The annual roll up the rim to lose thread

[Wharn]

Though I agree nothing beats a freshly-baked pastry, there are no neighbourhood bakeries in North America. Or at least there are very few of them outside the downtown areas of large cities. London used to have a very good mini-chain of Italian bakeries which is now gone.

4 for 8 right now. I'll have to see if manny's tip does me any good.

[kw5150]

Originally Posted by Wharn

Though I agree nothing beats a freshly-baked pastry, there are no neighbourhood bakeries in North America. Or at least there are very few of them outside the downtown areas of large cities. London used to have a very good mini-chain of Italian bakeries which is now gone.

4 for 8 right now. I'll have to see if manny's tip does me any good.

Calgary has several neighborhood bakeries in a bunch of different neighborhoods. Glamorgan and Bowness are my fave so far. The inner city ones are pretty good too.

[MolsonExport]

This is where all Tim Horton's Donuts are made. All. Baked 95% at Maidstone Bakeries in Brantford (not owned by Tim's), then shipped, frozen to all locations in Canada (perhaps beyond). The Parbake method. Always fresh, eh?



More on the baloney "always fresh" here: http://money.canoe.ca/money/business...16-121324.html

[240glt]

Originally Posted by Wharn

Though I agree nothing beats a freshly-baked pastry, there are no neighbourhood bakeries in North America. Or at least there are very few of them outside the downtown areas of large cities. London used to have a very good mini-chain of Italian bakeries which is now gone.

I don't think that's true at all...... I have three very nice Italian or Portugese neighborhood bakeries within a 10 minute walk of my house in North Central Edmonton.... many more if I take the car!!

[vid]

Originally Posted by MTLskyline

Here is the hierarchy of doughnuts (never had Robins).

Krispy Kreme > Dunkin Donuts > Tim Hortons

Robin's Donuts are virtually identical to Krispy Kreme. They're juicy but with a crunchy outer shell and exploding with taste. Eating a Tim Horton's Walnut Crunch is like eating a cardboard facsimile of the Robin's Donuts masterpiece.

Also, Pizza Pretzels. There is nothing at Tim Hortons that even comes close to the Robin's Donuts Pizza Pretzel. And in Thunder Bay, Robin's Donuts is the only coffee that sells Persians. There is no Persian recipe in Brampton or wherever Tim's donuts are made, so they lack one of the most popular donuts in town. Also, they called the Bismark a "Boston Creme". They're wrong. Bismarks are the best after Walnut Crunch and Persians, in that order.

[digitboy]

0 for 8. What's wrong with me?

[Ayreonaut]

0 for 1, and I'm guessing it will stay that way. All I really wanted was a couple crullers, but ended up getting a mocha as well (you know, in case I won a car). God it was terrible!

Wait, they have tea, don't they? Well, maybe I can just drink that and win something.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

I am fortunate enough to have the 2nd place winner for Canadian baristas 1 block from my work and about 3 other killer java/espresso shops nearby. I have no problem spending $2-2.50 for a good cup. If I want mediocre coffee, it is free at work.

The national champion was Josh Hockin of Transcend; the barista who came in 2nd was Ben Put, also representing Transcend as he worked there for the year and a half while his wife was working on her MSc at U of A, but now the Puts are back in Calgary and Ben is back working as the barista trainer for Phil & Sebastian.

All of which is to say that you're actually a block from the national CHAMPION since the runner-up is now in Calgary.

[Calgarian]

Tim Horton's has shitty food and shittier coffee. I'll take a cup of burnt Starbucks coffee over Tim's any day, no contest. I think people just go to Tim's out of some misguided sense of patriotism or something.

[halifaxboyns]

3 for 6 - won a free coffee, used it and then won another free coffee lol.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

Tim Horton's has shitty food and shittier coffee. I'll take a cup of burnt Starbucks coffee over Tim's any day, no contest. I think people just go to Tim's out of some misguided sense of patriotism or something.

