In Canada, Cobs Bakery has somehow managed to become the corporate titan of neighbourhood bakeries. At 700 locations, it's only approximately 32,000 franchises away from being the next McDonalds. In other words, it is The Man, omnipresent and each as consistent as the next. And yet, each one seems like a friendly mom and pop operation, suited to its location, which is the great ideal of what franchises are supposed to be. They have a quite varied, if predictable, selection of scones. I avoided the ones that were greenish in hue (possibly a misguided, week-late St Paddy's day themed scone?) and went for the raspberry and white chocolate.
I've been grappling for a while with the problem of Cobs scones, trying to understand our relationship. Soft, sweet, chewy, bready, delicious- it's very hard to find anything to complain about. True, they may be a little small, but at a reasonable $1.50, you can well afford two. The ratio of raspberry to white chocolate is absolutely precise. This is a scone perfectly engineered to please and satisfy. And I think that's exactly the problem. This scone lacks soul. Somehow in all the consistency and the mass production, they've lost that crunch, the burned edges, the dripping berries, the mess and crumbs.
I'll go back again, of course, and sure, they'll be good- what else could they be? But I'll feel a little empty on the inside. Well, not literally, but you know.
Overall: 3 / 5.
P.S. Some bonus points also have to go to the Main & 14th location because they were listening to some pretty killer dubstep at 8:30 in the morning.
I highly recommend Thomas Haas (the North Van one is the only place I've had scones from) which makes a heart stopping raspberry & white chocolate one. They are on the spendy side, but well worth the drive over. Occasionally they will have ham & cheese ones, which are also amazing.If you go first thing in the morning (They get scooped up pretty quickly) you might be able to get a warm one. Worth the trip (although call the Kits one, they might have them there too). Best I've ever had!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice! I will definitely check it out. I think Thomas Haas might be where 49th Parallel in Kits gets their pastries, but they usually only have the orange currant one, so I've obviously been missing out.
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