Oh the joy of being on maternity leave while our neighbourhood finally gets the cafes and bakeries we so richly deserve.
There’s fabulous True Brew soups and sandwiches. There’s Celena’s Bakery where I understand the croissants are made in heaven. There’s the all-organic fair trade folks at Guru Coffee. And now, there is the Cozy Bakery and Cafe. (O.k. the sign on the southwest corner of Danforth and Woodbine still says Coffee Coffee but the new sign is coming!)
If you haven’t been in to the Cozy Bakery – you really should. Every morning the sisters Vera and Savicia, who used to own a cafe in Niagara on the Lake, are making fresh breads (treat your family to french toast using that egg bread and I promise you it will be a good day), cinnamon buns and pastries. Then there is the home-made soup (soon to be jarred and waiting for you to take home for dinner) and lasagnas (they make their own pasta). Much of it is organic. Much of it is vegetarian. All of it is 100% natural – no short cuts. They also do ‘savoury pastries’ which I have yet to try but am very intrigued about.
The owners are delightful and the space is plenty big enough for strollers etc. Drop by the DECA Make A Joyful Noise Parade this Sunday to taste some of their wares!
By the way – the owners are having some difficulty with parking. They’re using street parking, feeding the meter and moving the car. If you have a parking spot that you can spare (even some of the time) at the north end of Moberly or somewhere in that area, contact Mary-Margaret McMahon at spargy@rogers.com. There could be some delicious treats in it for you!
To me, the parking issue here demonstrates how short-sighted the city can be.
They obviously realize (one hopes) that the area has too many boarded up storefronts. Here, we have someone willing to invest time, money and energy into opening one up, and yet the city has nothing better to do than send its parking cops in to harass them.
Its amazing that the city spends so much money on economic development and and urban renewal, then gives hard working people risking their own money headaches like this for what is an incredibly petty issue. Talk about being “penny wise and pound foolish”.
These sisters are so lovely, so hospitable, the pizza was amazing, my kids really enjoyed the humongous choc chip cookies, and the decor is so inviting and bless them, family friendly! I was in there for the first time yesterday and have not stopped telling people to go and stock up on fresh baked local goodness. Great to see another great shop in that neck of the woods!
Here are a few Danforth dinner suggestions for those nights when it’s too hot to cook indoors…or at all:
–Grill hamburgers made with the outstanding ground beef sold at the Plank Road, where Roger grinds it himself. All you need is a little salt and pepper to get incredibly juicy and flavourful burgers. And wrap them in hamburger buns from Celena’s or Cozy Cafe.
–Serve up tomato-basil sandwiches on Celena’s wonderful Sourdough White bread. THE perfect summer meal!
–get some of the terrific spanikopita from Cozy Cafe and serve with a salad for another delicious light meal that won’t heat up the kitchen.
Other great meat treats from our neighbourhood:
The strip loin steaks from Plank Road
Tri-Tip Sirloin from Royal Beef.
Organic lamb from the East Lynn Market–that’s become our Summer Thursday dinner tradition.
Buffalo/bison burgers and sausages, also from the Market.