September 2019 – Page 2

A Decent Sandwich at Flock

Published on September 23, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 97 Harbord Street, Toronto
Website: https://flockonharbord.com/

The first time I had the pulled rotisserie chicken sandwich from Flock, I wasn’t a fan. It had obviously been assembled in advance and put in the fridge, and it was clammy, with a uniformly soft texture. None of the flavours popped. It wasn’t great.

But Toronto Life recently called it one of the 25 best sandwiches in the city, so I figured I’d give it another shot.

It’s still not the best sandwich ever, but it’s tasty enough. From their menu: “Ace Bakery Bun, Avocado Spread, Crisp Romaine & Horseradish/Beet/Apple Slaw & Crispy Onion”

This time the sandwich was clearly made to order, which helped a lot. The chicken was warm, fresh, and tasty, and there’s a pretty generous amount of it. The sweet slaw adds a welcoming hit of zinginess, and the avocado is nice and creamy.

I’m a little bit baffled that it wound up on a list of the best sandwiches in the city, but it certainly isn’t bad. It just doesn’t stand out in any particular way.

Perfectly Crispy Cannoli at Holy Cannoli

Published on September 20, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: Follow them on Instagram to see where they’ll be
Website: https://www.holy-cannoli.com/

There’s nothing sadder than biting into a cannoli only to find that its would-be crispy exterior has been rendered soft and chewy by the ravages of time.

Holy Cannoli, which had a booth at the recent OssFest street festival, avoids this problem quite definitively by filling their cannoli shells to order. This is clearly the way to do it. I don’t know why every bakery doesn’t do it this way.

So of course, the shell was nice and crispy, just as it should be. It’s crispy but not overly crunchy — it’s basically the perfect cannoli shell.

You can choose from either chocolate chip or vanilla filling; I went with the latter, and it was creamy, sweet, and tasty. Nothing about it particularly jumped out as being amazing, but it was a solid cannoli.

Mind-Blowing Souvlaki at Mamakas Taverna

Published on September 19, 2019October 17, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 80 Ossington Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://mamakas.ca/

Mamakas Taverna had a booth at the recent OssFest street festival on Ossington, serving up chicken and pork souvlaki. It was almost improbably good. Like, is the food at a street festival even allowed to be this good? It was easily the best souvlaki I’ve ever had.

It’s simple enough — it features pita bread slathered with tsatziki, and topped with chunks of pork and tomatoes (onions are also an option, though I skipped those).

Every element here is amazing. The pork is cooked on a spit over coals, giving it a nice smoky flavour. It’s perfectly cooked and amazingly juicy.

They chop the pork up and toss it in some kind of magical, zesty sauce; little touches like this make all the difference. The pork would have been perfectly delicious if they had just served it as-is, but that sauce kicks up its flavour, adds additional moisture, and elevates the wrap from good to great.

The creamy, mint-and-garlic-infused tzatziki is just as delicious as the pork, and complements it exceptionally well. And the bread is the perfect vehicle — it’s fresh, a little bit chewy, and amazing. The whole thing is exceptionally delicious.

Roasted Marshmallow at Greg’s Ice Cream

Published on September 18, 2019September 18, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 750 Spadina Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.facebook.com/Gregs-Ice-Cream-441306159216990/

I’ll always have a soft spot for Greg’s. I’ve been going there since I was a kid, and they’re still pumping out some of the best ice cream in the city.

It’s hard to go wrong with anything here, but their roasted marshmallow is pretty much ice cream perfection. Unlike some other roasted marshmallow flavours (Ed’s, I’m looking squarely in your direction), it tastes exactly like a roasted marshmallow — but in ice cream form.

The texture is slightly gummy (and no, this isn’t just because of the marshmallow — all of their flavours are slightly gummy), but it’s otherwise rich, creamy, and perfect. And that flavour is phenomenal. It’s intense but not overwhelming. It’s so good.

Delicious Banh Mi at Rose’s Vietnamese Sandwiches

Published on September 17, 2019 by Michael Nusair2 Comments

Location: 601 Gerrard Street East, Toronto
Website: None

Like many banh mi joints, Rose’s Vietnamese Sandwiches is ridiculously cheap. I had the standard cold cut banh mi, which is crammed with meat and pate, and costs a paltry three bucks.

This is simultaneously amazing — cheap, delicious food! — and crappy. There’s an unfair expectation that a lot of Asian or Latin American cuisine should be served for rock-bottom prices, which makes it unnecessarily difficult for the people who run those restaurants to make a living.

I’m not going to rehash what many other people have written on the subject, but it does kinda give you pause.

Setting that aside? It’s a tasty sandwich. The assorted meats banh mi is the classic — it’s got Vietnamese cold cuts, chunky pate, pickled veggies, and cilantro.

It’s really tasty; there’s a lot of meat, but it’s perfectly balanced out by the sweet, vinegary pickled veggies, not to mention the abundant fresh cilantro. It’s definitely a contender for the best banh mi in the city, though I think there are a couple of things holding it back from greatness.

The biggest issue: I wish it had more pate. It has a thin spread of pate that’s entirely overwhelmed by the sizable layer of cold cuts. You miss out on the satisfying contrast between the meaty cold cuts and the creamy, minerally pate.

The other issue is the bread. It’s certainly not bad, but the exterior doesn’t quite have the light crispiness you’re looking for, and the whole thing is a bit dry.

Still, those are fairly minor complaints — it’s a solid banh mi, it’s just not quite up there with the best that I’ve had.