"2011-05-07T00:00:00"^^ . . "0"^^ . . "My previous visits to Longo's usually meant going into a small store in a downtown GTA shopping centre, and while it was impressive I surely didn't think it could top Loblaws on Queen's Quay.\n\nThen they opened near the ACC.\n\nIt's downstairs inside the new Maple Leaf residences and as I was going down the escalator, my mind was blown away by the size and sheer beauty of the place. All sorts of fresh area for hot and cold foods and the first thing that impressed me was how they packaged their salads in a kind of double stacked container with all the ingredients separated. Never seen a salad done quite like that previously. The selection is filled with a number of items you can't find at most TO supermarkets. Maybe the exception is McEwen but I haven't ventured to that just yet since it's out in Don Mills. The prices are surprisingly in line or better than the other big three (Loblaw, Metro, Sobey's) and the place was immaculately clean. There's a 'food court' area with a full Starbucks, a small wine shop and a very impressive beer and wine bar with six local microbrews on tap for around 3-4 bucks a pint. I'm kind of surprised and upset that the coffee bar isn't a local chain like Balzac or even something truly Canadian like Second Cup. Instead, it's Seattle. Yawn.\n\nWhile the market is amazing, I wasn't thrilled by their baked goods. I tried one of their cupcakes and it looked beautiful but it had far more frosting than cake. I love frosting but I want a lot of cake too and this wasn't it. It should have been called 'Cupsting' instead. Also tried a Peanut Butter 'Killer' Brownie which was better than the cake, but it definitely wasn't killer in texture and taste. Just didn't give me that dense, chocolaty impact I was expecting. Would've been better off just purchasing a Dufflet cake instead.\n\nAll in all, a definite challenger to Loblaw's and with the bar, it definitely has an advantage there. Beyond that, they need to really improve on the bakery before they can get the win."^^ . "1"^^ . "1"^^ . "4"^^ . .