ottawa foodies

Big fan of the downtown Farm Boy. Good pizza made fast on a thin crust. The pepperoni is a thick small-diameter disk, taste and texture of salami, the cheese is very tasty (more like a brick or cheddar than a mozza in flavour), as is the rich sauce. Nice soft crust with some crisp. $8.99 I think for 10" pepperoni, not sure how much for more toppings.

The burgers are delicious too, I wonder if they use medium fat ground beef, because it's nice and buttery, juicy. $7.99 for the combo which includes chips and cole slaw, no charge for cheese. $8.99 for a double. I'm thinking 1/4lb patties.

Super friendly staff, very clean store, uber-organized. Easy parking downstairs, you pay $1, but get refunded at the cash if you buy over $20 of goods.

Best apocalypse grocery experience so far.

Farm boy is looking for cooks.

Seconded. Have tried most of them, no disappointments.

If their artisan sausages are just the sausages they make and sell themselves, then yes-- their sweet italian sausages are a key part of one of our regular meals and we're big fans of them. I've also sampled a bunch of the other kinds and they've all tasted good.

I've had the sausage. They are pretty good.

Has anyone tried their artisan sausages?

I was very excited when I saw in the flyer that they had chorizo bacon cheddar mini sausages. Thinking that they would be a great treat for Xmas get togethers I bought some. Meh. I was unimpressed. No chorizo flavour, some bacon taste and a bit of cheese on the back end. If you are a fan of these flavours, get the jalapeño cheddar smokies from Seed to Sausage and cut them up yourself to make minis. Sorry to say but Farm Boy has disappointed a lot recently.

I found out today that there is paid parking at the Westboro site. If you use it, Farm Boy will pay for 1 1/2 hours provided you buy $10 worth of goods. Same deal as Whole Foods.

The Trainyards location also has the pizza oven and they too have a very exstensive prepared food area. I used it a lot when my Mum was in the General and the Rehab hospitals.

We stopped in at the new Farm Boy in Westboro. One word sums this up - wow! One thing they have that the other Farm Boys do not have is a pizza oven. Understandably, it is gas, not wood fired, but was set at 750 degrees. They were handing out samples of their pizza and they were very, very good. They are thin crust which is made right there, and the pizzas are dressed in front of you. They are 10" ones and cost between $7 to $9, well worth the price. The prepared food section is a lot bigger than the one on Merivale Rd. and the total layout of the store is somewhat different. I was very impressed.

The options here are fantastic. My favourites are the Kale Caesar and the Mock General Tso's Chicken (better than the actual chicken version). The falafel are okay, if a tad dry.

I can usually get a decent lunch serving for around $8. When I'm really hungry I splurge another buck on a square of sweet cornbread!

Every time I visit my mother in Halifax she insists I bring a couple of bottles of Lemon&Garlic. Best fish marinade around.

Ah hah... the plot thickens (and so does the dressing).

While the bottles of dressing on the 'normal' shelves have indeed all changed to sunflower oil, I noticed today that they do have an "Original Lemon & Garlic" dressing as well.

This was in the chilled cabinet with the salad stuff, with a sign specifically saying it was the old formula with olive oil and that it solidifies in the fridge. I guess they put it in the chiller to hammer home the point. Only saw Lemon & Garlic, none of the other dressings.

This was at Trainyards. Not sure if the others have it as well.

I have a jar of the old apple cider vinaigrette in the fridge. It was made with olive oil, the new one is made with sunflower oil. If I had to guess, I would guess that it was changed after Sobey's bought it as sunflower oil is cheaper. I really like Farm Boy and the one on McRae is a 5 minute walk from where I live, but I won't be buying a particular item from them where I notice a change in quality from the previous version.

I heard it is now sunflower oil instead of olive oil. There is also a change in the other flavours though - so maybe a change to spices or type of garlic? I wondered if there was a undeclared spice too, but didn’t see it listed on recall. The reasoning on oil shift was to prevent hardening of oil in fridge I guess. The prices also went up with the changes.

