Grain & Gristle

Today I visited Grain & Gristle in NE 15th and Prescott for their cinnamon roll! I got a tip that G&G had a cinnamon roll and the first time I tried to grab one they had sold out. I was able to bring one home today and when I popped open the box, I was quite shocked. It hadn’t occurred to me, but I hadn’t considered when starting this cinnamon roll project, that I would end up buying a cinnamon roll with meat on it- and I am a proud vegetarian! But, dear readers, I am committed to bringing you the details on every single cinnamon roll in this town- so I planned to pick off the bacon and try this one anyway! Also, the bacon was glittery (do people eat bacon with glitter on it?). I checked their website and found that this was a “bacon brie cinnamon roll with orange marmalade frosting”, and after a few careful bites I would have to say it’s rather excellent. It’s also totally insane. The flavors here are really good- the orange frosting is light and bright and really good. The brioche is expertly made. However, the brie and bacon flavor that permeates throughout is extremely over-the-top. This would be a good choice for a final meal on death row, total decadence with no thoughts of the future. If they ever decided to scale back and remove the bacon and brie part of this cinnamon roll- it would be in contention for the best in town, but only if you like your pastries with sparkly murder on top.

**UPDATE: G&G contacted me and said they actually offer a new flavor monthly, so next month is likely to be more vegetarian-friendly. I’ll have to go back!

Favorite part: Orange marmalade frosting was delightful

Least favorite part: Bacon.

*Rating are according to my preferences, scaled from 1-10

Overall Sweetness rating: 4

Moistness rating: 8

Frosting rating: 9

Cinnamon/spiciness rating: 4

Dough rating: 9

Freshness rating: 8

Heart/center rating: 4

Cafe experience rating: 5

Overall rating: 6.4 / 10