Michael Nusair

Mediocre Doughnuts at Donut Monster

Published on October 10, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 28 Bathurst Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.donutmonster.ca/

Donut Monster is a really acclaimed doughnut joint from Hamilton that recently opened a location in Toronto’s Stackt Market. I’ve been hearing nothing but good things about their doughnuts for a while now — if they hadn’t opened an outpost in Toronto, taking a long drive to Hamilton might have been in order.

I’m so glad I didn’t drive all the way to Hamilton for this.

I tried the Cherry Cheesecake Bullseye, which features sour cherry pie filling, cream cheese icing, and a graham cracker crumble.

I know a lot of people are more concerned about a doughnut’s fillings/toppings than anything else, and on that level this was pretty decent — the balance between the tart cherries and the sweet frosting was actually quite good.

But the doughnut itself was seriously disappointing; it was dense and dry and boring. It was like Wonder Bread. There’s nothing to it. I’m pretty sure the prepacked doughnuts you can get at the supermarket aren’t much worse.

It certainly wasn’t unpleasant, but from a high-end doughnut place it’s a huge let-down.

Lay’s Bar-B-Q Tenders at KFC

Published on October 9, 2019October 17, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3015 Winston Churchill Boulevard, Mississauga
Website: https://www.kfc.ca/

Coating a piece of fried chicken in flavoured potato chips is pretty bizarre; it’s also obvious enough that I’m surprised KFC or some other fast food chain hasn’t done it sooner. This is particularly odd in a post Doritos Locos world, where mashing up two seemingly disparate but complementary flavours has revealed itself to be a gold mine.

Anyway, KFC has finally done it, and yeah, it’s good.

The Lay’s Bar-B-Q Tenders, according to KFC: “Canadian farm raised chicken tenders coated in Lay’s sweet and smoky Bar-B-Q potato chips”.

The flavour is pleasingly familiar, with a nice balance of sweetness and tanginess; if you’ve had Lay’s BBQ chips, then it tastes as you’d expect. The whole thing is exactly what you think (and hope) it’s going to be.

I will say, however, that these taste like they were made with plain chips and then seasoned post-fry. This is mostly not an issue, aside from the fact that the seasoning is a bit uneven.

Still, it’s a good quality chicken strip; the BBQ flavour complements it well, and the chip pieces add a nice crunch. It’s one of those things that sounds weird on paper, but mostly just tastes pretty good (i.e. it’s not a Double Down, which is a fun gimmick until you actually eat it).

This is entirely down to the luck of the draw, but my order was hot and fresh, which definitely helped. The chicken could have been a bit more tender, but for white meat, it’s not bad.

The Glorious Return of the Chipwich

Published on October 8, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Purchased at: Wegman’s, 675 Alberta Drive, Amherst NY
Website: https://theoriginalchipwich.com/

Remember the Chipwich? Because I certainly do! In my childhood it felt like it would be a part of my life forever, but then it became harder and harder to find, and it was eventually taken off the market altogether.

Well, it’s back! Alas, it’s still not available in Canada (sorry if I got your hopes up), but if you’re willing to drive to Buffalo (because we all know that driving to Buffalo for an ice cream sandwich is a totally reasonable thing to do), it’s easy enough to find.

And yes: it’s just as glorious as I remembered. No… more glorious.

It’s pretty simple — it’s vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two chocolate chunk cookies, and rolled in mini chocolate chips.

No, it’s not gourmet, but the contrast between the soft cookies, the creamy ice cream, and the great crunch you get from the chocolate chips is pretty magical. I was prepared for this to be more about the nostalgia than anything else, but it’s actually quite tasty.

Tasty Miso Ramen at Ramen Isshin

Published on October 7, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 421 College Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.ramenisshin.com/

Ramen Isshin is a beloved ramen joint on College near Bathurst — so beloved, in fact, that my phone popped up with a notification out of the blue to recommend it to me, and told me there’s a 97 percent chance that I’ll like it. 97 percent! It’s hard to argue with that level of certainty.

And yeah, I liked it. My phone was correct.

I went with the miso ramen: “Isshin Red Miso blend, wok fried pork, onions, bean sprouts, carrots, wood ear mushrooms, chives green onions, pork belly cha shu & thick twisty noodles.”

It’s quite tasty. The tonkotsu broth has a vibrant flavour that’s a bit one-note in its salty/savoury intensity, but still quite satisfying. It’s not the best bowl of ramen I’ve ever had, but even average ramen is better than most other dishes.

Aside from the broth, all of the add-ins are quite tasty: in particular, the bean sprouts add a nice fresh crunch that helps to balance the bowl’s richness, and the ground pork amps up its meaty flavour.

As for the noodles, they’re thick, chewy, and satisfying. It’s a tasty bowl of soup.

Sweet Greek Doughnuts at Lukumum

Published on October 4, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 484 Danforth Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.lukumum.com/

The Greek doughnuts (a.k.a. loukoumades) they serve at Lukumum are intensely sweet. They’re also extremely delicious.

I tried loukoumades at Loukoumania Cafe in Vaughan last year; the ones at Lukumum are twice as sweet. Three times as sweet? They’re way sweeter.

I tried a couple of varieties. I went with the classic, which is soaked through with syrup and topped with honey and cinnamon, and the hazelnut, which is soaked with syrup and topped with Nutella and hazelnuts.

Both were delicious, though I preferred the classic. Despite being soaked through with syrup, the exterior remains pleasantly crunchy. The inside is completely suffused with syrup, but it’s not mushy. It’s great. The honey adds even more sweetness, and a nice floral note that goes very well with the cinnamon.

The Nutella variety is tasty as well — Nutella makes anything delicious — but the original is more unique.