Toronto Doughnuts: Paulette’s Original Donuts and Chicken

Our Homer’s Odyssey into Toronto’s doughnuts continues…

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Paulette’s makes donuts, they fry chicken, and they recently won 86′d Mondays‘ “ultimate donut battle” at the Drake Hotel. No small feat, considering they were competing against the likes of Glory Hole, Dough by Rachelle, Bestellen, and Sweet Escape Patisserie. Paulette’s blueberry balsamic doughnut was the crowd-pleasing favourite of the night, with the winner declared based on popular vote after rounds and rounds of doughnuts were consumed by a very packed house. We will summarily describe the event as a Homer Simpson fantasy come to life. But for those that missed it, Paulette’s doughnuts are available Tuesday through Sunday from their amazing smelling storefront in Leslieville. Pictured here are their root beet float and raspberry rose flavours from our last visit. $2.75 each.

Paulette’s Original Donuts and Chicken
913 Queen Street East | Website

More Toronto Doughnuts: Bake Lab / Bonjour Brioche / Caldense Bakery / Mexi-Can Market / Nova Era Bakery / Venezia Bakery

Mercury Espresso Bar

The thing about good coffee is that once you have a taste of it, you can’t go back. When using the right beans prepared the right way, it’s a downright indulgent experience that propels you in a never-ending search for the next great cup. Smooth and aromatic, rich and full-bodied or crisp and light, the varieties are endless. My preference usually leans towards beans that have a natural sweetness, but I like to be surprised. Of course, there’s always the inevitable bad cup, but this usually just means gaining immense admiration for those who have perfected their craft.

In this case, I couldn’t be happier to have finally visited Mercury Espresso Bar in Leslieville.

They take their coffee very seriously there. The menu board is a piece of work with a list of all the beans available for each type of brewing method with the tasting notes. Then there’s a siphon-like contraption for their cold brew coffee, a six hour extraction process that I’m convinced yields something extraordinary…or not.

I got the flat white and Leo went for the americano, which looked luscious – it’s a word I don’t use a lot, but seriously, it looked so good. The beans used were the Brazilian and Costa Rican roasts. They were both flavourful and rich in the way dark chocolate can be, leaning towards the mellow side. We liked it. Leo liked it so much he didn’t even dump some ungodly amount of sugar into his americano!

Mercury Espresso Bar
915 Queen Street East | Website | Yelp