Location: 915 Queen St W (east of Ossington), Toronto
Website: http://clafouti.ca/
Cuisine: French
Meal: snack
My thoughts:
This was actually my second trip here. The first time I was here, they were sold out of their crookies, which is what they're famous for. What are crookies you ask? They're a cross between a croissant and Oreo cookie, and apparently incredibly popular.
Because one of my Triple D friends is having a house-warming tonight, I figured that a foodie would appreciate something tasty and edible over a conventional house-warming gift however functional it may be, and so I called ahead and reserved half a dozen of these. (I learned my lesson last time!)
I got here just after 4 in the afternoon, and it was pretty empty. While I was here, several people came in and got things to go, which is not surprising, seeing as how the Trinity-Bellwoods park is just across the street. Anyway, since I'm not usually in this neck of the woods, I decided to try some of their other offerings and also to quiet my rumbling tummy.
I first ordered a blueberry tart ($3.15) because it looked so fresh. And fresh it was, but the tart was surprisingly and overly eggy for a fruit-based dessert. I did like that it was very lightly sweetened and that fresh blueberries were used.
I was still pretty hungry after the tart, and so I ordered a spinach goat cheese quiche ($4.50) - I know, I'm working backwards with my meal. Anyway, though it was warmed up for me on a grill, the center of the quiche was cold, but I was too hungry to wait another 3-4 minutes for it to be warmed up to the core - so I ate it anyway lol :o) I didn't care too much for the filling. The problem was there was too much moisture (perhaps a result of the spinach being cooked/baked right in the quiche as opposed to being wilted first?) The crust was very flavourful though, even more so than the filling. It did stave off my hunger, but I'm not sure I'd order this again.
I am now relaxing on a bench at the Trin-Bell park across the street with my box of crookies as I impatiently watch the minutes tick until I meet my friends. The crookies are packaged in a box and sealed with a sticker, so I am unable to sneak a taste of one (just kidding!) and will have to share my take on it later.
Also worth noting is that the staff are incredibly personable and friendly. But good service doesn't necessarily warrant return visits. I'm not sold on the food yet, but maybe the best is yet to come with the crookies. I'll give my two cents on them when I try one later tonight.
Update: I just had the crookie. First at room temperature and later warmed up. Let me tell you that heating it up makes a big difference. At room temperature, it literally tasted like I grabbed an Oreo with one hand and a croissant with the other and stuffed both into my mouth at the same time. Heated, however, the flavours melted together and created a unique contrast in texture that was both gooey (from the Oreo) and flaky (from the croissant). Even so, the crookie wasn't as amazing as I'd imagine it to be. And at $2.90 a pop, it was expensive for what it was; I don't think anything other than an Oreo was inside the croissant.
I'm still glad I tried it for the novelty of it. But it wasn't anything special. I may be back for the almond croissants but won't be going out of my way for them.
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