WHAT IS IT
Gold Bars Dessert is a travelling dessert shop that opened in March 2020. From butter tart bars to brownies, the shop specializes in dessert bars. Gold Bars Dessert offers holiday-themed bars and uses seasonal ingredients.
They offered Easter egg brownies around Easter, peach cobbler bars during Ontario’s peach season in August, pumpkin spice bars in October and are currently selling holiday cranberry bars and candy crunch brownies for the holiday season.
Gold Bars Dessert has also partnered with the Hamilton-based specialty coffee company Detour Coffee to offer their whole beans. Gold Bars sells espresso and medium roast, which were handpicked to pair with their dessert bars.
The dessert business combines owner Germaine Collins’ love of adventure with her love of sweets. The adventure lover has created a business that allows her to travel and connect to people through food.
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HOW TO GET IT
While the shop doesn’t have a brick-and-mortar location, they frequent farmers’ markets and host pop-up shops. In the summer and early fall of 2020, Gold Bars Desserts was a weekly vendor at Connon Nurseries’ Fall Farmers’ Market in Waterdown. They also did a Christmas pop-up at Connon Nurseries on Nov. 28. Check their website and social media to find out where they’ll be next.
When they are not at a market, Gold Bars dessert does local doorstep drop-offs. If you’re located in the Greater Hamilton area, Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga or Toronto, you can order online for next-weekend delivery. The delivery days are announced on their website and on their social media.
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THE COST
At markets, you can buy individual bars for $3. For doorstep drop-offs, Gold Bars Desserts sells the boxes of bars on their website. A box of nine bars is $20 to $25 depending on the type. Each bar is about the size of a coaster. The delivery is an additional $5.
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WHAT TO GET
You really can’t go wrong with any of these dessert bars. They’re all decadent, filling and beautifully decorated. I would definitely recommend the OG brownie if you’re a chocolate fan because even after a couple of days, the brownie is still moist and rich inside. If you’re not a chocolate fan, I’d recommend the blondies or lemon bars.
If there is a seasonal dessert bar when you’re looking to purchase, definitely try that. I tried the cranberry holiday bars and it gave Starbucks’ cranberry bliss bars a run for its money.
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WHY IT'S GREAT
Gold Bars Desserts is perfect for the sweet tooth who adores a large, classic brownie or dessert bar. The variety of flavours and the seasonal creations make it an exciting business to visit month after month.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is the perfect way to support a small business and satisfy your sweet tooth without having to leave your house. Having Collins visit my house on a Sunday afternoon to deliver me handmade sweets was the highlight of my weekend. With the pretty packaging and Collins’ handwritten notes, Gold Bars Dessert bars make the perfect gift for your loved ones.
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The Panini and Ice Cream shop makes some of the most unlikely of combinations pleasantly intriguing. And I’m not just talking about the brilliant sweet desserts and savory sandwich mixes on their menu, but the space itself consists of a couple wild combinations.
The shop takes up one half of an expansive space shared with a convenience store. The Panini and Ice Cream half has bar seating along a window overlooking Main Street East. Photographs of happy customers from over the years hang from fairy lights slightly obstructing the view of traffic. A walk past the kitchen will lead you to an open space that can facilitate a study session with friends, a date night on couches, or a small kids party under the disco laser lights, exclusively and all at once.
Since opening in 2015 and renovating their space this past summer, Panini and Ice Cream has built a good reputation in Hamilton’s east end. They serve Hewitt’s ice cream, which is made by Ontario dairy farmers, an incredible selection of milkshakes and of course sandwiches, one of which is their coveted Doritos chicken panini.
Let’s face it, if you’re only in Hamilton for school, you probably haven’t been to the east end. Panini and Ice Cream is definitely an east end gem worth making the trip to. Luckily, the commute is easy. It’s just a matter of staying on the bus for a while longer on the same route students typically take downtown.
Your easiest route would be to take the 1 Hamilton Street Railway bus from Sterling Street and University Avenue heading east and get off at Main Street East at Tragina Avenue North. Panini and Ice Cream will be a one minute walk westbound on Main Street East.
You can save a few minutes by taking the 10 heading east from Main Street West and Emerson Street. Hop off at Main Street East and Kenilworth Avenue North. Walk eastbound for five minutes along Main Street East. Panini and Ice Cream will be on your left just after Cope Street.
Starting with the basics, one scoop of ice cream goes for $3.10, while two, three and four scoops go for $4.29, $5.30 and $6.19, respectively. There are 32 flavours to choose from, including your classics flavours, strawberry cheesecake, chocolate caramel fudge brownie, butterscotch ripple and watermelon sherbet. They also have a selection of ice cream floats for $3.99.
Sundaes range from $6.49 to $7.99 and include flavours like the unicorn sundae consisting of bubble gum and cotton candy ice cream topped rainbow candy and cotton candy. Milkshakes are $6.19 for the regular size, $7.09 for the large size, and can be made with any ice cream flavour of your choice.