I found it really terrible so won’t bother buying it again and I used to always have one in fridge and one back-up.

Mink.

What kind of oil is in it now?

"Farm Boy co-CEO Jeff York says customers won't notice 'one difference' now that the grocery store chain has been bought."

www.cbc.ca

Yes, I think they changed the oil in it. I have noticed a decline in quality in several products since Farm Boy was sold.

Farm Boy had the best Lemon & Garlic dressing, but they've changed the recipe and it is terrible now. Has anyone else noticed this?

My new favourite place to pick up a quick lunch! This was at the Hazeldean location.

They offer a "Duo" with choice of sandwich and salad for $6+tax. There was a nice selection of salads -- I opted for the Lentil Mandarin and Almond and it was really tasty (described as "Lentils, mandarins, almonds and cranberries with fresh herbs in a citrus dressing")!

The sandwiches were diverse and appetizing: veggie on baguette, turkey wrap, roast beef on a whole wheat bun, and Chicken Club Focaccia. I had the latter, as pictured here. It's real food, just like you'd make at home if you happened to have fresh ingredients on hand.

It's pretty hard to justify paying more than this for a fast food meal. Good job, Farm Boy!

Went to the Farm Boy on Tenth Line...this one has the full in store kitchen with a chef cooking up dishes that you can take home. Not all Farm Boy's have this in-store kitchen. Anyways, I bought the roasted vegetable sandwich on the Premier Moisson olive ciabata bread. Roasted red pepper, zucchini, and eggplant with hummus and green leaf lettuce. It was soooo yummy! Pretty big too, satisfied me quite nicely.

farm boy at terry fox drive have just supported a launch to a local company making european cakes.
cakes all have beutiful ribbons on then great for a gift or birthday.very french in stlye belgian chocolate and the company uses local produse as much as possible. The company's name is exquisite desserts. i am also told they only use butter, eggs and fresh cream (not magarine or sythetics). so in other words, REAL cakes. went there when they had samples. very very good. word on the street is the citrus buttercream nd harlequin mousse are to die for. not to mention individuals. just as much taste, smaller portions, awesome to serve at parties (impress the in-laws). or, if you don't have to deal with in-laws, great to impress fellow foodies.

Tried the self-serve salad and hot food bar at the new Rideau Centre location for lunch and I was impressed. The flat rate of $2.19/100g means you can sample and browse across the entire spectrum of foods, while averaging out the under and over priced components on your plate. The price is very high for rice and potatoes but is extremely reasonable for beef and shrimp. The somewhat frugal portion here added up to a very appealing $7.18 after tax. It's easy to hit $15-20 if you load up on heavy things.

I found the Kale Caesar to be a delicious base layer. A quinoa salad was not great, but that wonderful yellow Israeli Couscous based one more than made up for it. General Tsao's Chicken was soggy and sweet, while the Butter Chicken was tender and tasty. Looking forward to sampling more of what they have to offer!

They do offer low sodium but only in chicken, beef, and vegetable bases. Well, it's 21% for a teaspoon...

Tree Pug, I bought some of the BTB veggie last year and found it very salty so when I used it I didn't add any salt but tasted for more salt, rarely adding any. Sometimes I would use a half measure of the BTB just to keep the salt down.

Didn't know they had a lobster base - I just wish they made low salt versions of their bases so I could add salt to suit my taste buds.

I was kidding about the salt. I do make my own stocks and broth but I guess I will use this when I am out. I was thinking about using it in the rice boil for chicken fried rice...Thanks!

Tree Pug, you don't use it as a substitute for salt. You are meant to use it as you would a broth. That is, mixed with water as HFF says. So if you are using it to make soup and the recipe calls for 4 cups of chicken broth, you would mix 4 teaspoons of BTB with 4 cups of water and use that. If you look at the ingredient list, chicken should be the first thing you see. Or, at least that is the case with what I use.