And people go to Starbucks out of some misguided sense of value. It's shitty coffee packaged as something high end. Grande? Really? I guess good marketing can pull the wool over most people's eyes. Chain store coffee barely resembles proper coffee.

[kw5150]

Tim's is shit for snacks, but if have a choice, I will stop and get a coffee at the one by my house on the way to work no problem. I really wish they would start marketing re-usable cups because I seriously see dozens as I walk to the train....but, whatever.

I cant stand starbucks anymore. They have gone too far with the burnt coffee flavour, and the thin, evenly cut bread loaves (probably from costco) are a waste of money @ $2.25; the staff there are really cool though.

[The Jabroni]

0 / 8

Kind of grumpy right now.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by 240glt

I don't think that's true at all...... I have three very nice Italian or Portugese neighborhood bakeries within a 10 minute walk of my house in North Central Edmonton.... many more if I take the car!!

Calgary and Edmonton seem to have these kinds of businesses. However, I know what Wharn is getting at - London severely lacks neighbourhood bakeries. The city is heavily dominated by corporate entities selling corporate food handcrafted by accountants. And Londoners seem to be completely satisfied with the garbage they're being served.

What I don't get is that where I currently am (Mexico City), Wal-Mart stores actually have full, high-quality bakeries that compete formidably with the independent bakeries. Canadian supermarket bakeries (including Wal-Mart) seem to cater to the lowest common denominator of consumers.

Wal-Mart Mexico donuts are a million times better than Tim Hortons donuts. Yes, Wal-Mart.

[kw5150]

Tim's is shit for snacks, but if have a choice, I will stop and get a coffee at the one by my house on the way to work no problem. I really wish they would start marketing re-usable cups because I seriously see dozens as I walk to the train....but, whatever.

I cant stand starbucks anymore; they have gone too far with the burnt coffee flavour, and the thin, evenly cut bread loaves (probably from costco) are a waste of money @ $2.25; the staff there are really cool though.

[Rico Rommheim]

Originally Posted by Wharn

Though I agree nothing beats a freshly-baked pastry, there are no neighbourhood bakeries in North America. Or at least there are very few of them outside the downtown areas of large cities. London used to have a very good mini-chain of Italian bakeries which is now gone.

This is like beating a dead horse, but that's nonsense. There are 7 authentic, family owned bakeries at a 5 minute walk radius at my home in Montreal. The closest corporate bakery is 15 minutes away. I guess this is one of the perks of living in a dense d relatively old urban fabric. My Montreal home isn't downtown either.

In fact, Montreal has hundreds of independent bakeries spread all over the city. I'd wager the same could be said for Toronto.


Bt based of my travels to all of the other big cities, I find that indeed, there is a serious lack of non-big-box-store bakeries in Canadian cities.

[Coldrsx]

Originally Posted by 240glt

I don't think that's true at all...... I have three very nice Italian or Portugese neighborhood bakeries within a 10 minute walk of my house in North Central Edmonton.... many more if I take the car!!

Exactly. There are a bunch of killer bakeries in and around downtown edm.

[Ayreonaut]

I'm not sure about all small towns, but Black Diamond has a great bakery, so I grew up thinking every town/neighbourhood has one. Excellent doughnuts, soup, and sandwiches (basically a Tim Horton's menu, but awesome).

[Wharn]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

Calgary and Edmonton seem to have these kinds of businesses. However, I know what Wharn is getting at - London severely lacks neighbourhood bakeries. The city is heavily dominated by corporate entities selling corporate food handcrafted by accountants. And Londoners seem to be completely satisfied with the garbage they're being served.

Were you expecting Londoners to have good taste? Ha!

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

In fact, Montreal has hundreds of independent bakeries spread all over the city. I'd wager the same could be said for Toronto.

There is a very big difference between being independant and being good. Toronto may have lots of independant bakeries in the suburbs, but from what I've seen the vast majority are either mediocre or just plain rubbish.

[kw5150]

Tim Horton's should man/woman up and purchase their doughnuts from local bakeries. I don't know how often I will go back.