Michael Eats

More Great Pizza at Pizzeria Badiali

Published on July 25, 2026July 25, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 581 Markham Street, Toronto
Website: https://pizzeriabadiali.com/

After years of around-the-block lines at their original spot near Ossington, Pizzeria Badiali has finally opened a second location. Whenever a great restaurant starts expanding, the fear is that the quality will start to dip. Thankfully, that’s not the case here (not yet, at least!).

And the new location is a definite upgrade — it’s got a decently-sized seating area inside, and an even bigger patio out front. I went on a Sunday afternoon around lunch, and while it was packed inside and out, there was barely a line.

Mostly, it’s the same assortment of slices and full pizzas that you’ll find at the original location, with the notable addition of the Grandma Pie: “square, tray baked pizza with mozzarella, fior di latte, sicilian oregano, tomato sauce, pecorino and padano cheeses, olive oil and fresh basil.”

This was fantastic — the crust is slightly thicker than a standard slice, with a perfectly crispy exterior, a nice level of chewiness, and a good amount of flavour. It’s also fairly greasy, but in a way that feels pleasant and not overly heavy. And the balance (and quality) of sauce and cheese is stellar, as you’d expect from Badiali.

There’s always a possibility that a place this popular will coast by on their success and become overhyped, but the pizza here continues to be among the best in the GTA.

Tasty Crispy Beef at Faley Restaurant

Published on July 23, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 42 Rexdale Boulevard, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.faleyrestaurant.com/

I’ve been meaning to check this place out since reading about it in Corey Mintz’s list of the 50 best restaurants under $50, which was published way back in 2018. Yeah, I’ve got a bit of a backlog of places to check out — I have a custom Google map that I keep updated with all the restaurants I want to try, and it’s currently sitting at over 400 places scattered throughout the GTA.

Well, I’m glad I finally made time for Faley Restaurant, a Hakka joint in Etobicoke — it’s good.

The dish that Mintz singled out is Faley’s Special Gan-Ben Beef, which he described as being “embedded in [his] brain’s craving centre.”

It’s a crispy fried beef dish tossed in a sweet, slightly spicy sauce, and yeah, it’s tasty. In particular, the crispy fried coating on the beef is extremely satisfying, with the beef itself remaining nice and tender.

It is aggressively sweet, however. I found it a bit cloying, but when you combine it with the other dish I ordered, Manchurian style vegetables (a stir-fried vegetable dish with a deeply savoury, mildly spicy sauce), it tempers the sweetness and rounds things out. Both of those dishes are solid on their own, but together, they really come alive.

Olive Garden Probably isn’t as Good as you Remember

Published on July 19, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1 Bass Pro Mills Drive, Vaughan (inside Vaughan Mills)
Website: https://www.olivegarden.ca/

Olive Garden left Ontario well over twenty years ago, and clearly there’s a lot of nostalgia for the place; they opened recently at Vaughan Mills, and the waits are reportedly up to two hours long.

Note: I am not immune to this nostalgia. I certainly remembered liking Olive Garden back in the day, and I was pretty excited for its return. I showed up on a Saturday just after they opened at 11:00am, and even at that hour, there was about a twenty minute wait for a table.

The menu consists mostly of a variety of pastas. I went with the Tour of Italy: “Three OG classics all on one plate! Chicken Parmigiana, Lasagna Classico and our signature Fettuccine Alfredo; all with homemade sauces made fresh every morning.” Go big or go home, right?

Famously, all of their entrees come with an unlimited serving of soup or salad and breadsticks. My dining companion and I both went with the salad, and they brought a giant bowl that you can serve yourself from.

The salad is a pretty standard iceberg / cabbage / carrot mix topped with onions, a few tomato slices, a bunch of croutons, and, if you want, freshly grated cheese. The dressing is something along the lines of Kraft Italian. It’s exactly what you think it’s going to be. It’s pleasant.

The breadsticks are extremely Wonder-Bread-esque, but they’re served warm and taste fresh; they’re pleasantly greasy and mildly garlicky. In retrospect, these were the highlight of the meal.

As for the entree, all three items were about on par with something you can get in the freezer section of the supermarket for a couple of bucks. Very Michelina-coded, as the kids might say.

The chicken parmigiana was nice and crunchy at least, even if it was so overcooked that when I struggled to cut into one of the edges, I assumed I had hit a bone (it’s boneless).

The fettuccini alfredo was just blandly rich, though if you combine it with the intensely salty chicken parmigiana, they kinda cancel each other out.

The lasagna was maybe the most Michelina of the bunch, with a mushy texture and a deluge of middling sauce that tasted extremely jarred.

I should note that I’m coming off quite negative here, but I didn’t hate it, I guess? I mean, I finished the plate, so clearly it wasn’t too offensive. If this had been like twenty bucks (max), I wouldn’t have been mad about it. But $31.29 (!) is an upsetting amount to pay for this caliber of food. Yes, I ordered the dish that comes with multiple items, but all the pastas here range from the mid 20s to early 30s.

If all you’re after is quantity over quality, you’ll get much better bang for your buck at a buffet (RIP Frankie Tomatto’s — forever in my heart).

Tasty Pastries at Barburu

Published on July 12, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1000 Burnhamthorpe Road West, Mississauga
Website: https://www.instagram.com/barburu_bakery/

Barburu is a delightful little bakery and coffee shop in Yuan Ming Supermarket’s food court. They mostly specialize in various filled croissants, though they have a few other types of pastries as well.

I went with the pistachio croissant, and it was quite satisfying. In particular, it’s got a very generous amount of pistachio filling that has a tasty pistachio flavour.

I know it seems odd to complement pistachio filling for tasting like pistachio, but the pistachio flavour just isn’t quite there in a lot of croissants like this. This one definitely doesn’t have that problem.

There’s also a sweet, creamy pistachio spread on top of the pistachio filling, which is a nice touch.

My only real issue here is that the layer of croissant surrounding the filling is quite thin. It’s got a nice crispy exterior and the whole thing is certainly very satisfying, but I would have liked a bit more croissant and a bit less filling. The ratio is off. It’s tasty enough that I’m not going to complain too much, but it’s still a shame.

Solid Tacos at Ghost Taco

Published on July 11, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 151 East Liberty Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.ghosttaco.ca/

Ghost Taco is a solid taco joint in Liberty Village. It’s affiliated with a brewery (Something in the Water Brewing Co.), so if you’re in the mood, you can get a beer to go with your taco. The menu even gives you beer pairing suggestions for each taco.

I tried a couple of tacos. First up: Alabama Chicken (“fried chicken, Bama sauce, corn salsa, shrettuce”).

This was pretty solid. The fried chicken tender tasted like something you might find at a fast food chain, but it was freshly-fried, crispy, and satisfying. And the combo of the zippy salsa and the creamy Bama sauce worked well. This didn’t knock my socks off, but I enjoyed it.

Next up: Vampire (“fried cheese, pickled jalapeno, braised pork, tortilla, guac & pico, sriracha aioli”).

This was definitely my favourite of the two. It’s that fried cheese on the exterior. It’s crispy, chewy, and immensely satisfying. The rest of the taco is solid, with a nice balance of flavours, but that cheesy shell is where it’s at.

Bonus: the tacos are generously-filled and $5.50 a piece, so it’s a great deal.