You use 1teaspoon per 1cup water, so you aren't having a tablespoon per serving. I use the vegetable one when I make any grains, soup, stock - adding more veggies,ect to it. I use it with mashed potatoes. Basically I use it anywhere it calls for broth, to enhance food and to be a starter for a sauce.

Yeah, 1tsp is 28% of your daily sodium which had me thinking.
I make all sorts of soups and I have never used this product. What would I sub it in for (besides salt).

Tree Pug, can you tell me what the label says the sodium content is? I use this type of thing all the time for soups and gravies. For gravy, just mix some of the boullion with pan drippings if you have them, add water and thicken with a slurry. You can add herbs, mushrooms, etc. or whatever strikes your fancy. Just follow the label instructions for chicken broth to use when toy are making soups that call for it.

I picked up the chicken flavour a while ago but I haven't had any use for it yet. Anyone have ideas?

Saw the following Better Than Bouillon at Farm Boy (Britannia).

Turkey
Lobster
Beef (Organic)
Chicken (Organic)
Vegetable
Mushroom

www.superiortouch.com

I'm 99% sure I found this at Farm Boy. It's basically puréed coconut and it becomes spreadable when slightly warmed. It's a fantastic way to make curries and similar sauces richer. I haven't experimented much yet but I'd imagine it would be insanely good sweetened a little with icing sugar.

This is where I purchase my cretons. You can find it at the deli counter. Not sure if they have them out anywhere so you'll need to ask for it like you do coldcuts.

I really must mention that Farm Boy has been selling the great-to-excellent chocolate bars from Gatineau chocolatier Rochef for some time. He does not have a store (yet), so ganaches and filled chocolates are sold by appointment/order (similarly to KoKo).

The bars are available in several local stores, and Farm Boy offers the best selection. The back of each package even gives suggestions for best type of pairing, be it wine, beer, port, cheese or otherwise.

Today, I found out Rochef offers for a limited time a Pure Nacionale bar: Fortunato No 4. This is a new, fourth variety of cacao bean that was rediscovered in 2009. So far, only a Montreal place has offered a bar of it back in 2009, so I guess now smaller makers can get access to the beans.

Like the other Montreal bar, it's pricey: $18 for 80g. Yes, that's 75 cents a square. The other bar was worth it because it was a completely new type of basic chocolate taste. How does Rochef's compare?

The smell is downright intoxicating... the mouthfeel is not as perfect as the other one was, a little creamier - but at 68%, it is to be expected. The taste is more subtle than the other bar, too. It needs a bit more time to find the base difference, for someone like me who's aware of said differences. For the layman, it would probably be extra-smooth, but not exploding in the mouth, and thus they may not feel it worth the price.

But for anyone who is very curious about what makes different chocolates different, I gather a group of 5-6 pooling money together to buy five Rochef bars at Farm Boy, this and any four of the country-specific bars, and having a dessert-time tasting (with water before and between each square, and ending with this) might come away with a better understanding of what constitutes Real Chocolate.

Not an unabashed recommendation, except for aficionados, unless taken in the manner above. If your palate is not very sensitive and Lindt tastes the same as Hershey, then this is not for you.

I'm not much of a chocolate fan, and the 'organic' variety I bought is a bit too sweet for my tastes; should've got the semi-sweet, but -- still, thumbs up. Nice melt-in-your-mouth real chocolatey chocolate.

We've been having 'fondue nights' with friends about once a month and I've been in charge of the dessert portion lately. I bought the Callebaut foutain milk chocolate a few weeks ago and it was really great. It melted quickly and evenly, had great flavour and stuck well to anything we dipped in it.

Yesterday we tried the dark chocolate version and it was even better. I guess it's so good because it's made to run through a fountain?

