Has anyone tried it?
I'm always disappointed with the sugar-shock-craziness of their donuts. So I am not trying... but I'm cautiously intrigued.
It looks better behind the counter. The caramel doesn't look stale and dry--it looks gooey. But my experience tells me it will taste awful so I'm not going there. It looks a little better on the site pic:
I long for the olden days when Tim Hortons donuts were baked on-site and were among the best out there...
Now they are simply horrible.
I agree. I remember that they were still good in the early 2000's but sometime after that when they switched to the frozen ones, they became much smaller and not worth eating (for me). But somehow they still sell!
Their coffee also sells, which has always surprised me. The cardboard cup has more flavour. But then most of their customers just seem to be going for a caffeine hit and try to cover up the taste on the double-double.
The Turtle Donut looks like a great idea, though.
It turned to shit overnight and nobody complained...they just lined up more, the donuts shrunk more...blew my mind.
I always wonder how TH's remains so popular. My guess is either people don't know any better or they think that there are no other options. Or, perhaps it's that their name recognition sustains them. Who knows? I find it quite odd!
"I always wonder how TH's remains so popular"
Why so much hate for Timmies?
Not everyone has a Vons or a Glory Hole in their neighborhood or wants to spend $4.00 for a coffee and $3.00 + for a donut.
TH is average coffee+donuts at a reasonable price with tons of locations perhaps that's why they're still so popular. :) BTW I live in a coffee/donut dead zone(Y&E) so Timmies is about the only convenient option I have.
Exactly so--just did a similar post below.
I totally get that not everyone has a VON's or GHD in their neighbourhood. Heck, I don't either, but the quality @ TH has just deteriorated over the years. Their doughnuts used to be pretty darn good, but since they've stopped baking them in-house, they're just not what they were. Half the time, they're not even fresh. Don't get me wrong...I used to be a big fan.
< Don't get me wrong...I used to be a big fan.>
Don't get me wrong..I'm not a fan of TH(I am a fan of GHD) but for a quick, first of the day caffeine fix, Tim's does me just fine. Only the small independents can bake in-house these days and their prices reflect it.
Their prices definitely do reflect it, but I don't mind paying a little extra for quality.
It's definitely worth the trip! Their doughnuts are even better than GHD!
We'll see about that.. :)
Gah. I just spent time tooling around on their website....one night stand, carrot cake, Greek town, wake me up...
I want one of each. Sheesh.
I'm not a fan of the donuts. But the coffee will do if I'm rushed (and I'm usually rushed on work days!).
You're not a fan of VON doughnuts?
I like VON waaay more than TH. I am actually very undecided about donut places.. I have been waffling on what I do/don't like. I think I'm frustrated most by what a short shelf life they have... I like to buy dessert on the weekend and have it last for a few days but donuts are brutal after 24-48 hours...
That creme brulee donut was very good...
711 has better coffee and donuts than TH
it does. that's sad.
I agree! I've said it elsewhere...7-11 has pretty good doughnuts!
Well lucky for me I have a 7-11 in my hood so maybe I'll give it a shot. What doesn't kill me will make me stronger..or something like that.
<711 has better coffee and donuts than TH>
So I checked out 7-11 on your recommendation
The coffee is the same swill they sell at my local Petro Can and more expensive than Tim's
Dismal d-nut selection 4-5 kinds (could be my location) didn't look fresh at all(definitely not baked on-site :D )
I'll stick to TH thanks...
I just had a free sample donut at 711 and i am also sipping on a coffee because i was too lazy this morning to cross the street in time for manic. Nevertheless, the coffee is much better than Tim Horton's. I find it hard to even be friends with people who think that is good coffee.
I never said it was "good" coffee but I think it's better than gas station coffee(7-11) so I guess we can never be friends.. :(
I think it's hard to generalize--while THs is pretty consistent, gas stations and 7-11s likely are not. You hit a fresh pot and a fresh donut at a 7-11 and maybe it could out-taste THs. But it's a gamble. And 7-11s are not as ubiquitous as THs!
