sarahsociables
  • home
  • Attend
    • Events Calendar
    • Calgary Festivals
    • Free Things To Do
  • Celebrate
    • Stampede
    • Canada Day
    • Pride Week
    • Halloween in Calgary
    • Christmas in Calgary
    • New Years Eve in Calgary
    • Valentine's in Calgary
    • St Patricks Day Calgary
    • Easter in Calgary
    • Cinco de Mayo
  • Plan
    • Fun Things To Do
    • Staycation
    • Birthday Party
    • Bachelor Party
    • Bachelorette
    • Date Night
    • Private Party Venues
    • 24 Hours in Calgary
  • Eat
    • New Restaurant Openings
    • Calgary Patios
    • Happy Hours
    • Daily Specials
    • Calgarys Best Restaurants
    • Unique Restaurants
  • Drink
    • Calgarys Best Bars
    • Calgary Sports Bars
    • Best Breweries
    • Secret Speakeasys
    • Best Cocktail Bars
    • Calgary Distilleries
    • Dancing in Calgary
  • More
    • About Me
    • Advertise
    • Discounts for You
    • Support
    • SUBSCRIBE
  • More
    • home
    • Attend
      • Events Calendar
      • Calgary Festivals
      • Free Things To Do
    • Celebrate
      • Stampede
      • Canada Day
      • Pride Week
      • Halloween in Calgary
      • Christmas in Calgary
      • New Years Eve in Calgary
      • Valentine's in Calgary
      • St Patricks Day Calgary
      • Easter in Calgary
      • Cinco de Mayo
    • Plan
      • Fun Things To Do
      • Staycation
      • Birthday Party
      • Bachelor Party
      • Bachelorette
      • Date Night
      • Private Party Venues
      • 24 Hours in Calgary
    • Eat
      • New Restaurant Openings
      • Calgary Patios
      • Happy Hours
      • Daily Specials
      • Calgarys Best Restaurants
      • Unique Restaurants
    • Drink
      • Calgarys Best Bars
      • Calgary Sports Bars
      • Best Breweries
      • Secret Speakeasys
      • Best Cocktail Bars
      • Calgary Distilleries
      • Dancing in Calgary
    • More
      • About Me
      • Advertise
      • Discounts for You
      • Support
      • SUBSCRIBE
sarahsociables
  • home
  • Attend
    • Events Calendar
    • Calgary Festivals
    • Free Things To Do
  • Celebrate
    • Stampede
    • Canada Day
    • Pride Week
    • Halloween in Calgary
    • Christmas in Calgary
    • New Years Eve in Calgary
    • Valentine's in Calgary
    • St Patricks Day Calgary
    • Easter in Calgary
    • Cinco de Mayo
  • Plan
    • Fun Things To Do
    • Staycation
    • Birthday Party
    • Bachelor Party
    • Bachelorette
    • Date Night
    • Private Party Venues
    • 24 Hours in Calgary
  • Eat
    • New Restaurant Openings
    • Calgary Patios
    • Happy Hours
    • Daily Specials
    • Calgarys Best Restaurants
    • Unique Restaurants
  • Drink
    • Calgarys Best Bars
    • Calgary Sports Bars
    • Best Breweries
    • Secret Speakeasys
    • Best Cocktail Bars
    • Calgary Distilleries
    • Dancing in Calgary
  • More
    • About Me
    • Advertise
    • Discounts for You
    • Support
    • SUBSCRIBE

Best Foods of Calgary

Calgary Food Wars

I'm putting Calgary foods in head to head to battles so I can bring you the BEST of the BEST!! 🏅


{Alright, so I've only completed a few categories so far, turns out it's pretty time consuming to drive all over the city to taste things. 😆 I hope to bring you another taste test soon!}

Calgary's Best CINNAMON BUN 🏆

Alforno (2/10)


  • medium size
  • no raisins (pro or con depending on what you're looking for)
  • surprisingly hard and stale
  • icing in a big blob, not spread around
  • icing was cream cheesey and tasted delicious so I do give them credit for that (best icing I tried)
  • not fresh or tasty, maybe I went on a bad day, honestly I would have returned this. it was terrible
  • pricy ($7)

Atmosphere - the building is very cute and

Show More

 Lazy Loaf & Kettle (5/10)


