Dear Grain — Restaurant in Toronto

The sourdough they have is tasty but I have a few gripes with the service I received. I write this a couple weeks after visiting as I wanted to test out their starter.

First, they sell their sourdough discard. Sourdough bakeries have a strong tradition of giving away discard but in the post COVID sourdough craze age, I get selling it. It's $8 though, which is a bit exorbitant I feel. Nevertheless, I bought one as I was in the market and I have mixed feelings about it. It's very very active if I feed it rye (of course, it's rye) but absolutely refuses to rise or show semblance of life if I feed it white flour. This is odd as it appears to have been fed previously with white flour. It has made good loaves with a mild taste and overall, I'm happy with it. One day I will get it to accept white flour (maybe?).

On to my experience in the store itself. I wanted to learn a bit more about the starter and the food they carry. The employee working that day was totally unable to answer my questions. First I asked what kind of pizzas they had in the display case as there were no labels, he pointed at each in turn and stated the most obvious topping that was on them and nothing more. For example, the mushroom slice obviously had mushrooms on it, but it also had other things! What those were, I couldn't tell you, as the clerk couldn't bother to tell me, I just got "that's a mushroom one". I got a slice of the "sausage" pizza (I was told it was sausage, it was very clearly not sausage, perhaps a pepperoni of some sort). It was delicious! Points for that!

I then asked the clerk what they fed their starter. He looked at me, flabbergasted, and said "uhhh...flour?" I clarified by asking what kind of flour and he said he wouldn't know that and gestured vaguely at the bakers in the back (which you can see and is very cool). He didn't offer to find out from the bakers and simply treated the question as answered. As he was checking me out, he pointed to the bags of different types of flour they sell and said "maybe they use one of those?" I simply stared at him, my turn to be flabbergasted.

Anyway, maybe train your employees a bit more and maybe don't charge $8...

Look, I've lived a life full of regrettable choices: buying a one-way ticket to a Coldplay concert, attempting to cook a seven-course meal using only a BBQ Grill, and, worst of all, believing that Dear Grain was just a place that sold bread you could use for your weight loss diets. To be fair, I'm not a fan of anything sour. In my book, the only good thing that’s sour is a lemon-drop martini, and even that's a stretch.

So when my date dragged me to Dear Grain, I was already prepping my "this is fine" face. I was ready to endure a beige-themed experience of artisanal sour dough and healthy, happiness-free options. I braced myself for a world of pain and stomach rumbles. But boy, was I wrong. As soon as I walked in, I wasn't transported to a healthy bread shop; I was transported to a land of pure, unadulterated gluttony. I’m talking about an all-star cast of olive oils, jams, and jellies that looked like they were auditioning for a food commercial. Then came the main event: the chocolates and ice cream. I'm not ashamed to admit I fell in love with Sim and Lil's double chocolate ice cream. My girlfriend ordered a smoked salmon sandwich and an ice cream called coconut blush, a dreamy cloud of tropical bliss with a delicate swirl that tasted like a vacation in a cup. I went for the chicken club sandwich and it was so good, it made me question every life decision I've ever made. How had I not known about this place sooner? This is not a review; this is a public service announcement. If you, like me, are a sour-averse person who thought Dear Grain was just a healthy bread shop, you're missing out. I'm still young, my cholesterol is still in a healthy range, and there’s still time. Dear Grain is now on my weekly roster. What a week it was. I'm still dreaming about the sandwich, the creamy ice cream, and the beautiful smell of coffee and sour bread in the air. Oh,...

This totally blew my already high expectations out of the water!! So incredible, their bread brought me so much joy.

The sourdough bread (I got the pan loaf) is by far the best sourdough I’ve ever had in Canada, much better than other bakeries I’ve tried. The only one that compares is ones I’ve tried in San Francisco. It is super sour (ie. Very strong on the sourdough flavor) and I love that! This loaf is going to become a regular purchase for me, and yes I will trek all the way out to this bakery for it. The texture was also incredible. Eating it toasted with butter was pure joy. I will be slicing & freezing to keep on hand!

Their sourdough pizzas were also incredible. I tried the eggplant and potato. I will say they were quite greasy as a lot of oil seeped out onto the bags, but flavor was excellent. These aren’t as heavy on the sourdough flavor but lots of garlic, and watch out the eggplant was SPICY with lots of chili flakes.

I also tried the cheese twist croissant which was excellent, but not that unique (tasted like any other bakery croissant) so I’d focus more on their other stuff next time.

I’ve tried their scones and cookies at sweat & tonic and those are also excellent. I especially like their ube caramel coconut cookie - also no sourdough flavor but really delicious.

They’ve got a lot of cool pantry items too, I was able to restock my Maldon flaky salt and was also tempted to try this umami seasoning they had. Nut butters too.

Overall, this bakery is a knockout - I would give it more than 5 stars if I could!! Definitely worth making a trip to Ossington for.

Update: I’ve found their bread, cookies, and scones stocked at Dark Horse Espresso Bar, so now I can get my fix without trekking out to...