Address: 1525 Pandora
Phone: (250) 590-4149
Website: originbakery.com
Price: $2.25/muffin
Notes: Proving gluten free can be tasty
I have been sampling Origin's products through the Munchie Bar up at UVic. Although the price is a few cents higher than the equivalent glutinous product I actually prefer the gluten-free version. A quick look at the ingredients explains why - here is the brownie, for example (note the first six ingredients in particular!): dark chocolate, brown sugar, butter, free-range eggs, ground natural almonds, cream, white rice flour, tapioca starch, vanilla, baking powder, sea salt.
The bakery is in the Stadacona centre, at the Oak Bay Junction, on the Pandora side. The front end of the store is quite large, although I am sure the kitchen in the back is quite a lot larger. The majority of the space is a large counter, with many choices of sweet and savoury treats on display. There is also a table and chair area for people to tuck in and enjoy their snack in house.
I was in the area for hair-cut related reasons mid-afternoon on a Friday. I was surprised how many people were visiting! There was a steady stream of customers in and out of the space pretty much continuously over the 15 minutes or so I was there. Clearly this is a popular spot!
Service:
October 28, 2011
This is one of those situations where you can tell that a) there is an expectation from the top of a high level of customer service, and b) the staff love their jobs a lot. Good stuff!
Food:
October 28, 2011
I adore pumpkin quite a lot, and I had made a delicious pumpkin pie from scratch a few weeks ago so I had high expectations of my own for this. The crust was the part I was worried about... but I shouldn't have been. It was crisp in all the right places with a nice taste. The pumpkin part was very creamy, nicely spiced and the pepita on top was pretty cute although I will admit, the placement was a bit odd - at first I thought it was a glitch.
