86d Mondays Cinnamon Bun Battle at the Drake Hotel

Now that the year was starting to to feel normal,  I am back to my usual routine.  That routine included  keeping an eye on the delightful treats I get when I go to 86’d Mondays with Ivy Knight at the Drake Hotel.  It seemed to me that there were a lot of foodies attending last night. The buzz it was generating both on Facebook and Twitter of pledges of attendance was hard to miss. Maybe because  this week was the Cinnamon Bun Battle.  When Abe and I walked in, the lounge was bursting at the seams with expectant sugarholics waiting for an overdose of cinnamon and sugar.  Here’s the complete lineup competing for Cinnamon Bun greatness:

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Lindsey Gazel –  Lindsey’s Bakery
Graham Pratt –  The Garbardine
Tori Vacher – Tori’s Bake Shop
Eyal Liebham – Pâtissier Eyal Liebman
Farzam Fallah – Richmond Station
Scott Birss – Gilead Cafe

As my turned arrived to pick up cinammon buns, I must say I was a bit overwhelmed at the thought of having 6 varieties.  It was too much sugar for me.  Good thing I have Abe to split them with.  Abe and I brought our cinnamon buns outside by the Drake Hotel’s reception to get enough light to give justice to each of these awesome buns.  I must say, it was most opportune that there were extra plates at the table we were working with that was pretty useful for our impromptu photoshoot.  True EyeCandyTO tradition when you have both Abe and me in the same room. After all that fussing, we finally give it a try.  I did not really take the names of the creators as I was shooting and tasting.  It sure did help to tide over my bias.  Later on I found out that my number one was Lindsey Gazel’s as I loved the addition of caramelized bananas and Abe loved Scott Birss cinnamon bun treat.  To him it was the most that had the balance of sweet and spice.

A few minutes later, host Ivy Knight announced who won the glory.  Just having the edge of 3 votes, Farzam Fallah of Richmond Station bested both Graham Pratt (The Garbardine) and Tori Vacher (Tori’s Bake Shop) who ended up on a second place tie.  I must say the real winners were the foodies like me who were overly sugared for the night.  Now who wouldn’t want that for a routine?