I bought one chunk of "Callebaut chocolate" few days ago at Farm Boy Kanata. I always passed by the counter without checking them until Mark mentioned it here. I tried the "milk chocolate" kind. I finished them all in 2 days. Next time, I am going to try the dark chocolate kind. Boy oh Boy, I have gained another 2 pounds! Blame this to Mark for his recommendation!

I have to adjust my previous comment. I mentioned that Victoria and Calgary have 12 Callebaut stores between them, but that isn't quite right. See, those are in fact Bernard Callebaut chocolate stores. Bernard Callebaut is the great-great grandson of the original founder of Callebaut, Eugenius Callebaut. Same name, different company.

The world famous Belgian chocolate manufacturer, Callebaut, merged with a rival company (Cacao Barry) in 1996. The new company is called Barry Callebaut but the chocolate is still branded as Callebaut. The company headquarters are now in Zurich, Switzerland. So it's Belgian chocolate but it's actually Swiss. ;-) This is the stuff they sell at Farm Boy!

Thanks kt! The store in Westboro is "Truffle Treasures" and I just added it Truffle Treasures. :)

There is a small chocolate shop in Westboro that also carries Callebaut. She does not sell in bulk but all of her chocolates are made with Callebaut chocolate and she sells huge bars of their chocolate. I believe the shop's name is Truffles (just a few doors down for Mountain Equipment).

Farm Boy now carries Callebaut chocolate, and it's awesome! We don't have a Callebaut store in Ottawa yet (Victoria has 3, Calgary 9) so this is the next best thing.

I think there needs to be a differentiation between fresh and jarred salsa here. I haven't had the fresh salsa, only having noticed it recently, but I have had the jarred one and did not like it.

I too like this salsa. When its at its freshest it is truly awesome.

But then I prefer freshly made salsa over canned. Sig Oth likes it cooked and in a jar. S'ok, makes more for me!

Oh, okay. I just picked some up, and said "Mmm -- Lone Star-y."

Indeed. Very tasty.

The house brand tortilla chips are a thumbs-up, too.

Farm Boy makes a "Fresh Salsa" that is the closest thing to Lone Star's pico de gallo that you'll find. The quality is highly variable depending on tomato availability -- sometimes it's so bad that you don't want to eat it, but other times it's almost like Lone Star.

Première Moisson! Crusty and chewy with excellent flavour.

I discovered this cheese last summer and I think it might just be my all time favourite. Being somewhat unschooled in cheesy nuances, I'd describe it as a wonderful cross between Oka and Tilsit:

Le Mamirolle (www.theglobeandmail.com)

The best place to get fresh St. Albert cheese aside from the factory in Casselman. Kudos, Farm Boy!

I worked at Farm Boy in the Cheese department or 3 or 4 years... I will never forget slicing 3 wheels of Raclette prior to Christmas. I stank for days!

They will let you sample a cheese if you're unsure about it, as I did with with a couple Oka varieties a few weeks back in preparation for a fondue party. They'll cut the right amount so you don't have tonnes of leftovers. They'll also shred it for you, if you ask.

The one thing I always liked about it was that I could get whatever cheese I wanted, in whatever size I wanted. This way I never ended up with a huge block of cheese to toss because I couldn't finish it.

I love the large variety of cheeses available at Farm Boy. It is the closest thing to a cheese store. I like to buy my Parm wedge here, as well as any specialty cheeses (ie ricotta). Today I picked up some emmenthal. It is also nice that cheeses are available both by the block or sliced.

I find the cheese at Farm Boy is largely overpriced, especially the fresh parmesan. I get Italian cheeses at Nicastros and other cheese at Costco. OTOH I am going to those places anyway and not making special trips; it is handy to have Farm Boy nearby with a good cheese selection.

