Author Archives: Jeff

Whole Foods Cinnamon Roll

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Jeff| 5 Comments

The short:

Great bread, excellent flavor.  A little short on frosting. 8/10

The long:

Three things struck me when I first saw the Whole Foods take on a cinnamon roll:

  1. It’s huge
  2. The criss-crossed icing is elegant
  3. It’s surprisingly inexpensive

Thankfully, the taste lives up to the looks, too.

Whole Foods cinnamon roll

Whole Foods cinnamon roll

Nice bread.  Not too dry, not too moist.  Wonderful crust.  Easily separable spirals.  Great “furry” cinnamon/sugar layer between spirals.

Note the beautiful icing work

Note the beautiful crossed icing on the Whole Foods cinnamon roll

Could have used just a bit more frosting, though I’ll concede that additional frosting might upset the wonderful balance of sweet and hearty already present.

Key stats:

  • Big!
  • Lightly iced, but in a beautiful criss-cross pattern
  • $1.99 + tax per roll (surprisingly inexpensive for “Whole Paycheck”!)

Where to get it:

Whole Foods

3060 Excelsior Boulevard, Minneapolis, MN

(I must admit that I am unsure how consistent the Whole Foods cinnamon rolls are from store to store.  If the stores in different areas offer rolls other than the one I’ve described here, please leave a comment and let me know.  Thanks!)

Posted in Uncategorized

Isles Bun Cinnamon Roll

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Jeff| Comments Off on Isles Bun Cinnamon Roll

The Short:

Now that’s a cinnamon roll. The new standard.  Highly recommended. 10/10

The long:

With a name like Isles Bun and Coffee, you wouldn’t expect to find a good burger.  You’d expect to find buns and coffee.  Duh.  Fortunately, that’s exactly what’s there: decent coffee and the most amazing cinnamon rolls I’ve ever tasted.

Isles Bun Cinnamon Roll

Isles Bun Cinnamon Roll. Delicious.

Isles Bun and Coffee is a small shop in the Uptown district of Minneapolis.  When you walk in, you instantly feel the focus of the owners: cinnamon rolls and caramel rolls.   Sure, they sell a few other treats too, like cookies, but the rolls rule the show.

You get your monstrous slab of a roll on a paper plate.  It’s served warm, and it comes with as much or as little cream cheese frosting as you desire.

My roll had the perfect balance of sweetness, butter, and cinnamon.  All of the ingredients worked in harmony for a splendid experience.  And the bread?  Not overdone; not underdone; just right.

While there are a few tables inside, the better place to enjoy your wheat-and-butter prize is at one of the outdoor tables on a nice day.  Preferably after a long run, because damned if these aren’t unhealthy.

Yes, ooey gooey delicious  cinnamon sin.

The roll was excellent.  In fact, it was so good that I went back and bumped down the ratings of all of the previously reviewed buns.  Sorry about the lack of consistency, but the Isles Bun entry merited far more space at the top end of the scale.  Even now, it could be worthy of an 11/10.

Update 23 May 2011:

I went back for another taste and got a better photo of the roll.  Enjoy!

A better photo of the delicious Isles Bun cinnamon roll

Key stats:

  • $3.50 + tax per roll
  • Size: Ginormous. 450 g +
  • Icing: Excellent cream cheese icing.  As much as you want.
  • Temperature when eaten: Warm from oven
  • Time since baked: Less than an hour?
  • Best cinnamon roll in the Twin Cities (for now)

Where to get it:

Isles Bun and Coffee

1424 west 28th Street, Minneapolis, MN

Posted in Bakery rolls

Another cinnamon roll site

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Jeff| Comments Off on Another cinnamon roll site

Turns out there are at least a few more people out there on a quest for great cinnamon rolls.  I stumbled across the site of the Cinnamon Roll Girls today.  Looks like they’ve managed to find some tasty rolls!

Posted in Uncategorized