Restaurant Review – Page 32

Delicious Sandwiches at Mattachioni

Published on May 23, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1617 Dupont Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.mattachioni.com/mattachioni-west

I previously tried the mortadella sandwich at Mattachioni and found it to be thoroughly delicious. Well, clearly this place knows their way around a tasty sandwich, because I just tried a couple more and they were both extremely tasty.

First up is the porchetta, which is as simple as it gets — it’s just a whole bunch of sliced porchetta on toasted sourdough. If the porchetta itself weren’t so good, this might have been too simple, but the tender, herby, and intensely flavourful pork shines brightly enough to not need any accompaniments.

The bread is great too, though it might have been a bit too aggressively toasted; I don’t think bread that good needs that level of crunchifying, not to mention the fact that it was so toasty that it was difficult to eat without wrecking the inside of your mouth.

I also tried the S. Marcobruno: “Tuna in olive oil, Egg, Tomato, Arugula, Radicchio,
Pickled red onion, Lemon.” I liked both sandwiches, but I think this one was the superior of the two, with a great balance between the meatiness from the tuna and richness from the egg, punched up with some delightfully zippy flavours. The bread was untoasted, and the quality level of the sourdough here is so high that I think that’s the way to go.

Great Shawarma at Leziz Kitchen

Published on May 21, 2024 by Michael Nusair1 Comment

Location: 418 Horner Avenue, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.lezizkitchen.com/

Look, I’m going to cut right to the chase with this one: you know what shawarma is. I don’t need to sell it to you. And the chicken shawarma wrap at Leziz Kitchen? It’s great. You should try it.

Everything about it just works. The shawarma itself is as it should be — it’s nicely spiced, it’s got a bunch of crispy bits, and the meat is juicy.

The wrap has a nice balance of meatiness and freshness from the veggies (mostly just lettuce and tomato; I skipped the onion), the garlic sauce is flavourful without being a garlic assault, and the hot sauce adds some nice zip. And the pita, which they put on the grill to heat up and get some light toastiness, is fresh and lightly chewy; it does a great job of holding everything together.

It’s definitely one of the better shawarma wraps I’ve had in the Mississauga/Etobicoke area.

Quick Bites: Pizzeria Badiali, Ghadir Meat & Restaurant, Chica’s Chicken

Published on May 19, 2024May 19, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Cacio e pepe pizza from Pizzeria Badiali

I wrote about Pizzeria Badiali a few years ago and mentioned how great it is; I’ve been back a few times since, and it consistently pumps out some of the best pizza in the city. On my latest visit, I tried the cacio e pepe (“shredded mozz, fior di latte, cacio sauce, pecorino and black pepper”), and yeah, it’s top notch. It translates the tastiness of a bowl of cacio e pepe to a pizza pretty much perfectly. It’s peppery, cheesy, and rich, and the crispy/chewy crust is as amazing as ever.

Mixed Shawarma from Ghadir Meat & Restaurant

Speaking of the best stuff in the city, the last time I wrote about the shawarma from Ghadir Meat & Restaurant, I mentioned that it’s a contender for that crown. I tried chicken last time and got the mixed this time (which comes with chicken and beef), and hey, what do you know — it’s still some of the best in the city. It didn’t quite have the amount of crispy bits on the meat that I’d like, and there was no hot sauce (I guess you have to ask), but otherwise? Basically shawarma perfection. Perfect balance of meat, veggies, and sauces. Also: look at the way they’ve toasted this thing. It has an almost pita chip level of crispiness in spots. I need literally every shawarma joint to do this, please. Thanks.

Double Crunch Sandwich from Chica’s Chicken

The last couple of times I’ve had Chica’s Chicken, I’ve noted that they’ve been going downhill a bit. I was afraid that this might be an inexorable march to mediocrity, but thankfully, it seems like the quality level has plateaued. It’s not all-time-great like it used to be, but it’s still very good. On this particular visit, I got the Double Crunch Sandwich (which is part of a limited-time promotion with Jarritos, and will be gone by June 14): “fried chicken, peppercorn ranch, deep-fried jalapeños, lettuce on a brioche bun.” They were out of lettuce and subbed in coleslaw instead, but otherwise everything was as described on the menu. It’s a very tasty sandwich: it’s zippy, has some mild pops of spice from the fried jalapenos, and is packed with flavour. The chicken was, mostly, crunchy and juicy, though the thinner parts were a bit dry. It’s a very tasty sandwich, even if it can’t quite reach the heights of Chica’s at their prime.

Tasty Vegetarian Vietnamese Food at Dai Bi Chay

Published on May 18, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2399 Cawthra Road, Mississauga
Website: https://daibichay.com/

I’ll admit that I was a bit skeptical of Dai Bi Chai going in. An entirely vegetarian Vietnamese place? With a bunch of mock meats on the menu? How good could that be?

Quite good, as it turns out.

I tried the bun bo hue chay, a zingy, spicy bowl of noodle soup that comes with an assortment of mock meats. The soup itself was quite tasty, with a zippy flavour (that’s nicely amped up by the smoky chili oil on the table) and a decent amount of depth that keeps things interesting.

As for the mock meats, I’m pretty sure they’re all tofu-based (they all have the taste and texture of very firm tofu); I don’t think anyone’s going to be fooled, but they’re tasty for what they are.

Quick Bites: Machino Donuts, Fuji Noodle House, Kunafa’s

Published on May 14, 2024May 17, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Various doughnuts from Machino Donuts

Machino Donuts specializes in vegan doughnuts, and I’ll admit that I’ve dragged my feet on trying it because of that fact. I assumed that the vegan-ness of the place would result in compromised, subpar doughnuts, and I was 100% wrong. I tried three doughnuts here: the apple fritter, the banana bread fritter, and the sour cream orange, and all three were quite tasty. In particular, the apple fritter was right on par with the better fritters I’ve had in the GTA, with a lightly crispy exterior, a nice and tender interior, and a great apple flavour.

Fuju signature noodle soup from Fuji Noodle House

Fuji Noodle House specializes in tasty Chinese noodle soups, and yeah, it’s good. I tried the Fuji signature noodle soup (“signature hand-pulled noodle soup with beef, crispy pork fillet, Fuji meatballs, beef brisket, cilantro, and scallions”), and while nothing about it jumped out at me as mind-blowing, the noodles were nice and chewy, the broth was tasty, and all the meaty add-ons were satisfying.

Kunafa from Kunafa’s

Kunafa, for the uninitiated, is a delicious Middle Eastern dessert in which a gooey, neutral-tasting cheese is topped with syrup-soaked pastry. It’s great, though I have yet to find a truly exceptional version in the GTA. Kunafa’s, which I wrote a few years ago, specializes in the stuff. As you’d hope, it’s very good — probably the best in the GTA. I visited the original Scarborough location last time, and the one in Mississauga this time, and it’s clear that they haven’t missed a step in the expansion (they also have a location in Ajax). It’s a really tasty dessert.