  • 2 options (raisin or no raisin) (I went with no raisin)
  • no icing
  • large size
  • not stale, but not as soft as I would have liked
  • tasted good but not amazing
  • had seeds in it which was a little weird
  • upon further tasting, some inner bites were doughy/undercooked, so I actually lowered my original rating on this
  • average price ($5.95)

Atmosphere - homey little restaurant that is always b

Show More

La Boulangerie (5/10)


  • no icing
  • a couple raisins on top as a garnish
  • very soft flaky bread, but it was basically a croissant and not a cinnamon bun
  • very little cinnamon flavour, it was only on the outside and not baked in
  • not sweet, more like eating a slightly sweetened croissant, a good croissant, but this would not satisfy someone looking for a cinnamon bun
  • average price ($5.25)

Atmosphere - nice bakery

Show More

Good Bread (6/10)


  • cream cheese icing, but not evenly distributed
  • medium size
  • no raisins 
  • bread was fresh but could have been fluffier
  • a little weird it was in a muffin wrapper, not the best aesthetic 
  • tasted great but I wouldn't say it's special
  • price (?) not sure because I bought other stuff and didn't ask for a receipt, oops

Atmosphere - cute modern bakery located in Acadia, there are a few seats and th

Show More

Yum Bakery (6.5/10)


  • medium/large in size
  • no raisins
  • cream cheese icing spread throughout (option for no icing as well)
  • quite wet! felt like I should have ate with a fork
  • smothered in apple/caramel "sauce," while this made it extra juicy, personally not a big apple flavor fan
  • too sweet at first, but actually less sweet towards centre
  • very soft dough, fresh
  • average price ($5.25)

Atmosphere: this was their fa

Show More

Cobs Bread (6.5/10)


  • medium size
  • no raisins
  • outside was unflavoured, crunchy, dry (no cinnamon or icing to edges)
  • middle inside was good
  • icing was average, I don't think it was cream cheese though (if it was, it was light on the cream cheese flavour)
  • decent cinnamon bun, but not special
  • reasonable price ($3.83)

Atmosphere - Nice but no seating or coffee, not a place to hangout

Show More

Canela (7/10)


  • medium size
  • no raisins
  • vegan
  • outside layers a little tough 
  • icing in big blob, not spread out
  • icing not good, tasted like plain icing sugar, would have preferred cream cheese 
  • extremely sweet towards centre
  • little pricy ($6.30)

Atmosphere: nice little café in Inglewood, lots of baked goods and coffee options

Forage (7/10)


  • large size
  • no raisins
  • wet and saucy outside
  • icing served on the side (icing wasn't good, was allegedly cream cheese but I tasted no cream cheese)
  • very soft and fresh
  • average price ($5.25)

Atmosphere: little shop in Marda Loop/Altadore area, no seating, no coffee

Love Sugar Dough (7.5/10)


  • large size
  • no raisins
  • good layer of thick icing
  • icing spread out over whole bun which was a nice distribution
  • served cold (refrigerated, so lost points, could potentially be much higher)
  • big square bun, bread was fluffy, but hard to tell how soft it was because it was just out of the fridge
  • average price ($4.50)

Atmosphere - a little rough around the edges, no seating, no coffee,

Show More

Cinnzeo (8/10)


  • small in size 
  • light cream cheese icing, very minimal
  • no raisins
  • served warm!! YES
  • very soft
  • very sweet
  • hard to criticize it, but loses a few points for size and being overly sweet throughout, every bite was the same
  • expensive for size ($5.24)

Atmosphere - the atmosphere is chinook mall lol so if you're familiar with the food court area then I don't need to say more haha

Big Buns Club (8/10)


  • very large in size
  • no raisins
  • fantastic icing distribution 
  • one of the better tasting icings out of all that I tried
  • soft dough/fresh
  • only critique, it takes a few bites of bread to get into the cinnamon bun flavour
  • pricier ($6.56)

Atmosphere: none, you order ahead and pick them up at Culinary Coworking Kitchen

Monogram (8.5/10)


  • medium/large in size
  • no raisins
  • flavoured icing that was spread throughout
  • tasted very different, had nutmeg? or ginger? reminded me of christmas, after tasting so many cinnamon buns this was a surprising hit
  • quite sweet but too sweet
  • soft dough, but not the softest
  • if you want classic cinnamon bun flavour, this isn't it, but this was an amazing twist that I really enjoyed with each bit