I don't think the problem with gas station/7-11 coffee is the freshness, they brew it directly into a thermos, it's not "cooking" on an element so it should taste the same fresh brewed or 20-30 mins later(hopefully after 20-30 mins they chuck it the bin but I doubt it). Its the brand/coffee supplier that's the problem. They both taste the same to me. Donuts on the other hand have to be fresh regardless of who makes them.
I don't agree with TH serving average coffee and doughnuts. IMO, both are below average. I'd rather hit up Country Style, but it seems there's fewer around these days.
Country Style is definitely superior to TH. At least it was when I used to go. But you're right, they're hard to find these days.
<I don't agree with TH serving average coffee and doughnuts. IMO, both are below average>
Then we agree to disagree. there was a Country Style in my neighborhood for a while(it's now a Chipotle's) and I tried it a few times..meh it was Ok no real difference between them and TH.
Growing up Country Style used to have delicious donuts. But they've been pretty awful for at least the last 15 years.
I can't even really find them around anymore anyways.
Same with Dunkin Donuts. If you could find the odd one in Toronto they were great. But like TH, they have not been edible in many years.
DD serves better tasting frozen & reheated doughnuts than TH. They have the added bonus of icing that doesn't slide off in the middle of the night. I confirmed that this morning when I ate a chocolate frosted brownie batter doughnut this morning that we bought on the NYS thruway yesterday on our way to Toronto.
DD's coffee also tastes better than TH. That's not saying much since TH coffee sets such a low bar.
Mmm Country stlye has nice roasted coffee and their toasted coconut doughnuts are great. There's one on Hwy 115 on the way to the cottage... ritual!
I admit I find their coffee decent if not very great. I used to hate their coffee until I found how few places (outside of the specialty places) have good coffee. Sure, I'd go to Manic or Green Bean or any one of the really good coffee places in Toronto if they were near my work. But given how rushed a work day is, I don't have time for the significant walks to good places more than once every few weeks.
They're safe. You know exactly what to expect every time you go in there. I think that's why there are so few local diners or coffee shops any more. The big chains mean no surprises.
True. But it seems that people aren't just settling for them, they actually like them. When I pass by the Tim Horton's @ Yorkdale, there are line-ups out the door. The same goes for any drive through @ Tim Horton's...there are always line-ups. In fact, I don't think I've ever gone into a TH and not had to stand in line.
Easy/convenient, value priced. Also,people are creatures of habit and don't leave their surroundings. For example - downtown towers in the financial district: regardless of what is in the building, the vast majority of people won't leave their tower to go to a different place for coffee.
As an aside, McDonalds coffee is vastly superior. :)
True. If I have a choice between specialty coffee place and THs, I will pick almost any specialty coffee...
When the four coffee shops in North Bay/Timmins/Goderich/2,000 small towns in Canada are 3x Tim's and 1x Country Style and people in these cities think it's crazy to spend $4 on a cup of coffee and there are 3500 locations = popular. There are 1500 McDonalds across Canada and I don't remember how many Starbucks, but the sheer number of locations ensures success.
The target audience is not 10,000 chowhounds in Toronto, it's the 34.99 million other people in Canada.
True. That makes sense.
I currently live in Windsor, which has a 200,000+ population. If you want coffee and donuts (forget about doughnuts!), you've got Tim Hortons. That's it. The grocery store may make tastier donuts, but there's no drive-thru grocery store here (or anywhere, likely). Starbucks has made some headway here, but few can get past the prices. There is one Second Cup in Tecumseh ... one. It has no drive-thru, which is a deterrent in a city of vehicle drivers. Public transit is weak here, so anyone that can afford wheels drives, with few exceptions. I'm sure there are individual bakeries around town that sell far better donuts or cafes that focus on great coffee bevegerages, but they don't seem to have both great coffee and a selection of good donuts. The only true coffee competition for Tims here is McDonalds, but then you can't get donuts at McD.
