Wanting to make the most of our time in traveling from Ottawa back to Ohio we made a late night stop in Kingston after the Senators/Bruins game at ScotiaBank Place and waking early to jog the streets, shore, and city of Kingston I spotted Pan Chancho for breakfast and a quick look at the internet showed it would fit the bill nicely; locally sourced, all natural, open early, and rife with options including baked goods, composed plates, and a small store of local/regional products – with a 12 miles under my belt, a quick shower, and a packed car we walked in the door just after 7:15am.
Greeted by a friendly young woman at the door and asked if we’d be dining in or selecting items to go I told her both and within moments we were seated at the cozy cafe in back with a rich cup of dark roast as the items we selected from the bakery were plated/boxed and composed plates were prepared in the kitchen.
Seated and chatting for just a moment before plates would begin to arrive our server stopped by to inform us that all of the preserves we’d be enjoying were made on the premises and with that butter and rich blackberry preserves arrived alongside our first three items – a lightly cocoa accented chocolate brioche, a slightly-too-dense hot cross bun, and an extremely disappointing butter croissant that was all dough and no crunch…a disappointing start to say the least and only bolstered by the quality of the jam.
Moving next to better selections, a maple-butter tart from the pastry case arrived drizzled with additional maple butter and a dollop of whipped cream while apple cider French toast was presented with a touch of creme fraiche and 100% maple syrup. Proving once again that anywhere, especially in Canada, maple syrup makes anything better I particularly enjoyed the gooey tart while from my standpoint the toast could have tolerated a bit more custard, though the spicy cider notes came through with aplomb and worked beautifully contrasting the sourness of the creme fraiche and intense sweetness of the maple syrup.
For the ‘to go’ portion of our order, two items were selected, the first a somewhat dry but nicely flavored vanilla cupcake with strawberry frosting and the second an extraordinary butterscotch profiterole with crunchy choux pastry wrapped around a creamy and salty butterscotch center – a dish all the more impressive in that it held up admirably to nearly six hours in the car without suffering a bit of sogginess and without a doubt the best item we selected from Pan Chancho that morning.
Clearly not a ‘dining destination’ city, Pan Chancho was a nice find in Kingston and an interesting break from my usually well-researched agenda. Pricey but featuring high quality ingredients I would suggest less of the ‘bready’ items while focusing on the pastry/choux based options – though in general anything maple would probably work.
