That tuft of fluffy, vanilla-tinged frosting. That coil of squishy dough. That cinnamon-butter goo that gently slides out the middle and pools on the bottom of the plate.
What's not to love about the homey-yet-oh-so-heavenly cinnamon bun? And, yes, we do prefer the word "bun" over "roll." Roll is what you develop around your middle when you eat too many of them.
Cinnamon buns are so simple — basically a dough, usually the best are yeasted, slathered with cinnamon-sugar butter — and yet they are one of the ultimate indulgences. You can make them, but all that sitting around waiting for the dough to rise business takes away from the indulgence aspect. Plus, we're all about instant gratification. Hence, our quest to buy the ultimate cinnamon bun.
Just a few ground rules exist for this competition: First, no raisins. They do not belong in cinnamon buns. Keep them in oatmeal cookies. Second, but even more important, cover your buns. Doesn't matter if it's a cream-cheese-based frosting or a good ol' confectioners sugar icing, but a healthy blanket of sugary stuff is mandatory. Naked buns are for nudist camps.
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Here's what we found:
● Cinnabon, Park Place, 790-7666; Tucson Mall, 292-6400
Price: $2.99 for a regular 'bon; $3.59 for a Caramel Pecanbon.
Some people might dismiss Cinnabon as "mall food." To these people, we say, "Pbbbbbblt." There's a reason you find Cinnabon all over the country's malls — they're consistently good. The dough's soft and sweet, and the liberal use of assertive but not spicy cinnamon goo is most appreciated. They're good at room temperature, but they're best hot from the oven. The Pecanbon outshone the standby. It's the basic dough, slicked with a light coating of icing and drizzled with runny caramel and stuffed with candied pecan halves. Quite the sugar rush.
● Beyond Bread, 3026 N. Campbell Ave., 322-9965; 6260 E. Speedway, 747-7477
Price: $2.25
We're big — make that huge — fans of Beyond Bread's overstuffed, inventive sandwiches and the crusty bread and the sweet treats. But the cinnamon buns — with their crackly sugar glaze and overly sweet taste — were closer to sticky buns and lacked a strong cinnamon edge. We have to disqualify them because there wasn't a speck of frosting.
● Village Bakehouse, 7882 N. Oracle Road
, 531-0977
Price: $2
The first thing you notice is the delicious yeasty smell of freshly baked bread. The dough is reminiscent of soft dinner rolls made with milk. If you're a fan of bready buns and don't care much about cinnamon, you'll like these. A good slick of cream-cheese frosting covered the whole shebang.
● Nadine's Bakery, 4553 E. Broadway, 326-0735
Price: $2.25
Plan your breakfast accordingly — you can get these only on Fridays and Saturdays. Though we snagged one soon after opening time, it wasn't warm. Fluffy and light with a good hit of cinnamon, the most standout feature was the thick cream-cheese frosting. Not overly sweet or heavy, it had a great consistency and smacked of vanilla.
● Gus Balon's Restaurant, 6027 E. 22nd St., 747-7788
Price: $1.75
Food writers Jane and Michael Stern stalk mom-and-pop eateries across the country and wax poetic about the gems they find. One of their faves is Gus Balon's for the cinnamon buns. Rightly so. Probably the best deal for the money, these babies are fat, wide and rise nearly 3 inches high. The dough is airy and tender with a pleasant chew. Straight from the oven, the heady mix of that soft dough with sweet icing and a moderate amount of cinnamon added up to a seriously delish bun.
● Robert's Restaurant, 3301 E. Grant Road, 795-1436
Price: $1.85
To be honest, we hit Robert's near the end of the cinnamon competition and, quite frankly, we were getting bunned out. One whiff of the hot bun from Robert's, though, reinvigorated the taste buds. Thick, almost black veins of cinnamon coated the insides of the soft cloud of dough. In several spots, frosting had dribbled in between the dough spirals for an extra-gooey treat.
So which won the bunathon? Well, it was very, very close and required a second trip to Gus Balon's and Robert's. In the end, it came down to that thick swath of cinnamon in Robert's buns.
Still, the ultimate pastry would be our own creation, a sort of Frankencinnamon
monster made up of Robert's bun and Nadine's frosting covering the top.
