Ah if only every meal we ate surpassed our wildest dreams, hélas, that’s not the case. So with the raving reviews and glorious finds we must also speak about the less inspiring moments and mediocre meals. Voilà, I present carrot cake. I am a lover of cake. When given the choice of desert I always choose cake, there is just something about it that makes you feel as though u have truly enjoyed yourself. It’s just satisfying to sink your fork into a moist piece of cake, mmmmm. I digress. Shall I set the scene: It is Sunday, the one Sunday when the museums are free citywide. I and another Foreign Foodie have escaped the crowds and found a nice comfortable table in a nearby boulangerie, Premiere Moisson.
Both of us have lived in France, and consequently have strong feeling attached to bakeries. With all its French influence, Montréal cannot rival the bakeries of France. It’s just never going to happen. With that said there are some pastries and breads that keep me coming back, not because of French nostalgia but rather a new love for freshly baked North American breads. I’ve tried to recreate my baguette de tradition, and I’ve been sorely disappointed each time. Today I wanted something nice and simple, after drooling over a multitude of worthy candidates, I settled on the carrot cake. It looked like a nice moist choice, plus with 4 bucks being the median price, it seemed to be the best value for my bucks. Cake must be accompanied with tea so I chose a tea from the box and headed for the table. With the anticipation building as we waited, chose, and paid for our pastries, I was ready for a sweet treat, not the case. The cake, although aesthetically pleasing, was tough, sticky, and sickly sweet. The cake itself was deceivingly dry and very sweet. The icing was far too sweet for its own good. I made it to the half way point and stopped for fear of sugar shock. The tea from prior experience was lacklustre; I went into the situation knowing this, so I set my expectations accordingly. In regards to the cake, I was so very disappointed. Such promise morphed into regret. Looking back on the whole experience, I do feel that there were some warning signs.
Montréal establishments have a knack for making things look better than they actually are. Just as local clothing stores use sleek furniture to sell chincy, cheap club attire, restaurants present “quality” dishes on plastic plates. This was the case with Premiere Moisson. Cakes and sandwiches ranging from 4-10$ are served on plastic plates, carried on lunch trays, and eaten with plastic forks. Something is not right; it is as if they have not followed through. From the door they project an image of posh French sweets but fail to follow through on taste, i.e. flavour and presentation. I think in the future, I’ll stick to the breads.
Both of us have lived in France, and consequently have strong feeling attached to bakeries. With all its French influence, Montréal cannot rival the bakeries of France. It’s just never going to happen. With that said there are some pastries and breads that keep me coming back, not because of French nostalgia but rather a new love for freshly baked North American breads. I’ve tried to recreate my baguette de tradition, and I’ve been sorely disappointed each time. Today I wanted something nice and simple, after drooling over a multitude of worthy candidates, I settled on the carrot cake. It looked like a nice moist choice, plus with 4 bucks being the median price, it seemed to be the best value for my bucks. Cake must be accompanied with tea so I chose a tea from the box and headed for the table. With the anticipation building as we waited, chose, and paid for our pastries, I was ready for a sweet treat, not the case. The cake, although aesthetically pleasing, was tough, sticky, and sickly sweet. The cake itself was deceivingly dry and very sweet. The icing was far too sweet for its own good. I made it to the half way point and stopped for fear of sugar shock. The tea from prior experience was lacklustre; I went into the situation knowing this, so I set my expectations accordingly. In regards to the cake, I was so very disappointed. Such promise morphed into regret. Looking back on the whole experience, I do feel that there were some warning signs.
Montréal establishments have a knack for making things look better than they actually are. Just as local clothing stores use sleek furniture to sell chincy, cheap club attire, restaurants present “quality” dishes on plastic plates. This was the case with Premiere Moisson. Cakes and sandwiches ranging from 4-10$ are served on plastic plates, carried on lunch trays, and eaten with plastic forks. Something is not right; it is as if they have not followed through. From the door they project an image of posh French sweets but fail to follow through on taste, i.e. flavour and presentation. I think in the future, I’ll stick to the breads.
This kind of deception should be a crime, perpetrators should be drawn and quartered.
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