Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar Toronto, the first international outpost of the New York bake shop
(Image: Renée Suen)
Name: Momofuku Milk Bar
Neighbourhood: Downtown Core
Contact Info: 190 University Ave., 855-333-MILK, milkbarstore.com/main/toronto/, @momomilkbar
Owner/Chef: Christina Tosi
The Place: A refrigerated 12.5-by-six foot glass room on the second floor of the glittery Momofuku triplex at University and Richmond, just big enough for five or six people at a time. Baked goods are fully prepped at Milk Bar’s Brooklyn headquarters and shipped daily to the Toronto shop, where customers help themselves and pay at a register on the first floor. Some treats will also show up on the dessert menus at Noodle Bar and Daishō.
The Food: Cookies and pies laced with things like breakfast cereal and pretzels. On the short menu: four kinds of cookie (including the potato chip–stuffed Compost Cookie), rainbow-sprinkled B’day Truffles and buttery Crack Pie, sold whole and by the slice. A Canadian-inspired maple confection could be in the works.
The Numbers:
• 11,000 square feet of kitchen space in Brooklyn, where 10 chefs bake goods for all six Milk Bar shops
• 1000+ cookies sold on opening day (the bestseller was the Compost Cookie)
• 6 flavour-boosting additions in a Compost Cookie: pretzels, potato chips, coffee, oats, butterscotch and chocolate chips
• 2 of Chef Tosi’s recent culinary experiments that didn’t pan out: gummy bear ice cream and Ritz cracker cheesecake
223936 (Image: Renée Suen) Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-16-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-16.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-16.jpg 624 345 [] https://torontolife.com/food/momofuku-milk-bar-toronto-restaurants-2/slide/web-16/ web-16 0 0
(Image: Renée Suen)
223937 Milk Bar Toronto is on the second floor of the University Avenue Momofuku complex, next door to the Nikai bar and lounge (Image: Renée Suen) Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-17-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-17.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-17.jpg 624 961 [] https://torontolife.com/food/momofuku-milk-bar-toronto-restaurants-2/slide/web-17/ web-17 0 0
(Image: Renée Suen)
223934 (Image: Renée Suen) Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-14-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-14.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-14.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/momofuku-milk-bar-toronto-restaurants-2/slide/web-14/ web-14 0 0
(Image: Renée Suen)
223929 The little store is 12.5 by six feet square (Image: Renée Suen) Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-8-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-8.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-8.jpg 624 408 [] https://torontolife.com/food/momofuku-milk-bar-toronto-restaurants-2/slide/web-8/ web-8 0 0
(Image: Renée Suen)
223930 The Milk Bar team chose Toronto as the first international outpost because of its existing Momofuku ties (Image: Renée Suen) Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-10-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-10.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-10.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/momofuku-milk-bar-toronto-restaurants-2/slide/web-10/ web-10 0 0
(Image: Renée Suen)
223933 The shop also sells cookbooks, T-shirts, tote bags, pins and other Momofuku paraphernalia (Image: Renée Suen) Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-13-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-13.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-13.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/momofuku-milk-bar-toronto-restaurants-2/slide/web-13/ web-13 0 0
(Image: Renée Suen)
223928 The short menu of cookies, pies and other treats (Image: Renée Suen) Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-7-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-7.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-7.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/momofuku-milk-bar-toronto-restaurants-2/slide/web-7/ web-7 0 0
(Image: Renée Suen)
223946 Crack Pie, like a giant butter tart with an oatmeal cookie crust, is available whole ($48) and by the slice ($6) (Image: Renée Suen) Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Momofuku-Milk-Bar-slider-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Momofuku-Milk-Bar-slider.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Momofuku-Milk-Bar-slider.jpg 656 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/momofuku-milk-bar-toronto-restaurants-2/slide/momofuku-milk-bar-slider/ momofuku-milk-bar-slider 0 0
(Image: Renée Suen)
223923 Crack Pie by the slice ($6) (Image: Renée Suen) Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-2-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-2.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-2.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/momofuku-milk-bar-toronto-restaurants-2/slide/web-2/ web-2 0 0
(Image: Renée Suen)
223926 Four kinds of cookie sold at the Toronto shop: Compost, Blueberries and Cream, Cornflake-Marshmallow and Corn ($2 each). According to Tosi, Compost is the fan favourite and corn is the underdog (she has a “rotating love affair” with all of them) (Image: Renée Suen) Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-5-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-5.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-5.jpg 624 379 [] https://torontolife.com/food/momofuku-milk-bar-toronto-restaurants-2/slide/web-5/ web-5 0 0
(Image: Renée Suen)
223927 The kitchen sink–style Compost Cookie, with pretzels, potato chips, coffee, oats, butterscotch and chocolate chips (Image: Renée Suen) Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-6-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-6.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-6.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/momofuku-milk-bar-toronto-restaurants-2/slide/web-6/ web-6 0 0
(Image: Renée Suen)
223924 B’day Truffles (12 for $16) (Image: Renée Suen) Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-3-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-3.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-3.jpg 624 408 [] https://torontolife.com/food/momofuku-milk-bar-toronto-restaurants-2/slide/web-3/ web-3 0 0
(Image: Renée Suen)
223931 A powery mix for making Milk Bar's cereal-flavoured milk ($5) (Image: Renée Suen) Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-11-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-11.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-11.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/momofuku-milk-bar-toronto-restaurants-2/slide/web-11/ web-11 0 0
(Image: Renée Suen)
223938 Chef Tosi, whose affection for junk food started as a kid, when she snacked on Dorito, mayo and brown sugar sandwiches (Image: Renée Suen) Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar Introducing: Momofuku Milk Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-18-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-18.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Web-18.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/momofuku-milk-bar-toronto-restaurants-2/slide/web-18/ web-18 0 0
(Image: Renée Suen)
Delicious, all of it, but it’s nothing that can’t be recreated here in Toronto – using Toronto talent and Canadian-bought ingredients for the most part.
Shipped from Brooklyn to Toronto daily??!!! Seriously? How about hiring local talent, create CANADIAN jobs and be more environmentally sustainable? How much pollution do we have to create to eat a piece of pastry! This is ridiculous! American company wants to come here and make their money but don’t want to invest into developing opportunities and jobs here. I will boycott this place until they bake locally and you should all do so too!!
A bit annoying really! Bringing in product everyday from New York…right—there are absolutely no bakers here in Canada that could possibly create anything as genius as compost cookies or crack pie. Wait a minute, maybe it is! We are the ones purchasing this stuff from them and creating the demand……