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| - I went to Bunner's Bake Shop because like a zombie sustained by butter tarts, BlogTO told me it had one of the best tarts in town*. Well actually, I was in the area incidentally, so why not? I knew nothing else about this Junction bakery--I love going to places serendipitously blind.
Upon arrival, besides the cute cartoony storefront, I learned that Bunner's (a name that kind of reminds me of a Pokémon--the cartoony front doesn't help) does only gluten-free AND vegan-friendly goodies. It is so far the only bakery in Toronto that does both AND only both.
Wait a minute, does that mean I'm about to eat what amounts to BUTTERLESS butter tarts?! How does that work out?
Not so bad actually. It has the visual texture of a high quality bakery butter tart, and taste a tad better than the best supermarket tarts, without being overly sweet. The filling is a bit runny, which I don't like. And it has raisins, which I don't mind but others will. A decent good pass, as in, "I can't believe it's not butter."
And I stared at their cupcakes and other treats, wondering what on earth gluten-free vegan cupcakes are like. Really, Steve?
The cupcakes ($3-4 for fresh ones; $2.5 for day-olds) leaves something more to be desired of a cupcake. Beer and bacon is an interesting flavour for a place like this; it is heavy on simulated bacon flavours, and topped with what I like to call "mystery meat" (simulated bacon bits made of coconut). Interesting. The cake base held together well with some damp softness. But what peeved me was how oily the cupcakes were.
You can definitely though taste the passion of this business. Watching the bakers at work behind the counter of this tiny shop (forget about eating in; this is all takeout), they are filling a market void in the city, where those glad a bakery like Bunner's exist can finally have their cake and eat it too. I am not a vegan nor buy into the gluten-free diet thing, so the "OMG! Vegan! Gluten-free!" craze doesn't faze me, but for the most part for me food is food. I do know people suffering from celiac disease though, and they could care less about the consequences the moment a cupcake of any origin is shown in their face. Probably because they never heard of Bunner's. What would they think if they did? And while I don't profess to be an expert on gluten-free food either (hell, I know nothing), I have been warned that gluten-free (and to mix that with veganism?!) grub tend to taste bland. Bunner's not completely tasteless, thank goodness, but they certainly are not perfect either (as I wipe way all this oil coming off from the cupcakes).
Maybe if I'm around next time I will be sure to try other goodies they are raved by many to excel at. Like their cinnamon buns--also declared one of the best by BlogTO**.
{TTC: the 30 or 40 bus to Dundas/Quebec will get you here. You're very welcome.}
REFERENCES:
http://www.blogto.com/toronto/the_best_butter_tarts_in_toronto/
* http://www.blogto.com/toronto/the_best_cinnamon_buns_in_toronto/
BONU GLUTEN-FREE VEGANNESS FOR CRYING OUT LOUD: Soon after my visit, the CBC's Metro Morning did a feature on Bunner's. Have a listen here: http://www.cbc.ca/metromorning/episodes/2014/06/10/dietary-restriction-bakery/
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