Last but not least, the panini menu ranges in price from $4.42 to $7.99, and you can add extra chicken or bacon to order for $2.00. Some menu items include classic grilled cheese, pizza pepperoni grilled cheese, and the Montreal smoked meat panini.
The menu choices can be overwhelming on a first visit; we’ve just covered the basics for the sake of simplicity. There’s a lot to consider, from your ice cream cone and topping choices, to the option of getting plated desserts, to skipping the menu altogether and getting creative by making your own dessert.
If you’re looking to stay in for a relatively well-rounded, filling and cost-effective meal, pairing the classic grilled cheese or a chicken panini with a regular milkshake of your choice is the way to go. I chose the pralines and cream milkshake on my first try!
For the ultimate experience, the half and half menu is your way to go. You can choose any ice cream flavour for a shake at the bottom, any flavour for a sundae on top, one topping and one sauce. A regular half and half goes for $7.29 and a large half and half goes for $8.39.
If you can’t choose which flavours to get, they have a couple ideas displayed on the menu, like my personal favourite; the cookie monster which is made up of a cookie dough shake and a chocolate chip cookie sundae, topped with a variety of cookies. They also have the options of getting a salty caramel (pralines and cream shake, salty caramel sundae) or pina colada (coconut shake, orange pineapple sundae).
Paninis and Ice Cream keeps its doors open all year long, so you can indulge in their cold treats no matter the season. In fact, my first visit was the day after one of our infamous ice storms this winter. The staff are super friendly, the space is pleasant and the options and combinations are endless.
Still can’t choose from all your options? You just can’t go wrong with a classic ice cream on a waffle cone.
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By: Andrew Mrozowski
Tucked away on Barton Street East is an unexpected pop of colour that catches the eye when passing by the old grey brick buildings. Immediately when you walk through the door you are greeted by the smell of succulent cake. On your left is a vibrant mural created by Hamilton-artist Trinity Bolduc, capturing the very essence of Crumbled. Owner Dom Pugliese is likely to be mad at work trying to fill walk-in and online orders, but he is always willing to stop and chat.
Gaining experience working on the corporate side of baking in Toronto, Pugliese found himself yearning for a change of pace. Pugliese decided to leave Toronto and move to Hamilton with the hopes of creating something new for himself.
“I wanted to open a bakery for like eight years, but only thought of a traditional bakery — breads and breakfast things, or just dessert. I had a vision of even doing a café with all the cakes made in-store and do coffee,” said Pugliese.
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While working at Cake and Loaf Bakery, Pugliese started to learn about how Hamilton operates and meet with locals. On the side, he would make cakes for family and friends at home. He then would put all the scraps into a bowl and toss them in the fridge only to consistently come home to find his boyfriend eating the crumbled bits. Suddenly, an idea sparked in Pugliese’s mind. This was the inspiration for Crumbled.
In June 2018, Pugliese actively searched for the perfect location. He knew he wanted a bakery on Barton Street East.
“Everyone is doing their own thing [on Barton Street East] and it’s unique. To open now, when it’s starting, but not there yet, to be a part of that is huge,” said Pugliese.
Crumbled Bakery serves gourmet deconstructed cake in a cup. Starting with their core menu, Pugliese has developed a different take on classic flavours with the “I Dream of Vanilla Bean”, “Chocolate Chaos” and “Red, White and Velvet” cake bowls.
Each month, a small number of specialty seasonal offerings get added to the menu. For March, customers are able to get lemon meringue cake, a vegan Snickers cake and a cream egg brownie cake. If you want a little more diversity, Crumbled also offers a make your own bowl where you can choose two cake bases, frosting and any toppings. The bakery also offers full-sized cakes made to order.
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“We’re doing something different that nobody has done,” said Pugliese. “It’s cool because it’s like a sundae bar but with cake. You can choose your own toppings, you can make it your own and it’s great for customers who want variety.”
Currently, Pugliese is the only worker at Crumbled and does all the baking and assembly himself. He uses fresh ingredients and makes his cake creations from scratch every day.
“That’s where the corporate side helped me. I’ve learned how to use both my hands at the same time. It can be hard with planning and production but that’s where Cake and Loaf refined me. Now, I’m able to bake while the day goes on, the frostings don’t take long to make. You have a recipe for a simple buttercream and you can add different flavours to it. It’s like repurposing,” explained Pugliese.
“I want people to know what real baking is. We use real ingredients and it’s all made from scratch every day. That’s what’s great about Hamilton. That’s everywhere. Everybody is doing things from scratch and doing things differently. You’re getting something unique wherever you’re going,” Pugliese added.
Crumbled bakery is the first of its kind and momentum only seems to be growing more and more. With a great atmosphere, delicious cake and a great host, Crumbled is part of a community working to add something special and sweet to Barton Street East.
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