MUFFIN COMPARES TO YOU
Who does the best brekkie? Tim Hortons or McDonald’s? Becky Jones finds out
LEICESTER’S new Tim Hortons restaurant opened a few weeks ago – to much excitement from people in the city (including one man who queued for 20 hours).
There’s still regular queues stretching out of the doors, and it’s no wonder, given its reputation for cracking coffee and delicious doughnuts.
Aside from its coffee and sweet treats, the new eatery also serves breakfast and lunch – so we decided to check out its early morning offering.
Plus, we reckoned we should do a direct comparison with its neighbour – and fellow quick service restaurant – McDonald’s.
At both restaurants, we ordered the same – a sausage and egg muffin meal, including a hash brown and cappuccino.
Here’s how they compared.
Tim Hortons
Tim Hortons is in a grade II-listed building which was been sympathetically refurbished and blends original features, including the beautiful windows and wood panelling on the walls, with modern fixtures and fittings, including comfy seating for 150 people spread over three floors.
The sausage and egg muffin meal (or rather “sausage with egg and cheese muffin”) at Tim Hortons costs £3.89, and, along with the majority of the breakfast menu, is served until noon.
There is a £2.49 deal – which includes a breakfast item such as an egg and cheese muffin, croissant or porridge, plus a hot drink – which is available until 11am.
Tim Hortons aims to serve all food and drink within three minutes of it being ordered, and my meal was on the tray within two minutes. Very speedy.
The sausage with egg and cheese muffin was nice and hot and looked good.
The muffin itself tasted fresh, and the sausage patty was decent, although I didn’t like the flavour as much as the McDonald’s version.
The melted cheese slice was satisfyingly gooey, but I wasn’t a fan of the egg, which is like an omelette, with no differentiation between the egg white and yolk.
The hash brown was hot and tasted good. However, the texture was a bit too soft, lacking any crunch on the outside.
The coffee, though, really is top notch!
McDonald’s
Right next door to Tim Hortons is the city’s Eastgates branch of popular breakfast spot McDonald’s.
The restaurant is spacious, with plenty of seating available.
I ordered via one of the selfservice kiosks, and my sausage and egg Mcmuffin meal (£3.89) was ready within three minutes.
I did have a slight issue as the kiosk didn’t print a receipt, so I didn’t have an order number, but the helpful guy behind the counter quickly resolved this.
The food was pleasantly hot and looked good.
The muffin itself was fresh and I enjoyed the taste of the lightly herbed sausage patty and the egg – which is firmer in texture than the Tim Hortons version, and had a separate egg white and yolk.
The gooey melted cheese slice tasted good, too.
The hash brown was a bit greasier than the Tim Hortons version, but the taste and texture was very good, with a nice crispy outer layer.
The cappuccino was decent, but nothing special.
The coffee at Tim Hortons is much better, in my opinion.
Verdict
The offerings at these two quick service restaurants are very similar – similar speed of service, same price, same comfortable surroundings.
What it comes down to is what’s more important to you – the food or the coffee.
For the muffin and hash brown, I reckon McDonald’s is the place to go, but for coffee, Tim Hortons is way ahead.
If you’re buying a breakfast meal, the likelihood is the food is going to be the most important part, so the winner has to be McDonald’s.
What it comes down to is what’s more important to you – the food or the coffee
Becky Jones
LEICESTER’S St Martin’s Square is a great place to head to for a bite to eat or a quality coffee – which could be just what you’re after when you’re in town looking for some festive bargains, writes
Becky Jones.
The newest addition to the square is Just So Italian deli and coffee shop, which launched in November, and aims to offer “a little corner of Italy in Leicester”.
I was impressed by the look of the place but how good is the food?
Venue
The deli and coffee shop is lovely, bright and inviting - and the sight of the delicious-looking food and drink on the shelves, and in the counter, can’t fail to tempt you.
The St Martin’s Square shop is the third branch of Just So Italian, with other locations in Market Harborough and Stamford. It is run by Italian chefs Danilo and Alison Trozzi, who trained and worked in Italy and now live in the UK.
They aim to offer a delicious array of traditional and authentic Italian produce, and regularly tour Italy searching for new and exciting products which not only taste fantastic but also have a story behind them.
Food
Customers can purchase a range of food to take away, such as fresh cheeses, cured meats and pastries – with an incredible range of cannoli, with flavours including vanilla, chocolate and hazelnut, lemon and pistachio.
There’s pasta, including gluten-free varieties, olive oils, grappa and limoncello, and balsamic vinegar, which is from the same producer that supplies the Queen.
Customers can also sit and relax with a cup of Italian coffee, and enjoy some food right then and there.
There’s homemade pizza (margherita or the special of the day, £3.20 a slice) or focaccia sandwiches (£4.65) with fillings including buffalo mozzarella, tomato pesto and spinach, and prosciutto nostrano, Asiago, rocket and balsamic glaze.
There are also sweet options available, including toasted focaccia with Sicilian marmalade (£2.70), bomboloni (Italian custard doughnuts £2), and a daily-changing selection of cakes and muffins (from £1.95).
I started with a focaccia sandwich, opting for the buffalo mozzarella, tomato pesto and spinach filling.
It may be simple, but tomato, mozzarella and pesto is one of my favourite flavour combinations and this sandwich didn’t disappoint.
It contained lovely chunks of mozzarella cheese, slices of sweet, juicy tomatoes, a good handful of spinach and just the right amount of pesto. Topped with rosemary, the bread itself tasted delicious.
The focaccia used at Just So Italian is focaccia Romana, which is thinner and crispier than the version generally available. Perhaps because of it being lighter and thinner than the norm, it meant that, happily, I had enough room for a bomboloni, which I was excited to try as I’ve never had one before.