Fri, Jul 20/07, 1:30 p.m. - Grodzinski Bakery

3437 Bathurst St, Toronto, ON

This was a pleasant shopping experience. I arrived a little late for a Friday afternoon, and I just needed to pick up a few items.

The store is clean, airy, and looks organized.

At this shop, the product is in shelves along the perimeter of the store, and shoppers get to choose exactly what they want. There are plenty of plastic bags available in which you can put your selected items. There were staff available for questions. In fact, I asked a member of the staff if they had a particular item I was looking for. She indicated that they no longer made that variety. A few minutes later she came up to me and said she would mention it to the bakers, and perhaps they would make some next weekend. Even if they don't, it was nice to get a response that made me feel they cared.

The checkout process was smooth and easy (even though the cashier didn't smile once -- at least she didn't growl). The parking isn't great, but acceptable.

I got a poppy danish (pretty good), their cheese bun (quite good, but the filling was a bit gelatinous), and the chocolate buffalo (pretty good). I also got some poppy bagels with lots of seeds, actually covered with seeds (they tasted good, and look great).

I checked the Toronto "DineSafe" rating. They have passed for the past 2 years, which is good, because in July 2005, they had some problems:

• FAILURE TO PROTECT FOOD FROM CONTAMINATION Operator fail to use proper procedure(s) to ensure food safety
• FAILURE TO ENSURE / PROVIDE FOR PROPER EMPLOYEE HYGIENE / HANDWASHING Operator fail to provide separate handwashing sink(s)

Thu Jul 19/07, 6:30 p.m. Kosher Pizza Delight

3028 Bathurst Street, North York, ON M6B 3B6, Canada, (416) 789-3443

This is a perfect example of why competition is good.

There are 3 kosher pizza places on this block, Bathurst, just south of Lawrence. This guy's the new guy. Putting things in perspective, this is a Thursday evening, at not a particularly busy time. They weren't crowded, but there was a steady stream of customers.

There were some things going on here that I am just not used to at a kosher pizza place.

1. We were greeted immediately, and cheerfully. I was not ignored -- and I don't know the owner, and I have never been in this establishment.
   
2. It was quite clean
3. After our order was taken, another server asked if he could help us
4. Before he finished assembling our falafel, we told our server what we wanted in it, and he suggested we sit down, and he would bring it to us. He did bring us our piping hot, fresh falafels, he got our orders correct, and served it with a smile.

Bonus marks: They have, by far, the most interesting falafel toppings of any falafel place I've been to in TO. Check out the roasted garlic.

Other positives: comfortable seating, airy decor.

Problems:

1. Men's washroom has no sink. In fact, it only has a toilet. For the sink, you have to go outside of the washroom to the "netilas yadaim" sink to wash your hands. That's a little weird -- but I guess the health department OKed it.
2. Parking in July/Aug 2007 will be a nightmare, as they are tearing apart the sidewalks in front of the restaurant (and all the way down Bathurst).

I checked the Toronto "DineSafe" rating. They have only 1 inspection, and they passed.

Mon Jul 16, 8:58 am - Dairy Treats

The owner knows how to run a good restaurant. To put things in context, when I come here, it's almost aways for breakfast.

I am almost always happy here. This morning was no different. Staff were cheerful upon entry. There's good food, good size portions, reasonable prices (check out the $5 breakfast special), very good service (e.g. the waitress always asks if I want more coffee). The washrooms are clean. The parking is touch and go -- usually OK, but sometimes you need to wrestle with other uncooperative customers of the few shops in the group of shops.

Negative: When I go to a restaurant of this caliber, it is customary for the server to bring a bill to your table, showing what you ordered and the total. Here, not only do you have to go to the cashier to pay, but they have an odd habit of not letting you have the itemized bill. I don't get it... they have the itemized bill, I expect they would give it to me if I asked, but I don't want to have to ask.

I checked the Toronto "DineSafe" rating. They have always passed.

Sunday, July 15, 2007, 11:00 a.m. - King David Pizza (Bathuirst St)

I placed my call at about 10:45 to order a pizza. The told me they don't open until 11:00, and it wouldn't be ready until 11:15. I told them to go ahead.

I got there. It was easy to park my car. The restaurant was clean. I was the only customer in the shop. The staff was friendly, my pizza was ready a few minutes early, and it was very tasty!

What more can I want? The whole experience would have been close to perfect, except they couldn't print my credit card receipt because they ran out of paper on the receipt printer.

I checked the Toronto "DineSafe" rating. They have always passed.

My search for the perfect kosher shopping/dining experience continues.

Fri, July 13, 2007, 11:06 a.m. - Hermes Bakery

On Friday mornings, it would be a bonus if shopping for Shabbat was a pleasurable experience. It so often isn't. Let's get specific.

Hermes is the closest bakery to my home, so it is a place that gets my business because of 1) geography, and 2) they do make the best cheese buns in the city 3) their Kokosh is wonderful.

So what is it that made my shopping experience negative?

1. It took 2 minutes to find a parking space
2. As I walk in there were carts all over the store, blocking the aisle. Can't they find someone to keep the place orderly? To me, it seems the management doesn't place a high priority on the shopping experience.
3. Some big guy is standing in the aisle, blocking the way to the baked-goods counter, just standing there. They just re-did the layout a few years ago, yet it is still crowded!
   
4. So I queue up behind the counter, waiting to place my order. There are 4 customers before me. There are 7 staff behind the counter. The staff are walking around behind the counter, like they are all doing something important. WHY DO I HAVE TO WAIT about 3 minutes when there are more staff than customers? Note to owner: If they really are doing something important, let them do it in the back room, not where it appears that they are ignoring your customers, and not where they are slowing down the staff who are trying to help the customers.
5. A comment about the staff. Generally, most of them are pretty good (considering some of the inconsiderate customers). But there is one staff who always has the most sour look on her face -- she rarely seems happy to be there.
   
6. Today, one of the staff (maybe there were 8 people behind the counter at this point), started yelling quite loudly "where's the so-and-so order"? I think she couldn't find a piece of paper she was using to fill an order. Lady, I appreciate it's frustrating, but as a customer, I don't want to hear about it.
7. OK, I get my order. I go to the cashier. Only one of the two check-out lines are open. (Why not, it's Friday morning, the busiest time of the week!?) I am lucky, there wasn't much of a line up. (One customer behind me started to complain to the cashier about "blah, blah, blah, why is there only one cashier?" -- A genuinely good question, but I suggest, Mme Customer, the cashier can't answer your question. But I digress. In the middle of checking out my order, some boss-looking guy (he might be the owner), comes up to her, interrupts what she is doing for me, and starts jabbering away in Hebrew. Excuse me Mister Boss-Man, what happened to serving your customers? He leaves without even saying excuse me. I considered it quite rude.

I am out of there by 11:18. I am looking forward to the food, but so completely unimpressed by the customers and service. I'll shop elsewhere next week.

I checked out the Toronto "DineSafe" website. They have a pass now, as of their most recent inspection (as of Feb 21/07), but they have had a few rough spots in August 2006 and Nov 2005:

e.g. Aug 2006

• FAILURE TO ENSURE / PROVIDE FOR PROPER EMPLOYEE HYGIENE / HANDWASHING
• IMPROPER MAINTENANCE / SANITATION OF FOOD CONTACT SURFACES / UTENSILS /EQUIPMENT
• IMPROPER MAINTENANCE / SANITATION OF NON-FOOD CONTACT SURFACES / EQUIPMENT