The views expressed in this Opinion article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
For anyone obsessed with cookies, there's good news and there's bad news.
The good: Wildly popular U.S. cookie chain Crumbl Cookies recently expanded into Canada, opening (or soon opening) brand-new locations in Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Ontario, including Ottawa.
The bad: At this time, Crumbl hasn't announced any plans of coming to Quebec — no surprise to those of us who live here.
But if you're eager to experience Crumbl's minimalist decor, iconic pink boxes, large, soft cookies and unique flavours, Griffintown's latest cookie shop, Dulce, has been astutely described as a Crumbl Cookies dupe. Heck, even the logos are almost identical with their pink backdrops and black, lower-case lettering in similar fonts.
So, how does Dulce measure up to the real deal? Is it worth driving two hours to Ottawa just to taste Crumbl? I tried both Dulce and Crumbl and compared the two to answer those questions for you and more. Spoiler: There's a clear winner.
First up, Crumbl
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After hearing so much buzz, I took the opportunity to try Crumbl Cookies on a recent trip to Chicago, stopping in at the Michigan Avenue location on my way back from "The Bean" (Cloud Gate).
The interior was a clean and sleek mix of white and pale pink, with a display counter and screen outlining the cookie flavours of the week. Crumbl is known for its rotating menu, which changes weekly, offering customers a selection of six different flavours.
At Crumble, you can get a single cookie for $5.99 CAD, a four-pack for $22.99 CAD, a six-pack for $29.99 CAD or a party box for $53.99 CAD. There are also mini cookie options, which come in packs of three ($9.99 CAD), six ($19.99 CAD) or 12 ($36.99 USD).
You can also get Crumbl cookies delivered straight to your door if you live in the States.
While I was there, the flavour options included milk chocolate chip, s'mores, cornbread, birthday cake, peanut butter and strawberry shortcake. As a chocolate lover who was in the mood for something more fun than the typical classics, I opted for one regular-sized s'mores cookie.
Presentation: 5/5
After I placed my order, the employee disappeared behind the counter for a moment and then quickly reappeared with one of those famous pink boxes. She opened it and showed me my cookie, which — like most Crumbl cookies — was absolutely picture perfect with its puffy marshmallow centre and chocolate drizzle.
Almost every Crumbl cookie I've ever seen appears to be flawlessly round with an assortment of added components that make it pop, whether icing with colourful sprinkles or nuts, or some sort of chunky ingredient. This makes them appetizing to both the eyes and the stomach.
While I wasn't sure exactly what she wanted me to do when she showed me the cookie in the box (Take a bite and give the 'OK' as if it were a bottle of fine wine? Burst into song, dance or prayer? Cry?) I'm willing to bet that I responded in a fairly common way: a longing stare as I began to salivate.
Crumbl Cookie in Chicago.Ilana Belfer | MTL Blog
Texture: 4/5
I grabbed a spork from the bin on the table (this looked like the kind of cookie that was dense enough to require utensils), and dug in. The cookie was soft, warm and gooey — straight out of the oven — but still firm enough to hold its texture. Yummm.
Taste: 4/5
The actual taste of the cookie was quite traditional, in a good way, reminding me of the tasty home-baked cookies of my past. While the cookie didn't start out too sweet, the sweetness did get a little overpowering toward the middle — there's a lot of cookie to take in given its size. But, all in all, it was a flavourful, nostalgic cookie with the added bonus of a fluffy marshmallow inside.
That said, I do wish they would have highlighted the graham cracker aspect of s'mores more in this recipe.
Overall: 12.5/15
My overall experience at Crumbl was great. It was super easy and fast to order and the small, rotating menu makes it so that you aren't stuck with decision paralysis, but you also never get bored. From what I've heard, all Crumbl cookies that are designed to be served warm, taste fresh out of the oven, which is a really nice touch.
I deducted half a point from the total because this location is very small with limited seating, which would have made it difficult to dine inside.
Next up, Dulce
Dulce Cookie Café in Montreal. Ilana Belfer | MTL Blog
About a week after I got back to Montreal, another cookie craving hit so I headed to Dulce Cookie Café, which is located at 1253, rue Ottawa on the commercial storefront level of a condo building. It's Griffintown, after all, what did you expect?