I recently asked Farm Boy to provide me with a list of the cheeses they carry that do not contain animal rennet. They only got back to me with a partial list so far but here it is for those who care:

ALL Agropur Cheese Products
ALL St. Albert Products
Mini Mini Bocconcini Light
Mini Mini Bocconcini (200g)
Crotonese Cheese
Friulano Tre Stelle Cheese
Mozarella Balls
Friulano Tre Stelle Wh/Hlf
Provolone Cheese Sette Fette
Provolone Cheese Smoked
Provolone Cheese Tre Stelle
Provolone Cheese Tre Stelle Light
Smoked Mozzarella Cheese
Ricotta CremonaMediterra Feta Garlic/Herbes
Bocconccini (200g)
Bocconccini Cheese
Rosenborg Brie / Camembert
Blue Danish Cheese
Cream Cheese Dill
Cream Cheese Garlic
Cream Cheese Herb/Spice
Cream Cheese Pepper
Tre Stelle Mascarpone
Provolone Piccante
10 Year Old Porto
Emmenthal Swiss Cheese (No Lactose)
Emmenthal Swiss Cheese Slices (No Lactose)
Bocconcini Light
Mini Bocconcini Light
Organic Danish Havarti
Organic Danish Blue
Organic Cream Cheese
Organic Feta Cubes
Light Ricotta Cremona
Bocconcini Pearls
Balsamic Cream
Mediterra Feta Light

I was told that I would be updated with any additions to the list so if that happens I'll post it here.

Many kudos to them for having a few very small bits of cheese wrapped up and ready to go with small prices.

Noted: buffalo mozzarella, which was worth the price.

Friendly service, too.

We just polished off a 2 kg organic chicken from Farm Boy. Roasted it for 75 minutes at 425 Fahrenheit (convection) in the upright "beer can" position, with white wine in the steam tray and "Montreal chicken spice" and pepper all over the outside. Also three rashers of bacon draped over the top for some extra self-basting activity.

We poured off the fat from the steam tray and made a nice gravy with the remaining juices. This was an excellent roasted chicken -- crispy outside and moist inside.

I didn't think to take a picture!

Yum - I've finally found a croissant that reminds me of the ones I used to get at my local market in Montreal! Picked one up at the Merivale location this morning, fresh out of the oven.

All this talk about croissants made me hungry - picked up a couple at Farm Boy (Merivale) this evening :P

Today's batch (or what was left of it) looked more like buns than croissants ->

Sorry - I should have clarified I was talking about the Premiere Moisson croissants! I really wish they had them in an open display so I could pick and choose as I see fit :)

Just wondering monty....are you talking about the Premier Moisson croissants from the showcases or the croissants that you get in the 6 packs??

I love these croissants. Great flavour with just the right amount of butter, and baked to perfection - unlike some other grocery store's so called croissants (Loblaws...blech!)

Yes!!! If they bake them correctly (e.g. Merivale location) they are recognizable as the superior Première Moisson croissants. Interestingly, the shape is more "manufactured" and less artfully delicious looking than those in Montreal.

I was shopping quite late in the day (6pm) and purchased two of the five remaining croissants. I ate one as soon as I got home and it was clear that it hadn't been baked within the past hour or two; but the great flavour and texture were unmistakable. I'm drooling to try one earlier in the day, when they are fresh from the oven.

For my taste, these are now the best croissants in Ottawa!

Spied at the Merivale Farm Boy location: perfectly baked non-yellow Première Moisson croissants (like the one in my photo on the Croissants page). Because of the holiday shopping rush I didn't get a chance to linger and sample one, but I will do so ASAP.

The new Farm Boy in Barrhaven sells Première Moisson croissants. I was excited when I discovered this because the ones sold in Montreal are truly awesome.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed to find that the Première Moisson croissants sold in Ottawa are underbaked. Croissants are not meant to be a YELLOW food! They are supposed to have a nice brown colour like the one in my photo of a Première Moisson croissant purchased in Montreal. Sorry, I can't recommend them.

An antipasto bar...!!

