Store Review: Moo Milk Bar

Whenever I hear milk bar I think of A Clockwork Orange but this place is more Milk n Cookies than moloko-plus. For anyone who remembers Nesquick Strawberry powder or glops of chocolate syrup into cold milk this will be a better memory. The nostalgia draw of homemade cookies and milk is evident from the young foodie hipsters crowding the sidewalk, slapping the bottom of the containers to mix the contents, who share the space with middle aged parents introducing their young ones to the joys.

The milk comes in a variety of flavours including Bottom of the Bowl, strawberry and banana. Some adult preferred flavours of vanilla bean and mocha round out the selection. I am sure given the attitude of the owners that there will be a few rotating members and look forward to what they present. I am hoping for a straight coffee, Camp, tea and others for the adult set.

Now for the cookies... Bad news first, they aren't as good as my wife's. Good news, my wife is an accomplished baker. We have often found that people have forgotten the joy of a home baked cookie. Some of standard flaws include inconsistency of texture, irregular shapes and a slight greasiness on the fingers.

Let's translate these flaws. Inconsistency of texture means that the cookies have spread and the outsides are crispy while the insides are soft and chewy. For some of their cookies, such as the ones with toffee, this translates into a slight burnt caramel taste on the outside and a softer texture and sugary taste on the inside. Not bad at all.

Irregular shapes. If I have to tell you then you have never had a homemade cookie. It means that sometimes they spread a lot, sometimes not so much. Also, what is a circle?

The greasiness comes from using good fats; butter, shortening but not some weird oleo or thing that doesn't exude grease. In cookies, this means love.

The only real miss was the sugar cookie. In my mind, sugar cookies should have a delightful snap and almost crystalline structure (crumbly). These were a little soft and not light enough. Oh, one more gripe.  When I sat down at my mother's table with a cookie and milk, I could dunk 'em.  Here the mouth of the milk container is too small. I had to wait until I got home to properly dunk my cookies in milk.

This is a great attempt at recreating the nostalgia. For those who have never had the experience, being of a generation where homemade cookies were not done, they have to have this experience. For those whose partners still bake, this could be a good second choice. I don't care for cookies but I am still looking for the moloko-plus. This will do until the future arrives.