Show More
Show More

Honorable Mentions That Didn't Get Tested

Here's a list of places I was told I had to try but didn't make it to:


  1. Heritage Park Railroad Café - Although I discovered you can visit the café without paying the fee for entry to the park, when I checked the menu there was no cinnamon bun listed. (They might still have it but I didn't feel like driving there to check.)
  2. Roy's Place in Claresholm - apparently has massive cinnamon buns that were even featured on TV.  I just didn't want to do the drive. :(
  3. Home Ground in Okotoks - several people mentioned I must try these epic buns, but alas, I did not make it here.
  4. The Nash - only served for brunch on weekends, this $12 cinnamon bun is apparently epic. I think it changes flavour too because the menu says cinnamon bun "creation of the month."
  5. Butter Block - one of my personal favourite bakeries in the city! But they are currently closed for renovations. 
  6. Diner Deluxe - On weekend and holidays they offer a $9 cinnamon bun feature.  Cream cheese icing, rum caramel sauce, and candied walnuts. Made fresh!

okay so... which CINNAMON BUN IS best in Calgary?

  1. Which is your favorite overall, Sarah? If I could only pick one, my favorite was Patisserie Du Soleil It was warm, fresh, not too sweet, each bite was delicious from start to centre.
  2. Which is the best "sticky bun style" cinnamon bun? - In my opinion, Sidewalk Citizen
  3. Which one was a surprise hit? - Monogram's cinnamon bun was unusual! I think they put ginger in their icing, I love it and would get it again.
  4. Where can I try wild novelty flavours? Try Cinnaholic, Canela or Big Buns Club for wacky toppings like oreo, apple pie or lucky charms.
  5. What's your recommendation for a cinnamon bun that isn't too sweet? - Try Prairie Bread Mill for a tasty option that isn't too sweet.
  6. Which had the best icing? - While Alforno's bun was sadly dry and stale, their icing was the best I tried.
  7. Which are vegan? - Cinnaholic and Canela
  8. You should have heated them all up so that it would be a fair comparison - True, the heated cinnamon buns definitely had a leg up over the ones that weren't. However I was taste testing in my car and had no method to heat them. Also, I feel like that should fall on the business to offer that option.
  9. You should give Alforno another try, they are really good! - You are probably right, I think I just got unlucky and got a stale one, most people say they are excellent.

Full disclosure: this cinnamon bun hunt was not sponsored in anyway.  I purchased every cinnamon bun and all ratings are my own opinion.

calgary's best bagel🏆

Let's find the Best Bagel of the City 🥯

Montreal Bagels (6.5/10)

  • small and dense bread
  • traditional
  • slightly sweetened
  • limited selection/sells out early
  • takes cash only


Atmosphere - takeout only (no chairs/not a place to hangout)

Wayne's Bagels (7/10)

  • small and dense bagel
  • traditional, classic taste
  • more flavour selections


Atmosphere - takeout only (no chairs/ not a place to hangout)

Bagelino's (8/10)

  •  larger fluffier bagel
  • good for sandwiches
  • more expensive ($2 each)
  • more flavour selections


Atmosphere - a few chairs but it's a small seating space

Good Bread (10/10)

  • massive fluffy bagels
  • delicious! so good you can eat it straight up!
  • not as traditional (more like a bun consistency)


Atmosphere - cute, has some chairs/place to sit, order coffee, pastry etc.

testing Next? 😋

Next Calgary Taste Test!

Here's a list of suggestions I received for what I should taste test next:


  • poutine
  • hot chicken sandwiches
  • chocolate chip cookies
  • breakfast sandwiches
  • pizza
  • happy hours
  • wings
  • donairs
  • croissants
  • ramen
  • tacos
  • french toast
  • donuts
  • burger
  • sushi
  • calzones
  • lattes
  • shawarma
  • cupcakes 
  • ice cream
  • Indian food
  • pho
  • bubble tea
  • milkshakes
  • beef jerky
  • Vietnamese subs

 

What's next for Calgary's Best...?!

Get Top 10 Things to Do in Calgary 🡣sent to you weekly🡣

Subscribe

Copyright © 2024 sarahsociables - All Rights Reserved


Powered by

I got you friend

Subscribe to Thrive in Calgary

Thrive

This website uses cookies.

GoDaddy Website Builder makes me use cookies. All this means is that they analyze website traffic as a group. Press accept to make this annoying notification go away.

Accept