I've spent more money at Tim Hortons locations throughout Windsor than I care to admit openly. The only reason for it is sheer convenience. When I am in Toronto I wouldn't dream of patronizing a Tims because there are so many better options. Until recently, there wasn't even a bagel shop in town. The only option was the grocery store bready bagel calorie bomb or Tims, which is equally large and unmemorable (except for the jalapeno bagel, which is a very tasty bastardization of a bagel). The sole bagel place in town sells massive (overproofed) bagels too, so I don't go there at all. If I want bagels, I'll buy a dozen at Bagel House in Toronto, freeze them at my parents' place then drive them back to Windsor in a freezer cooler.
The pickings really are slim here, so to say it's Tims or bust for coffee and donuts is not far from reality. When people come to expect the consistency that Tims generally delivers, they lose sight of the fact that what they are getting for their money is consistent mediocrity at best.
I agree with others. Growing up TH donuts were really good. But they've been drek for 15 years or so. The only ones I really like are sour cream glazed and old fashioned glazed. The rest I won't touch.
What I do like at TH are their bagels and specialty bagels. They have some tasty selections. Their jalapeno asiago mozzarella bagel is delicious, as is their maple cinnamon french toast bagel. I even like their regular style bagels.
I also love their biscuit breakfast sandwiches. Big fan.
I dont' care for their sandwiches at all, but their lasagna and garlic bread is pretty good.
I have to give them that magic. Their bagels are pretty good!!
OK I'm gonna keep that french toast bagel in mind. Didn't know they had one, is it a seasonal/limited time offering? I can deal with an inauthentic bagel once in a while and I like the jalapeno one too. I tried GCB's french toast version once and it wasn't fresh or tasty. And all their cream cheese flavours except plain are low-fat.
I've always wondered if TH got their bagels from GCB. The flavours seem very similar (if not identical).
The french toast bagel is year-round. I guess you can easily get a very similar effect at home, it's not that tough to make a buttered raisin bagel with cinnamon and sugar... but they do a nice job of it. It's a nice treat.
The zesty cheddar cream cheese at GCB is delish btw. It's low fat but you'd never know it.
The only GCB on my path is on the er, PATH. It's totally a guilty splurge type thing so I was disappointed to try it and find the bagel wasn't fresh at 8am and they don't toast properly (should have clued in that every single other person was asking for well-done). At that point it was just a waste of calories.
I don't voluntarily go to TH but it is good to have default orders for when we end up there for various reasons.
That jalapeno asiago is amazing.
their bagels are not better than dempsters. pure garbage
It's the best kind of garbage. No impurities.
Pure Montreal "fanboy/girl"......
When I see those posts, I wonder why frogsteak came to Toronto, when everything in Montreal is better!
I don't like mass produced tim hortons garbage. is that a crime? 'FoodeyDudey', I cannot wrap my head around why you would go on a local forum to discuss some crappy national chain. Care to discuss the merits of mcdonalds bagels next? what a joker.
I don't understand why Frogsteak's message was turned into a Montreal VS Toronto position? What does calling out a fake bagel have to do with region?
I find it curious that CHers discuss every nuance of what a proper bagel should be, whether in the style of Toronto, New York or Montreal, and yet they can call a Tim Hortons bagel a fantastic bagel! It might taste awesome and it might be addictive, but for CHers to not understand why it falls outside the definition of a proper bagel (Frogsteaks crassly put comment) is a mystery to me.
I haven't had a TH bagel since the sesame version I tried maybe 4 years ago. I haven't had a dempster bagel since starving to death with no other options maybe 2 years ago. They were both crappy round buns with a hole in the middle. Perhaps TH bagels are dramatically improved, and delicious with the new dessert and savoury flavours they now offer....but c'mon...these are not proper bagels any more than McDonalds can claim it makes fresh apple pies!
A "proper" bagel is one that you enjoy when you're cramming it down your mouth hole.
This isn't TH vs St-Viateur or Fairmount bagels.
1) that doesn't explain the montreal vs Toronto position.
