What went down this week.

A journey around Toronto’s pastry world (2)

So here we go again, more pastry talk from our epic journey around Toronto. Last post I talked about Frangipane Patisserie, Nadege, Patachou and La Bamboche. This post will bring us to the east side of Yonge and all the delicious treats that can be found around that side of town.

Rahier Patisserie (Bayview and Manor Rd.) is a stone’s throw away from La Bomboche but it’s miles away in terms of quality.It is probably my favourite place in the city, based on the criteria of this little experiment! The decor of the place is very simple, allowing their products to do the talking. Their showcases are full of delectable treats and I have no idea where to begin even looking. All of their deserts are perfect, simple and elegant decorations, no imperfections and fairly large cake sizes (in comparison to others). However, the macarons are not part of this rule as they are the smallest in the city and unimpressive. Our selection from here included a delicious mango, coconut and passion fruit cake; a very subtle and silky chocolate mousse cake and a nutty milk chocolate cake. Every dessert had all the right flavours, all the right textures and was beautiful. I was very, very, very impressed.

We bypassed the other two pastry shops located in the neighbourhood due to our previous reviews of them. In case you are wondering, I’m talking about Jules Patisserie (Mount Pleasant) and La Cigone (Bayview). Both are  very renowned for their cakes, pastries and their eternal life in the Toronto pastry scene.

We followed this adventure by heading to Bobbette and Belle (Queen St. East and Leslie) and admiring the most beautiful pastry shop of that day. The store sells very little for single consumption, only offering a few hot/cold drinks, packaged candies/cookies and some macarons/cupcakes in the front display. The creme de la creme of the is the cake display running along one wall of the shop. Showcasing some beautifully decorated cakes, this store leaves us all in awe at the skill of the Bobbette and Belle pastry chefs. However, we leave empty handed.

One of our final shops to visit is the newly opened “Le Matin” by Jean-Pierre Challet. If this name sounds familiar, think Ici Bistro on Harbour (voted among the top of Toronto). The pastry shop is tucked away off the main street (Queen East) and is completely empty. Not just of customers but of products as well. A few breads, some ice cream, a chocolate cake and sous vide duck confit are the only items in their very large showcases. A few traditional French products that are hard to come by in Toronto are for sale on the shelves by the door but all in all, this store has surprising little to sell. Since by this time we needed something savoury in our bellies we broke the rules and walked away with a baguette and a sourdough bread, both of them being mediocre in quality. We were definitely left wondering exactly what it is they sell at Le Matin.

Our pastry journey ended for that day but it definitely opened my eyes to the amazing work of all the Toronto pastry shops we visited that day. I feel very fortunate to live in a city that hosts so many chefs with such amazing talents. Stay posted for our croissant adventures!

A journey around Toronto’s pastry world (1)

So it’s Saturday afternoon, the sky is grey and depressing, our stomachs are growling so what are we to do?!?! Well, most people would make lunch, but here at Notes On a Meal, we don’t find that to be enough so we embark on a French pastry shop journey. Equipped with a sneaky camera (well, a cell phone), three hungry bellies and a car (last item on the list is very important since the distances between them quite large) we set out to visit the “Great Ones”.

In order to play fair, we decide on a few criteria. One: we shop with our eyes (as most customers do) so if pastries don’t particularly look appetizing, we move on without a purchase. Two: we purchase only macarons and individual cakes (as a journey comparing breads and croissants is in the works for this summer). Three: we don’t consume anything until we’ve gathered all our products together.

Our day starts out at Frangipane Patisserie, located on Dupont St. just east of Spadina. A cute, minuscule pastry shop serving breathtakingly decorated cakes and a few pastry products. The selection is limited but any of their desserts are guaranteed to make an impression if presented on a dessert table. The piping and decorations on the cakes are impeccable, flawless and very imaginative. I truly find myself gazing longingly at the entire pastry case but settle on a lemon meringue tart and two macarons (salted caramel and lavender honey). The tart is delicious, but a little too sweet (I prefer a tangier lemon curd) while the macarons are unimpressive at best. The flavours lack personality and are barely distinguishable between the disproportionate cookies.

