Treats from Two If By Sea

A little while ago, my boss celebrated her birthday. If you follow me on Twitter, you might see my tweets describing staff birthday celebrations; Nacho Nacho Day, potato chip buffets, sundae bars, ice cream cakes, etc... If you haven't yet picked up on it, birthdays are a BIG deal in our office.

Anyhow, for this birthday, the bday girl was quite interested in trying out Two if By Sea, a bakery in Dartmouth that she had heard much about. Well, she had no idea what was in store for her! Some of us are well acquainted with this much-loved bakery's gigantor-sized buttery baked goods, but to have an assortment such as this enter our office space was slightly overwhelming!

To say that there were a few 'split-sy's' is an understatement. Generally though, I prefer to relish TIBS baked goods that way; I get one treat, my friend gets another and we trade halves! The process sorta worked in the office as well as we set out a big knife so the staff could slice and dice their way to flaky pastry heaven!

The spread for the whole office....

(aka, a million lbs. of butter)

Pain au Chocolat

(Chocolate Croissant)

OMG- I've been seduced by a baked good! Well, not really...but almost! A lovely balance of soft pastry and luscious chocolate makes this the ultimate treat (and likely the most sought after) at TIBS!

Almond Croissant

As much as I love a good pain au chocolat, I often find that they overshadow the sweet, light, heavenly goodness of the almond croissant. I tend to lean to this side of the croissant choice. Although I love chocolate, there's just something about this croissant's understated simplicity that draws me in.

The best Chocolate Chip Cookies ever!

Sigh...I wish I could get a hold of this cookie dough! I know I'm not alone either! These yummy cookies are the best in town; dense, chewy and with just the right amount of chocolate chips. They pass the bake test too, as the next day (clearly there were leftovers) they are just as good - not having submitted to the hockey puck consistency as so many other cookies often do.

The best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies ever!

I'm not normally a huge fan of oatmeal raisin, but these babies have the perfect balance of oatmeal, raisin, cinnamon and butter, making them rich, chewy and spicy-sweet!

Steve-O-Renos's morning fix - and not just for coffee!

If we follow each other on Twitter, you'll probably see that, at some point on Sat/Sun, I'm tweeting from Steve-O-Renos on Brunswick Street. This spot is my favorite coffee shop in the city; they're a hop from my apartment, the staff are sweet and friendly and the buzz within provides a great background for me to work/blog. And that's just the cafe itself. Not only does Steve-O-Reno's have delicious java, but they also have incredible baked goods - and I'm a sucker for baked goods! FYI - Cabin Coffee and the Daily Grind also have fabulous creations. Java Blend gets its baked goods from Deli Green Catering whose muffins are the moistest I've had in Hali.

Famous for its Morning Glory muffin, I've recently been trying out the blueberry baked goods to see how they compare. I've never been one to crave a blueberry muffin, but when it's 7:30 am, and I'm on my way into work, stopping for a coffee, it's pretty tough to resist.

And this weekend, as I sat, finishing up some blog posts for the coming week, I ordered a blueberry scone to go along with my dark Italian roast. With a lovely crunchy crust and a moist interior, Steve-O's scones provide the perfect contrast of textures for whatever suits you mood - and all in one baked good!

I've yet to try one of Steve-O's breakfast sammies, but I can't imagine that an English muffin or bagel topped w/ egg, tomato, red onion and sprouts could be anything but delicious!

The Gingerbread Hause

This past Saturday, I was geared to go for brunch at Henry House. I was super excited for a plate of steak n' eggs, perhaps an omelet or even french toast. I arrived at 10:30 to meet my brunch dates....and it was closed! Turns out that we had made our brunch plans an hour before HH opened at 11:30!!

Not having a stomach willing to be deterred from an amazing bfast, we decided to truck up the hill to The Gingerbread Hause for a piping hot coffee and some incredible baked goods. The GH is one of my neighbourhood bakeries and I was thrilled to finally get a chance to try some of their amazing treats (and really excited to designate it as MY local bakery)!

Seeing how I have a penchant to try all versions of pain au chocolat available in the HRM, this was an easy decision. I paired said sweet treat with a frothy cappuccino. A small plate arrived, overtaken by the huge, domed pastry, drizzled with dark chocolate. With a slightly crisp, buttery crust that flaked under my knife, the pain au chocolat yielded a lovely dark chocolate filling underneath layers of soft pastry. My cappuccino was the perfect match; a little more luxurious than an ordinary cuppa joe and with an espresso bite to match.

Pain au Chocolat

Cappuccino

Local Jo's

When I'm jonezin for some caffeine, normally a good, strong dip coffee will do. But this wknd, I was not only getting slightly cranky, I was hungry too. My crankiness was most likely due to aforementioned hunger :S

We decided to stop into Local Jo's on the corner of Oxford and Liverpool to get perky. I ordered a latte as I find it gives me just the right amount of sustenance to get me through to...whatever eating occasion comes next! How could you resist this? Snuggled up on a padded bench with the cup warming up my hands and the rich liquid within warming up my demeanor, I felt delightfully content at Local Jo's.

Noelle's - The Custom Cookie Company

Last Friday, I got basket of goodies from Noelle's Custom Cookie Company. Noelle's specializes in gingerbread and will create a custom cookie for any occasion. Holiday cookies, wedding-themed cookies, even corporate logos- Noelle can do it all!

These cookies are a delicate balance of sweetness with a touch of gingery spice. Reading the ingredient list, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Noelle uses only common household ingredients in her cookies: molasses, ginger and cloves, with nary a chemical in sight! But you know what they say about a picture being worth a thousand words...