2) not very chow-y to accept calling anything, anything ya want to call it. A bagel is not defined as something you cram down your throat, sorry. A bagel is defined as "a bread product, traditionally shaped by hand into the form of a ring from yeasted wheat dough, roughly hand-sized, which is first boiled for a short time in water and then baked."
<2) not very chow-y to accept calling anything, anything ya want to call it. A bagel is not defined as something you cram down your throat, sorry.>
When I do get a bagel from TH it's usually when I only have time to cram it down my throat I don't have time to eat it with a knife and fork... :) Yes there are much better options in Toronto to get bagels but sometimes for convenience sake a TH "dough hole" will suffice..
"chow-y" what the hell does that mean? Sounds pretty elitist to me.
"chow-y" was an inside comment with regard to what the boards used to be.
As you say....
"Yes there are much better options in Toronto to get bagels but sometimes for convenience sake a TH "dough hole" will suffice.."
Nobody is questioning that.....but convenience doesn't make something not crappy, it just makes it acceptable given the circumstance.
Have you not noticed that frogsteak often mentions how somthing is so much better in Montreal? My response was a general observation and had nothing to do with bagels in particular. But of course I'd expect bagels to be better in Montreal, that's almost a given. My point is why come to Toronto if everything is better in Montreal and then mention it ?
But TH bagels are crap compared to Toronto bagels too. That's my point. These are NOT bagels. Has nothing to do with Montreal. Some people prefer Kiva's for a Toronto twister and some prefer gryfes and some prefer Fairmont. There is no right or wrong but simple preference over quality bagels. To call TH bagels shit is not to say Toronto sux. TH bagels were concocted in a lab somewhere and they have nothing to do with what a bagel is, nor is it a Toronto reference.
Some of us have the ability to appreciate a Gryfes bagel, a Fairmont bagel, a St Viateur bagel, a Bagel House bagel, a flagel, an Ess-A-Bagel, a Dempster's bagel AND a TH bagel. Sure, I'd take a St Viateur bagel over a TH bagel if I had a choice, but I probably eat several dozen TH bagels each year, whereas I average maybe a dozen Bagel House bagels/ year and half a dozen Montreal bagels/year.
I'm pretty open to all levels of fresh and/or previously frozen bagels, and all levels of fresh coffee (I also drink TH coffee). Some of us just aren't that snobby when it comes to bagels,pizza, burgers, coffee, donuts (I also continue eat TH donuts, and even go so far as to try their feature donuts, without checking with other Chowhounds first!!! :P ), etc. Let Chowhounds pick their battles.
So in which category of food are you snobby, if that's the term you wish to use?
Off the top of my head, I'm snobby when it comes to goulash, avgolemono soup, seafood, spanakopita, apple pie, sushi (somewhat snobby but not absolutely snobby- I avoid AYCE and cheap sushi, but I eat California rolls and spicy tuna rolls), sticky buns, dim sum, eggs florentine and hollandaise sauce. You'll know when I'm being snobby! :)
Tell us more about your apple pie snobbery :)
I'm snobby when it comes to the pastry, the type of apples used, the amount of sugar added, the amount of cinnamon added (I prefer cinnamon to be included) and the texture of the filling. I haven't found a restaurant version that rivals a good homemade Granny Smith or Northern Spy pie in a long time. ;) I'm also snobby re: tarte tatin and strudel.
Awesome! So glad I asked!
Have you had sticky buns from Wagamama? Only available Tues-Fri until they last, which I would say is rarely past noon.
Personally I don't enjoy frogsteak's approach to commenting but I couldn't let a TH bagel discussion get watered down to something about Montreal vs Toronto.
Next we will see GELATO made of greek yogurt which will be ok cuz its so yummy!
Hey guys - they're not better or worse - they're just people's favourites. And who cares what they're called - if it looks like a bagel and quacks like a bagel, then if you want to call it a rose than I don't care. One person's crap is another's favourite - you're both right (and both wrong!). The 'both' is not personal - it refers to the opinion. Just recognize when someone has a specific bias, whether it be for a geographic location; or for the cheapest meal in town; or even a specific chef etc.