Found, at the Merivale Road location:

-- cheese-stuffed mushrooms
-- " " jalapenos
-- marinated artichoke hearts
-- stuffed grape leaves
-- asst'd mushrooms, olives, peppers in oil
-- bocconcini
-- etc etc

Very oily all told, but also pretty fresh and delicious.

I love a trip to Farm Boy because of their great selection of fresh fruits & veggies (as kmennie said its fairly exotic for the burbs). And I find the prices pretty good as well.

I found today's selection (April 23, 2008) was really fresh vs the stuff I've seen recently in Loblaws etc. I find the grocery stores produce is looking "really tired" for this time of year. I got some great looking veggies at Farm Boy (no nicks, bruises or off spots), and also some fruits that looked as if they'd just been picked (blackberries, grapes, etc).

Their bagged salads are always marked "MADE FRESH on _____" and there are always a variety of styles (mixed greens, mesculan, baby spinach etc) as well as a variety of sizes, so it is easy to buy just the right amount.

I'm not normally too thrilled with gimmicky pre-sliced stuff. But. I am now a fan of their bags of ("made fresh TUESDAY," or whatever day you happen to go) shredded cabbage (w/a few carrot slivers). Half goes into a slaw, and half goes into a vegetable soup; it's fresh and crispy and nicely shredded. The little bits of pre-bagged lettuces are good, too; I wouldn't hesitate to buy anything that's been a bit prepped by them.

Also:

What a neat aisle of weird veg you don't normally see. I am now regretting not bringing the camera; it's exotic for the suburbs.

Great strong greens -- collard, kale, etc.

Nice selection of organic, with a lot of it fairly competitively priced.

Noted: three types of celery. (Organic. Bagged 'Dole'-branded pair of hearts. Celery celery.)

This has been consistently good. Not the pre-packaged stuff, but at the cheese-etc counter. Cheaper than those little wee tubs usually are, too.

Excellent for pigging out on their produce. (Or their produce is excellent for pigging out on the hummus...)

If I become incapacitated in some fashion, I may let Farm Boy do my cooking for me based on this. Okay, a bit too oily, and more tomato was called for, but still -- yum.

I just tried the Chipotle ones (I'm a sucker for punishment), and SURPRISE, I actually like these! A lot!

The flavours are subtle and their texture is just a little different than the other two flavours I tried.

I will buy these again. And again.

So I tried the Lime tortilla chips, keeping in mind what the reviews have been here. They are definitely strange tasting...I couldn't put my finger on it for awhile but I finally got it.

Ok, here goes.....they taste exactly like...wait for it....green suckers. I'm not kidding!

I like the chip itself, and can't wait to try another flavour...but the Lime ones are, if anything, weird.

So I thought I would try another bag of these chips and again I was disapppointed.

This time I tried the lime ones and phooey! I swear they tasted like really old musty shoes, errr...chips and I was constantly checking for mould.

Could I have got 2 bad bags in a row?

I really like the lime flavoured tortilla chips. The flavour is much more subtle than the lime Tostitos ones - they overpower whatever you dip them into - but the Farm Boy ones go well with salsa and guacamole. Speaking of guacamole, their own guac is delicious but sells out in hours so is hard to come by.

I really like the chipotle ones. Actually I like all of them. Maybe you got an old bag...

Actually I wasnt too crazy about the chips. I found them to be cardboard flavoured and tough. Rather stale like.

Perhaps I should try another bag.

The house brand is worth a try -- like the salsa there, almost Lone Star-ish. Try heating them very briefly in the oven.

The honey nut raisin bread that everyone is talking about here is from Premier Moisson, a company out of Montreal. Farm Boy does not advertise breads from PM anymore since they are (sadly) phasing it out. Not all their breads are from PM...they have a few companies they order from.

