The owner of the Arborg Bakery in Manitoba is an astute fellow. He clearly noticed that I was taking photos of his establishment in a not-at-all-subtle manner and had the right to know why. In a town with a population of about 1,000 and home to a single bakery, it was clear neither he nor his teenage staff person recognized us. She asked if we were visiting as part of a band.
So for the first time ever, I publicly disclosed the blog. He said “You know what? You can write a bad review on my [Facebook] page and I don’t care about it, I really don’t. I’m not bothered by it.” The tone was matter-of-fact but I detected a bit of a challenge: “I DARE you to find something wrong with this product. You won’t. It’s impossible!” *erupts into evil cackling*
I assured him that based on the numerous bakeries I’d already visited, I could immediately tell his was going to be good. The small and modest storefront was packed with an incredible scope of products, and in combinations I’d never seen before. Peach fritters? Apple pie donuts? Vinatarta? Intriguing. (Note: Arborg is a town with a proud Icelandic heritage and vinatarta is a traditional layered caked made with date filling. I desperately wanted to try it but alas, my freezer was already full).
It’s the kind of place where you want to buy one of everything but I settled on M&M and chocolate chip cookies, a cherry cheesecake donut, a date cookie, a carrot cream cheese cookie, a strawberry shortbread jam filled cookie, and a loaf of rye bread.
…And a hot fudge kit kat sundae. Did I mention it’s an ice cream parlour too? There’s no seating indoors but there’s a patio just outside the front steps. Sit down, enjoy, stay a while. *whispers: …never leave.* And finally, I was up-sold on four cinnamon buns (twist my rubber arm), and informed that “a bakery that can’t produce good cinnamon buns will fail within 5 years.” Solid knowledge.
I have a lot of respect for this bakery. Over the course of the next few days of sampling from my delectable bounty of bake-y goodness, all expectations were confirmed. The flavours are rich, they have depth, and you can just tell the recipes and techniques have come from a lot of experience. Overall one of the finest bakeries I’ve come across. This man knows his stuff.