I'll eat my favourite bagel or BBQ or sandwich and hope somebody here can point me to another good example.
Thinking of changing my avatar to 'Dungbeetle'!
frogsteak is kind of the duckdown of 2014. Where is duckdown anyway?
Nope, just better flavours.
I tried one and thought it was really lame. The bits on top are so artificial tasting. It was definitely too sweet. Skip it and go for your favourite standard instead. For reference, I tend to choose the sour cream glazed, the honey cruller or the walnut cruller. Funny how tastes change. As a kid, I was into the sprinkles, the chocolate glazed or the apple and later, blueberry fritters.
Sour cream glazed and honey cruller are literally the only two I will eat....but it is only maybe twice a year that I find myself stuck having to even consider a TH donut.
Wow - and I thought I was the only one who only (almost) ate those 2 as well! But I occasionally add a Dutchie (usually Timbit) and I also admit that the Banana Timbit they had about 2 years ago was excellent - although never (to my knowledge) offered as a 'regular size' donut.
Tried it, they are only 95 cents after all. Hubby and I split it out of curiosity. Both agreed the filling was too sweet…and runny. I personally liked those artificial topping bits, I wish they had more. I will stick with my sour cream donut when I have a craving.
Agreed on all counts (including splitting a tester with hubby!). The caramel filling is way too sweet and one-dimensional. The bits on top (which I thought were candied pecans) were pretty good but just overwhelming with the filling. Custard (a la Boston Cream) would have been a better choice. Alas I am not likely the target demographic - interestingly in line with several earlier posters, my Tim's preferences tend to run to the plain - my pick is the plain, unglazed (reg or timbit-sized) just about every time.
Because that moment of sugar-soaked unpleasantness cannot be undone!
I think after all these posts, I feel comfortable in not going there.
I go to Tim's about every two weeks and indulge in a coffee and a donut. I never fail to enjoy the donut, the soup and mains for me are not the best however. The soup is full of salt.
So are the bagels and muffins actually! But then most of these kinds of things are. Hard to avoid tons of salt in most restaurants. I don't notice it in the flavour of a blueberry bran but it's there...
You are right a sweet usually does have salt as part of its composition. Soup for me is the worst culprit made from powder full of additives along with the salt. I go every two weeks to meet a friend, he is on a limited budget, the coffee and donuts fit our bill. Lot's of people are hanging out at Tim's at any hour of the day.
I think budget is a huge part of it. It serves a purpose. It also has people buying stuff they wouldn't otherwise, creates a lot of roadside garbage, etc. But I don't begrudge anyone on a budget lunch out once a week at TH. Some people's living arrangements aren't conducive to entertaining / socializing.
I posted this on the "Restaurant Changes and Closings" thread, but I thought I'd post it here as well, since I know that there are TH fans on CH :) TH is taking some things off the menu:
i had a tim horton donuts from 1990 -1995...they were great, best donut shop on earth...i have seen pics of them lately, don,t look like the same donuts anymore....they went cheap
I add to the amazement of the popularity of Tim Horton's. Though
I'm perhaps discredited for doing so since I'm not a coffee drinker and can't speak to Tim's quality in that regard.
But I AM a donut and goodies eater, and on that count I'm just amazed at how bad Tim Horton's donuts are! I don't think I had ever met a donut I didn't like, until I tried Tim's donuts.
It's hard to put my finger on why exactly they don't taste right to me, but it's a sort of "off-flavor" cheap quality that makes me regret practically every bite. It's weird as hell.
Their cookies aren't great either, though I do enjoy their peanut butter cookies - anything with peanut butter tends to get a pass from me :-)
by Jen Wheeler | Need a spring vegetable guide to what's in season? Consider this your spring produce cheat sheet—complete...
by Rachel Johnson | Whether the kids are still distance learning or returning to a classroom, with school back in session...
by Kelly Magyarics | You’ve sprung for a gorgeous piece of enameled cast iron cookware; protect your investment by cleaning...
by Debbie Wolfe | Home chefs love wood cutting boards because they are durable and reliable. Wood boards are attractive...