Side note: what I think some people don't understand is that bread, about 99%, that you buy at grocery stores, is NOT made instore. What I mean is that it will either come par-baked and the store will just 'finish off' the baking process or it might come as a frozen dough and will be proofed (risen) and then baked. With that said, it is still fresh in a sense, but it does come to the store frozen. Could you imagine a grocery making hundreds of loaves of bread from scratch every day?? Impossible. The staff, the space, the time needed would be waaay too much to handle!

ksw don't go blowing up my sale rack spot haha. at the merivale location the rack is frequently overloaded with discounted wares including the premiere moisson croissants (not quite as good as a fresh batch, but a steal compared to their regular price of ~$1 each)

We buy all our bread at Farm Boy. Because it can be pricey, our trick is we go to the "sale" rack which is the day old bread and choose our bread from there. We usually only eat bread toasted for breakfast so it makes no difference that it isn't fresh from that day. We freeze the loaves and take them out as needed. (and let's face it, if you buy a loaf on Saturday and don't eat it till Sunday then it becomes day old anyways and you could have saved yourself some money!)
It's also fun because you never know what will be on the rack that day, so we get to try all different kinds of breads.

F&T - we also got the "day old" honey nut raisin bread (I think for $3.49) and we sliced it up and made french toast with it on a Sunday morning). It was sooooo good!! We have also tried their regular raisin bread and the egg bread as french toast - very good.

Obviously if we are making sandwiches or serving the bread to guests, we will buy a fresh loaf :):) (thought I better mention that....)

Food&Think This bread sounds delicious! It reminds me of a bread I bought from the Ethiopian man at the Lansdowne farmers market last year - it was a whole wheat bread with nuts in - perhaps brazil nuts? I was able to cut through it with a standard bread knife and found the slices had to be a little thicker anyway to keep the bread from falling apart...

Momomoto - That sounds like a terrific suggestion, but slicing it would be a bit of a challenge, cutting thru the nuts would require a professional slicer, me thinks. Because if you don't get it right, it would probably all fall apart. I think this will require further investigation... Lightly toasted Honey Nut Raisin Bread, Cheese, Fresh Grapes, Wine... Patio Party!

F&T - The Honey Nut Raisin Bread sounds like the perfect thing to use to round out a cheese course. Slice it monstrously thin, cut each slice in half, and bake it until crispy. Heaven.

After recommendations from fellow Foodies, I decided to try the Honey Nut Raisin Bread. As it is a Breakfast Bread, and something I can only really enjoy on the weekend, I had to keep it in the freezer. The freezer kept it longer (and at $ 4.49 a loaf, that matters) and it made ok toast, but I did enjoy it much better fresh from the store.

My review here is based on the fact the loaf I purchased was labeled FARM BOY (no other labelling credits) so I therefore assume it was baked onsite at their instore bakery.

Overall the bread was much more "nutty" than I thought it would be, and the use of hazelnuts came as a bit of a surprise, I don't know what I was imagining (it wasn't peanuts for sure) but for me hazelnuts was unexpected. Perhaps something creamier in texture like macadamians.

It was a nice enough change from the many multigrain breads that I normally purchase, and had a little ooomph over regular raisin bread. I would purchase it again.

"The Man" found the Honey Nut & Raisin Bread today (all on his own, I didn't tell him about it)... he thought it looked interesting, but at $ 4.49 was a bit pricey. Now that it's caught his eye I'm going to go back sometime and pick up a loaf and try it. I figure if we keep it in the freezer and toast a slice at a time, there will be little waste and thereby a good value.

We purchased hoagie buns today had them for lunch filled with coldcuts and cheese from the deli counter, they were very fresh and tastey.

I find the Première Moisson baguettes hit or miss. I like hard and chewy bread but sometimes find the freshness of these sub-par. I'll stick with ACE...

An amendment from my comment on few months ago, we bought the bread again, and did a thin cut into medallions, lightly sprinkled some olive oil, and crisped them up in the oven with olive paste ontop and goat cheese with chives on top... it was delicious. If the bread is cut that way it doesn't seem to cut the mouth and seems pretty good, and it does have good air pockets through out.