La PanotiQ Bakery Cafe

Jan 5th, 2017

Excellent pastries. Sadly, it seems to be shuttered with the shop that surrounded it (Jeremy's).
Jan 25th, 2016

La PanotiQ on College Ave. has finally opened! My friend reported trying their apple turnover, which she said was just “fine” and also a sample of macaroon, which was apparently “yummy!!!” When I turned up, just before closing I was uncertain what to get. I had been planning on the Pain Aux Raisins, one of my favorite French pastries, but when I saw them sitting there, a little dried out and raisin-poor, they didn’t look as appealing as they had in my imagination. It was hard to imagine that they could be as good as the excellent ones from Bouchon so I decided to test out La PanotiQ’s baking skills by buying a baguette instead. Everything was priced a little high, but I knew that they used organic dairy and French butter so I figured the prices will be a little higher – this is the same as Flour & Co. on University Ave. In general their cakes, tartes, macaroons etc. looked great – the pastries and breads looked less appealing. So, my baguette ($3.85, including tax) was a little on the small size, and considering it cost more than a baguette from La Farine, down the street, I was hopeful that it would blow me away taste-wise. It didn’t. I wanted to like it, but really, it was overly-dense (not enough of the overall lightness and little air-pockets that baguettes so good) and just not a prime example of a French baguette. I went back for coffee later and it was good, earning them an upgrade to 4 stars. In terms of social and environmental impact, I’m giving them 4 “green” stars. One of the reasons why I wanted to support them is because they have made some commitments to sustainability – organic dairy, sustainably-grown produce from local farms, pesticide-free ingredients, and coffee from Bicycle. I asked where their eggs came from but the server didn’t know – I’ll ask again next time.
Nov 16th, 2016