.  I am simply just looking at milk alternatives.  My favourite brand is Aureeva.  They come in 4L bags.  I try not to buy any of the cartoned soy/almond/coconut milks because of the sodium and preservatives, but I do have a carton in the basement as back up.  And as of late, I cannot find it at Costco.  I have seen it at T&T, but never actually bought from there.
The reason why I like Aureeva compared to So Good, or Silk is because of the texture.  Aureeva has a thinner texture (similar to Asian soy milk), and is unsweetened.  It just seems more natural.  So Good or Silk has this weird thick texture and is super white in colour, which leads me to believe that there must be some additional ingredients that have been added to make it that texture and colour.  To prove my point (mostly to myself), I decide to make my own almond milk.  I found a recipe online and it's super simple to make.

Take 1 cup almonds and soak them in water overnight.  The next day, rinse the soaked almonds and put them in a blender.  Add in 2 cups of fresh water, and blend for 2 minutes.  Strain the mixture through a cheese cloth (or in my case I used a handkerchief).  Simple as that.  The ground almond mixture I dried out in the oven, and mixed half of it into my granola I was making and the other half went into bran flax muffins.  Just a note tho, in the fridge, the almond milk may separate, just give it a good shake and it's good to go.

Almond Milk

Now back to studying.....

Thobors Boulangerie Patisserie Cafe

This is a little piece of Paris heaven for me.  Which makes me happy and sad at the same time.  I love Paris so much, and the last time I was there was when I went backpacking in 2005.  Even though I saw Paris through the eyes of a poor student, I still fell in love with it.  To this day I long to go back.  Each and every time I hear that a friend is going to Paris, it makes me cry a little inside.  Thats how much I want to go back.  I think for now, Thobors is the closest I can get to Paris.

Thobors is a cute little French bakery/patisserie.  It's not only that they make French pastries, but everyone that works there speaks fluent French (speaks English with a thick French accent), and they typically converse in French.  The regulars that walk in the door all speak French too!

When I walked in the door, even though the space was quite small, I was overwhelmed with the selection of cakes, pastries, and breads.  We went for breakfast, so I ordered an omelette with tomatoes, mushrooms & cheese, and the hubby ordered a ham and cheese thing in a puff pastry.  After I paid for my order, I saw this older couple already sitting down and eating just a baguette with butter and jam.  I HAVE FOUND MY PLACE!  I've been looking all over for a place that would serve just that.  I have been on the hunt since Paris.  Something so simple, but yet so hard to find!  Back to my breakfast.  My omelette was made very well.  Eggs were cooked just right.  I find typically when I order omelettes, they always come overcooked.

Omelette

The puff pastry was TO DIE FOR.  Super buttery, flakey mixed with cheesy goodness.  It was so good that we decided to get a loaf of bread, and a bunch of croissants to try at home!

Puff Pastry

Sourdough and Croissants/Pain au Chocolat

While doing some research on Thobors, they say they use Belgian butter, which is supposed to have a different percentage of fat vs water.  Whatever it is, when the croissants are reheated in my little toaster oven, it has a delicious buttery flakey texture.  I would say it's my fave so far!  I'm glad Thobors is so far away from home, otherwise I would get so fat....

Thobors Boulangerie Patisserie Cafe
627 Mt. Pleasant Rd.
Toronto, ON
M4S 2M9

Phone: 416-544-1733

Hours: Wednesday to Saturday 7:30am - 6:30pm
            Sunday 7:30am - 5:30pm

http://www.thobors.ca/index.htm