Baked Goods
World Class Bakers
World Class Bakers was in my life for a while before I knew it. Because my shortbread- loving friend was going crazy for the gigantic shortbread cookies at Tan Coffee on West Queen West. Alyssa hung a show there last week and paid my shortbread-loving friend to help her. Paid her in gigantic shortbread cookies.
So I finally tried these Tan Coffee cookies this week, and the kind young men behind the counter told me they came from World Class Bakers, which is right up the street from me. So with our shortbread friend in tow, Alyssa and I go up there for lunch.
Sure enough, we see the familiar cookies in their original environment. They come in cranberry or chocolate chip for $1.60. Beyond being bigger than "regular" shortbread, they have a taste of salt, which is really nice, especially in the chocolate chip. They also taste more buttery than usual, if that's even possible. Bites of cranberry are a bit sour, which makes them less heavy and easier to eat the whole thing and then some. Furthermore, you can get mini shortbread cookies for $0.75. I love it when food comes miniature.
There's lots of fine looking bread and bagels. The pizzas look great. Unfortunately, right after we finished eating sandwiches a man called out "fresh pizza!" and dumped a new batch of personal sized pies in the display case. I would have had the pizza if that had happened twenty minutes earlier.
Twenty minutes earlier, I'd ordered a toasted Western on homemade rye bread and Alyssa ordered a grilled cheese on thin slices of buttery, toasted, homemade whole wheat bread. My shortbread friend had turkey on rye. All the bread was fresh and delicious, but we would probably take it home and make our own sandwiches next time. Our sandwiches cost around $5.00 each and it just wasn't worth it. I'd rather buy a couple loaves of bread for that price (or lots of miniature cookies).
We split a great cherry cheese danish ($2.25) which would have been nice with a quality cup of coffee. World Class unfortunately serves Seattle's Best, which is pretty mediocre. It's a shame because the atmosphere is nice (including the service - very kind) and they have free Internet, so I'd like to hang around in there and do some work. But I wouldn't want to drink too much of that coffee. I guess could eat the mini shortbread for a couple hours. That would make for a good day.
Photos by Alyssa Bistonath
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the ones at letteri are good but expensive!!!
Another reason to support WCB: They got dealt a shitty hand. They bought the place from a below average bread store. Re-did the whole store over several years while overcoming some rumoured financial issues. Then as soon as they were to open Starbucks plopped down across the street in an old bank and a little after that Second Cup moved in a few doors down. In spite of all that, WCB looks like it's doing well for itself.
I used to devour their chocolate croissants on a weekly basis, but they changed the recipe sometime last year - what used to be light and airy, I now find them too greasy and heavy.
And I don't mind the coffee so much - I order their lattes, and they always take great care (and time) to make it properly for me. (Perhaps they use a different type of bean?)
Everything is a bit expensive, except for the breakfast. They do make good breakfast.
I hate Starbucks, but I'll gladly spend my money there as opposed to this place.
The baked goods are mostly miss with a few hits. Nothing terrible, but mostly average at best. They can't even afford to fix their bread slicer which cuts razon thin slices except for about 3 of the saw blades which are broken and therefore you will get double and triple-slices in every loaf.
The best thing is that you can sit and steal their wireless signal but i'd rather do that at starbucks. Should be renamed World Ass Bakers.
Her boyfriend, this large, doughy, Peter Griffin lookin SOB, pretends he owns the place, when in reality he has zero ownership, and routinely walks behind the counter to grab himself cookies or make himself a sandwich (without using tongs or gloves, because really, who needs to be sanitary when you're the "owner" haha) and honestly, it's just filthy.
The store itself is beautiful and the atmosphere is really casual. The hot food is really good (the lentil soup is amazeballs) and the pastries are decent. It's just a shame that the owner is a bi-polar psycho betch, and should basically be put down. For realz.
And on the topic of those muffins, since no one's mentioned those yet: the chocolate chip muffins are the best I've had anywhere. A lot of places seem to just use some kind of generic muffin batter and sprinkle chocolate chips on top, but the ones at WCB have a ton of chocolate chips all through them, and are really moist and delicious. Super decadent.
Also, I second all the praise for the shortbread. And on the real-food front, I'm very fond of the spinach and rapini calzones.
I agree the coffee's kind of mediocre, though. If you want better coffee, head west a couple of blocks to Ellington's.
I had a friend who worked here out of fear TERRIFIED to quit because her boss would yell at her/ threatened to hit her / would hold her paycheck from her if she did. She had to quit because she could no longer afford to stay in toronto, seeing as she NEVER got her paycheques ontime.. Speaking of paycheques she didnt even have a real payroll. She paid my friend, as well as other workers under the table and told them to shut up about it. Also she hires immigrant students that way she is positive she will be able to rip them off.
HOW IS SHE STILL IN BUSINESS? WHY DO PEOPLE GO HERE?
Or do go here, if being treated like shit while purchasing overpriced dry baked goods does it for you. But don't say you weren't warned.
What really amazes me is that WCB has such an amazing opportunity to be so much more. I would be willing to wager that under different management, revenues could double if not triple. Half the people I know in the hood steer clear of WCB due to the service and attitude in there. It's a shame really.