Continuing our journey, it brings us to Patachou Patisserie on Yonge st. (between Davenport and St. Clair). This is the busiest and one of the largest spaces of the day, however it is also the saddest looking display. I will accredit this to their high volume of customers at that particular moment but their savoury showcase (salads, quiches, sandwiches, etc) looked like it was hit by a tornado. On the dessert side of things, nothing was really inspiring. There were a few decorative touches that I particularly liked, like apple wedges on the tarts as opposed to slices, but nothing there begged to be devoured. Needless to say, we left empty handed.

A few blocks north on Yonge is the newly opened Nadege Patisserie (number two of the city). A modern cafe, devoid of customers but full of extraordinary pastries. By far the best display cases, the most modern of the bunch and the most expensive products (ratio to size). After staring longingly at everything there, we walked away with two cakes and a cotton candy macaron. “La Mancha” is a safron creme brulee cake with a blackberry coulis center, a simple clean dessert lacking a little personality and “O2” is a divine combination of caramel and chocolate (too bad it’s so small). The macaron was heavenly with a pungent filling and perfectly textured cookies. I was very, very impressed.

Further up Yonge st. (just south of Eglinton at Manor Rd) comes La Bamboche Patisserie. Having heard recent raves about the macarons, I was racing to the front door to take my pick. However, I was truly disappointed. The flavour combinations are imaginative (we picked Watermelon, Sangria and Champagne) but the taste is lacking. The watermelon in particular was unfortunately the worst macaron I have had to date, resembling watermelon Jolly Ranchers in flavour (if that’s your thing, go have the macaron). There were very few items for sale in the store, a few cakes (three or four flavours in a variety of sizes) and preserves. Overall, not what I was expecting at all.

Next post, we visit Bobbette and Belle, La Cigone and Rahier among other pastry greats in Toronto…..

O’noir Restaurant, Toronto

Hello all! After a slight delay we have returned with yet another Toronto restaurant review. This one is courtesy of one of our lovely contributors, Mr. Pyjama Chef. Enjoy…

“Have you ever imagined losing one of your senses? Just consider spending 2 hours in a room where you can only hear, smell, touch, and taste but cannot see at all – that is what O’noir has in store for you.

Once entering the restaurant, you are seated in the reception area where you make your dinner selections from either a two course or three course menu. The choices include five appetizers, an assortment of five entrees and four desserts. The fun part of this dinner experience is composing your menu of only surprise items (one for each of the courses)…elevating the level of suspense throughout the dinner!

Once the menu is decided and recorded by the hostess, you are brought to your table by your server, a legally blind person. With each step you enter a world of blindness, of darkness, carefully holding onto your server. The dining room is totally pitch black and the culinary adventure begins.

First course arrives to our table and our first reaction is to attempt eating with cutlery, but it’s difficult. So we actually end up eating with our fingers… hints of parsnip, a little carrot, some baby greens… that is what I tasted from my surprise appetizer. Possibly a salad?!

For the main course, the portions are big: the filet mignons are well cooked, the chicken breast is moist, the shrimps are a little bland, the veal flavorful… and the surprise entree, well, it allows for a lot of guesses. It could have been a braised piece of beef from the taste and texture… but after convincing the hostess to give up the surprise, I found out it was honey glazed chicken, moist and tender! The garnish was composed of green beans and sauteed potatoes. Our server for the evening was efficient, very pleasant and extremely patient with all his guests!

For the dessert, the surprise wasn’t quite as difficult to guess as the textures were easily recognizable. A caramelized apple and vanilla ice cream topped off this tantalizing journey.

Overall, this dinner was a great experience – a good meal – with nothing exceptionally fancy but good flavors. This definitely was a test for the taste buds and showed the importance of our sense of sight in any meal.”

In Toronto, O’noir is located at 620 Church St., just south of Bloor st. East. For those interested in more info check www.onoir.com.

Cakes at Ma Maison, Toronto

So with summer being here and wedding season beginning, I figured that posting a few pictures of the amazing custom creations of the Ma Maison pastry team won’t hurt anyone… Enjoy