The space is chic and modern-looking with the same minimalist pink-and-white aesthetic as Crumbl, as well as a display case showing the different flavour options.
Dulce currently has six flavours on offer: red velvet, Oreo, lemon, strawberry, matcha and double chocolate. While it's not a rotating menu per se, the website does promise "regular new products," and it's important to remember that the café only opened last month so the future opportunities are endless.
There's also a range of coffee and tea beverages you can order.
At Dulce, a single cookie costs $4.90 CAD while a box of four costs $18 CAD, a box of six costs $26 CAD and a box of 12 costs $48 CAD. There's no delivery service at this time.
I opted for an Oreo cookie as there was no s'mores flavour and Oreo seemed most similar. Both are somewhat chocolatey, which is offset by a filling — the vanilla icing a fair substitute for marshmallow in this case. Both also involve a secondary biscuit of some sort, whether a s'mores' graham cracker or an Oreo's cocoa outer shell.
Presentation: 4/5
The cookies at Dulce are as beautiful looking as those at Crumbl — round with icing and colourful chunks or toppings — and they also come in a pretty pink box. They're big, but appear to be smaller than Crumbl's cookies.
I knocked off a point when thinking back to Crumbl because the wait was longer at Dulce and the service slightly less enthusiastic without the added touch of showing me the cookie pulled straight from the oven. The presentation and service were still good, just not as 'above and beyond' as Crumbl.
Texture: 3.5/5
I picked up my cookie and took a bite. Since the cookie wasn't warm, it wasn't gooey, making it easier to eat with my hand instead of requiring a utensil. The smaller size also helped with this.
The cookie was soft and chewy with a firm base and respectable ratio of Oreo chunks. But without that 'straight from the oven' texture, my reaction was more "meh" and less "OMG!" If you've had big, soft cookies before, this one was average in comparison — veering on the dry side — and wasn't bad, but also wasn't anything special.
Taste: 3/5
I found the taste of the cookie to be disappointing. While it did accurately reflect the intended Oreo flavour, it was a bit dull and bland yet simultaneously a bit too sweet. Again, it was decent, but nothing to write home about.
Overall: 11/15
My overall experience at Dulce was pretty good. As I said, it is a lovely space and I like that they have coffee and tea options with lots of seating, making it more of a café experience than Crumbl. The branding is cool and the service was perfectly fine with a solid selection of cookie flavours and gorgeous cookies on offer.
However, in terms of texture and flavour, the cookies simply didn't deliver the quality I was expecting, given the similarities to Crumbl and the fact that cookies are basically the only thing Dulce sells. If you're only going to have one main product, it should be extraordinary.
I added half a point to Dulce's overall score because the cookies are a little less expensive than those at Crumbl.
Dulce Café Cookies inIlana Belfer | MTL Blog
Crumbl FTW
Overall, Cruml wins big!
It's a cookie I would recommend; whereas, I'd probably advise skipping Dulce unless you're in the area looking for a nice place to have a coffee and sweet bite, and you don't care too much about how good the cookie is.
That said, both Crumbl and Dulce — comparable in terms of price — are fairly expensive for cookies, so you have to be willing to dish out top dollar for your goodie.
Even though Crumbl is the clear winner and I really enjoyed my cookie, Montrealers shouldn't be devastated that it's not coming here (or at least not any time soon). And it's probably not worth driving two hours to Ottawa for either.
While it was a yummy treat, it was far from the best cookie I've ever had — the best being Toronto's award-winning chocolate chip cookie from Le Gourmand. Like Crumbl, Le Gourmand's cookies are gooey, but with a crispier outer edge, and more balanced ingredients. I like mine with walnuts, which cut the sweetness of the chocolate and provide an added crunch.
Plus, Montreal has plenty of superb local cookie shops where you can get amazing cookies without leaving town. My current favourites are from Brookies, which recently opened a location in the Mile End, and Bernice Boulangerie in Saint-Henri.
But, hey, everyone has unique individual preferences and you have to risk it for the biscuit. By which I of course mean that you have to try all the cookies for yourself — the good, the bad and the mediocre — in order to find your personal favourites.
Some Google reviewers declared Dulce's cookies the best they've ever had, so you might completely disagree with me.
Good luck on your cookie-tasting journey!
These prices are confirmed at the time of publishing, but they can change at any time. Taxes and fees may not be included.