Michael Eats

A Tasty Breakfast at Kitchen on Sixth

Published on October 1, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2976 Lake Shore Boulevard West, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.kitchenonsixth.com/

Kitchen on Sixth is a delightful little restaurant in Etobicoke that specializes in British eats. I came during brunch on a Saturday; there was a lot of tasty looking stuff on the menu, but the full English breakfast was calling my name.

The full English: “Sunny eggs, British bangers, peameal, black pudding, white pudding, baked beans, grilled tomato, sautéed mushrooms, house cut fries, toast.”

Pretty much every component here is quite tasty, from the snappy sausage (which I think is fried, giving it additional texture), to the savoury black and white puddings, to the zingy beans.

I say “pretty much” because fries both do not belong on a full English and weren’t particularly good (they were a bit chalky and dense in the middle), but everything else is tasty enough that I can easily overlook this.

One more tiny complaint: this is the nitpickiest of nitpicks, but the beans should absolutely not be in their own little container. For me, the joy of a full breakfast is trying to get a little bit of everything into each bite — the ramekin both segregates the beans and creates a barrier in the middle of the plate, making it unnecessarily difficult to get a mouthful with everything. However, dumping the beans onto the plate solves this, and is something you should absolutely do.

Nitpicks aside, this was a tasty breakfast and one I’d happily order again.

Stellar Gelato at Cono

Published on September 30, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 932 College Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.wearecono.com/

Cono is a great new gelato shop that recently opened on College Street to a decent amount of hype. I showed up a few minutes after they opened at 3:00pm on a Sunday, and there was already a line out the door.

Having just tried the gelato, I can confirm that the hype is justified. It’s stellar.

I went with the brown butter, and had it on a cone, which they make in house.

I almost exclusively favour cups over cones, but you can see the guy making the cones by the front window. It’s right in the name. Obviously, you’ve gotta get one.

Or do you? I’ll admit that I’m not really a cone guy, and the one here — while very good — has done nothing to change my mind. I feel like really good ice cream or gelato stands on its own, and the cone just kinda distracts from that and gets in the way.

Because yeah, the gelato here is really good. I need to try some other flavours, but just based on this one visit, I’d say it’s on par with (or at least in the same ballpark as) the best gelato in the city.

It was perfectly rich and creamy, and the brown butter flavour was great, with a restrained sweetness and a satisfying mild nuttiness that works really well. It’s quite tasty.

Tasty Eats at The Ex

Published on September 27, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 100 Princes’ Boulevard, Toronto
Website: https://www.theex.com/

Another year of the Ex, another batch of weird foods. A slightly smaller batch than I was hoping — I really wanted to try the pickle cheesecake on a stick, which seems like it should not exist and was therefore something I felt an odd compulsion to try. Alas, I couldn’t find the vendor that was serving it and eventually had to abandon that dream.

Fried lobster on a stick from Lobster on a Stick

This was actually one of the less odd new items at the Ex this year (there’s nothing particularly weird about it, aside from the inherent oddness of a luxury item like lobster being served at a carnival); it’s just a tempura-battered lobster tail on a stick. Still, aside from it being a bit tough, it was tasty, with the two sauces on the side (dill and garlic butter) being a nice complement.

Jamaican patty mini beef patty pierogies from Supreme Pierogi

Beef patties and pierogies aren’t necessarily a food I would have thought of cramming together, but hey, what do you know — this works. It’s essentially a pierogi exterior with beef patty filling. It’s lightly fried, giving it some texture. The slightly chewy wrapper works well with the Jamaican-spiced ground beef, and the filling is exactly what you’d find in a patty. This sounds weird in theory, but when you eat it, it makes complete sense.

Ramen-crusted frog legs from Farm to Fryer

This is maybe the weirdest-sounding item of the three I tried, and you know what? It was my favourite. I’m not entirely convinced that anything should be ramen-crusted (the ramen bits straddled the line between pleasantly crunchy and overly hard/dry), but the frog was freshly fried and very tender, with the texture of a good chicken wing. My expectation was that this would be cooked in advance and dry, so I was pleasantly surprised by how well-prepared it was (and the sweet chili sauce it was topped with was tasty).

I guess it was a good thing I couldn’t find the cheesecake, because I was three for three, and I can’t imagine pickle cheesecake would have been particularly palatable.

A Delicious Pastry at Cho-Kwok-Lat

Published on September 25, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 79 Wellesley Street East, Toronto
Website: https://chokwoklat.com/

I went to the original location of Cho-Kwok-Lat in Markham a few years ago and found it to be thoroughly delicious. They opened a second location downtown last year, and yeah — they’re still cranking out some really stellar pastries.

Sometimes ordering at a bakery is a real struggle, because everything looks so good. That was definitely the case here. I wanted to try everything.

I eventually settled on the cherry berry pistachio pillow, which is filled with a decent amount of tasty jam and gooey pistachio cream in a croissant-like base.

I think that this style of croissant — with the dozens of tiny lines on top that crackle into crispy strips when you eat it — looks stunning, but is less satisfying to eat than the traditional, flatter presentation. Still, they do a great version of it here, with a great contrast between the crispy shell and the fluffy interior.

And the combo of the fruity base and the nutty pistachio cream works very, very well. It’s delicious.

Like when I visited the Markham location, they heated it up a bit first, which I think is such a great idea — it livens up the pastry and amps up the external crispiness, which definitely enhances things.

Caesar and Bacon McCrispy at McDonald’s

Published on September 21, 2026September 21, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 30 Courtneypark Drive East, Mississauga
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

McDonald’s isn’t exactly reinventing the wheel by combining chicken, bacon, and Caesar dressing. It’s a combination that works — but it’s a bit boring.

They can’t all be menu heists, I guess.

Here’s how McDonald’s describes the Caesar and Bacon McCrispy: “A crispy chicken patty – made with 100% Canadian-raised seasoned chicken – and shredded lettuce on a soft potato bun, topped with a Caesar parmesan sauce, crispy onions and hickory smoked bacon. It’s the Caesar you know and love – the McDonald’s way!”

Remember when I said this sandwich was boring? I actually wish it were a bit more boring. The Caesar parmesan sauce is pretty different from normal Caesar dressing, and I’m not sure why. It’s sweeter and more tangy than you’d expect, and it lacks the garlicky bite of the real deal.

It’s not bad, but I would have preferred something more typically Caesar-esque. I’m honestly not sure I would have even guessed what this was supposed to be if you hadn’t told me.

Otherwise, the sandwich is exactly what you’d expect. It’s perfectly fine — I just don’t understand why the Caesar doesn’t taste like Caesar.