Michael Eats

Tasty Cold Cut Sandwiches at Bevi Birra

Published on May 12, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3072 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://bevi-birra.com/

Though Bevi Birra seems like yet another place serving Italian cold cut sandwiches because that’s the trend, they’ve actually been around since 2020. Props to them for doing this purely because that’s what they want to serve — not to jump on a bandwagon.

And you know what? That level of passion makes a difference. The sandwiches here are very, very good.

I tried a couple. First up: the Anna Rosaria (“Prosciutto, provolone, rosemary aioli, olive tapenade, arugula”).

They make their sourdough bread in-house, and it’s absolutely fantastic. It’s got a great crispy (but not overly crunchy) exterior, a chewy interior, and a nice sourdough flavour. I could have just eaten the bread alone and walked away satisfied.

But everything else here was thoroughly tasty as well, with a nice hit of saltiness from the cold cuts and the tapenade, a creaminess from the aioli, and with the pepperiness of the arugula balancing it all out.

I also tried the Giovanna (“Hot sopressata, garlic ricotta, pepperoncino, honey, arugula.”

Both sandwiches were very good, but this one might have been my favourite. In particular, the salty/sweet combo from the sopressata and the honey is kinda irresistible, and the sandwich’s spicy kick is very satisfying. It’s seriously delicious.

Delicious Wheel Cakes at Mister Wheel

Published on May 10, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 5317 Yonge Street, North York
Website: https://www.instagram.com/misterwheel_toronto/

Mister Wheel is a Taiwanese wheel cake chain that recently opened in Toronto to a decent amount of hype, and having just tried it: yeah, I get it. They serve some top-notch wheel cakes.

The nice thing about this place is that all the cakes are made to order — there’s a note on the counter saying that all cakes are a 15 minute wait — so you know they’re going to be fresh.

I tried two of the classics, red bean and custard, and both were absolutely stellar, with a lightly crispy exterior, and perfectly cooked pancakey pastry within.

As for the fillings, both were above average. The red bean had a pleasantly chunky texture and a restrained level of sweetness that I really enjoyed. And the custard might have been even better — I normally prefer red bean, but the custard here was just so good, with a rich, creamy texture and a thoroughly satisfying flavour.

Zinger Drip Sandwich from KFC

Published on May 6, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 4559 Hurontario Street, Mississauga
Website: https://www.kfc.ca/

KFC recently came out with a “Zinger Drip” menu, which seems to have nothing to do with the Zinger Sandwich that they currently serve, aside from the presence of spiciness. But sure, I like spice — I’ll check that out.

There are three items to choose from: a sandwich, popcorn chicken, and hot wings, all coated in a spicy sauce.

I went with the sandwich: “The Zinger Drip Sandwich brings bold, saucy heat to a fan-favourite classic. Our Famous Chicken sandwich fillet fully coated in KFC’s rich Zinger Drip sauce, then layered with cheddar cheese and fresh lettuce – all served on a soft potato bun. It’s a spicy, satisfying bite from top to bottom.”

It’s tasty. The Zinger Drip sauce has a vinegary, Frank’s-esque base, but with some mild sweetness and a bit of a garlicky punch to round things out. It’s not particularly spicy, but there’s enough heat to give your mouth a tingle. It’s pretty satisfying, which is good because the chicken is absolutely drenched in the stuff.

The word “drip” in the name of this sandwich is extremely appropriate — this was one of the drippiest, messiest sandwiches I’ve eaten in quite a while. After I was done, I had to lather up my hands like a doctor preparing for surgery just to get the stickiness off them.

As for the rest of the sandwich, it’s all pretty standard KFC stuff. I will say that the cheese feels entirely superfluous — the Zinger Drip sauce is not subtle, and its flavour completely wipes out the cheese, which may as well not be there.

Delicious Noodle Soup at 555 Boat Noodles

Published on May 5, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 5308 Yonge Street, Toronto
Website: https://555noodles.com/

I recently wrote about the boat noodles at Paddler Thai Boat Noodles, which were pretty great. Well, the version at 555 Boat Noodles are equally delicious, so clearly, boat noodles deserve to be way, way more popular (I think these might be the only two restaurants in the GTA that serve the dish, or at least the only two that specialize in it).

The boat noodles here (“Chinese Broccoli, Garlic, Coriander, Bean Sprouts, and Onion”) come with your choice of beef, braised beef, or pork, and wonton noodles, rice noodles, or vermicelli. The waiter suggested braised beef and rice noodles, so that’s what I went with.

The braised beef probably could have been braised a bit longer (it was slightly tough), but otherwise this was a fantastic bowl of noodle soup. The broth is savoury and flavourful, with a decent amount of heat, a nice toasty garlic flavour, and a really satisfying tanginess that rounds things out.

And everything else in the bowl (aside from the aforementioned beef) was great, with a really generous amount of noodles, and a nice contrasting freshness and crunch from the veggies.

Tasty Fish and Chips at Sunnyside Provisions

Published on May 3, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 287 Roncesvalles Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://sunnysideprovisions.ca/

Sunnyside Provisions is a delightful little market on Roncesvalles that sells some fancy grocery items and prepared meals, along with a handful of sandwiches and other stuff you can take out (they have a few patio tables out front, but mostly, it’s a grab-and-go joint only).

I’d heard good things about the fish and chips (“Nova Scotian beer-battered haddock, fries, tartar sauce”), so that’s what I went with.

Yeah, it’s a solid dish. In particular, the batter is great; the fish in this dish often features an overly thick, substantial exterior that overwhelms the delicate meat within, but that’s not the case here. It’s nice and thin, but still has a good level of crispiness. It’s very satisfying.

The fish itself was a touch on the overcooked side and a bit dry, but not enough to particularly rain on my parade. I quite enjoyed this.

The zippy tartar sauce was also quite tasty, if a bit too oniony for me, a certified raw onion hater.

As for the fries, they’re a bit thinner than you typically expect from fish and chips, but they’re crispy and tasty enough that I’m not complaining.