| rev:text
| - My family has ordered from this bakery for OVER 20 YEARS- POSSIBLY 30?! Well, in the past 9 years or so, I have seen their quality rapidly go further and further downhill. Worse and worse quality to the product, declining taste and poorer ingredients are plainly evident. Sloppier and sloppier decorating, ruder and ruder counter staff.
We have continued to shop there simply due to the location being convenient, but these days you are really TAKING YOUR CHANCES as to whether the items you buy from them will be somewhat tasty or TOTALLY INEDIBLE. Still, I try to support neighborhood businesses as much as possible so it does break my heart to trash them in a review like this, but these things need to be said.
They continue to have a lot of customers due to their location and due to people remembering how good they USED TO BE, so when folks are back visiting their old neighborhood, they return to this bakery for the memories. But oh, how the standards have fallen!
We got some cupcakes for a party last year in November that we literally could not eat, they were so dry and bad- they went in the trash (not cheap either). Thank goodness it was just a small kiddie birthday get-together and not an important occasion with guests I would have been embarrassed in front of.
We considered getting our wedding cake from them (again, in order to support a neighborhood place) in 2008 but they gave us such a hard time regarding even getting an appointment for a cake consultation that we went with another baker, out in the west end. Looking back, I am glad it happened that way.
As for daily items, their breads are usually decent and their donuts are edible (not great, just satisfactory) but have way too much sickly-sweet frosting. Cookies are usually fine but sometimes their cake decorating is clearly being done as such a rush job that it's sloppy beyond description. Danishes and many other items give the impression that something went sort of wrong with the recipe, items are heavy and greasy when they should be fluffy or flaky or soft and moist. Items seem overcooked or undercooked. I wonder if they ever really taste test what they are producing. Also I don't know how they get away with serving such pathetic cannolis in an Italian neighborhood- pastry cream and zero ricotta, plus just in general- funky ingredients that are blantantly, obviously pre-fab, no fillings seem freshly made, it's all out of some mass-produced tube. And for this low quality, they make you pay premium prices, OF COURSE!
Nothing is marked with price or name of the item, and when you ask, most of the counter staff consistently take a disgusted tone with you and treat you like you are stupid, rolling their eyes at you (the only exception being the youngest girls that work there, in their early 20s, who are consistently very good at being polite when helping customers). The more mature ladies frequently say snarky things to me like: "That's not a cinnamon SPIN, that's a cinnamon DONUT. That's not a DANISH, that's a FRUIT PASTRY." If you don't want to have to answer questions, then put up labels and tags with the names and prices and info, so customers can read what terms you are expecting us to use!
Most recently, I picked up a birthday cake for my father's birthday, and it looked like a child decorated it. Seriously. I could have done a better job myself. Maybe they are employing the cheapest bakers and decorators rather than the more talented ones. If this is the case, it certainly shows.
I think I am DONE with continuing to try to support this "neighborhood landmark." Any time you complain, it seems to do no good-- they do not see the need to heed customer comments and improve.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)