Restaurant Review – Page 42

Quick Bites: Street vendor hot dog, Bao Bar, Ed’s Real Scoop

Published on March 30, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Hot dog from street vendor at King and John

Street vendor hot dogs have mostly disappeared from the city, which is too bad; they’re certainly not gourmet, but when you need a quick bite, they’re pretty tasty. I actually made a short film about street vendor hot dogs back in 2007, so yeah, I like them. This particular one wasn’t the best I’ve had (the secret of a good street vendor dog is to grill it until it’s got a crispy exterior and a smoky, charred flavour, and that didn’t happen here), but for five bucks for a quick meal, it’s hard to complain.

Great Chicken and Crackle Belly baos from Bao Bar

I think part of the reason I don’t want to dwell on negativity on this blog is that it’s very possible to catch an otherwise good restaurant on a bad day. So rather than trash a place that doesn’t deserve it, I feel like it’s a better idea to just focus on the places I like. That being said, I tried a couple of the baos at this place, and nothing about them — not the bread, the meats, or the sauces — was even remotely good (I should note that “great chicken” is the name of the dish, and certainly not my description of it). But then Bao Bar is generally fairly well regarded online, so maybe it was just a bad day.

Pumpkin and sweet cream from Ed’s Real Scoop

I have a love/hate relationship with Ed’s Real Scoop (well, love/hate is a bit strong… love/like I guess?); when it’s good, it’s very good. But I find it to be the most inconsistent of the better ice cream shops in the GTA. But here’s them at their best: on this particular visit I had pumpkin and sweet cream, and both were fantastic. The pumpkin had a really satisfying pumpkin pie flavour, and the sweet cream (which is reliably the best flavour here) was as delicious as usual. Having them together is basically like pumpkin pie with whipped cream on top. It’s a boffo combination.

Outstanding Pizza at Superpoint

Published on March 26, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 184 Ossington Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.superpoint.ca/

I’ve had slices from Superpoint a few times, but this was my first full pizza, and oh man it was good. I liked Superpoint before, but this bumped them up to a whole new level.

I had the Burrata & Honey: “marinara, local burrata, basil, honey.”

Pizza perfection. Everything just works.

It’s that crust. It’s got a great flavour, and it’s super crispy without ever coming off as too crispy; the balance of chewiness and crispiness is just right, and the contrast between the two is absolutely delightful.

The garlicky zip of the marina is super tasty, and the richness of the creamy burrata — which is torn off in chunks onto the pizza post-bake — balances it perfectly. That’s not to mention the honey, whose sweetness does a great job of rounding out the pizza’s other flavours.

The menu doesn’t mention it, but it’s also seasoned with a herb blend and grated parmesan, and yes. Yes to all of it. It’s so good.

Stellar Banh Mi at Ba Le House

Published on March 16, 2023July 1, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1125 Dundas Street East, Mississauga
Website: None

Ba Le house is clearly doing well — it’s actually an off-shoot of Banh Mi Ba Le, which is in the same plaza just a few stores over. I guess business was brisk enough that they were able to open a second store (which is a bit confusing — if you try to order a banh mi at Banh Mi Ba Le, they’ll direct you to Be Le House instead).

I’m very glad that this place is doing well. There’s actually another, completely unrelated banh mi joint around the corner in the same plaza, Banh Mi Saigon, and I sort of figured that Ba Le would be about the same — good but not great.

I could not have been more wrong. I got the classic assorted cold cut banh mi, and holy moly it was good. Probably the best banh mi I’ve had in the GTA.

Everything about it just works; it’s meaty, porky, and delicious. The proportion of cold cuts (which I’m guessing that they make in house, and which are a cut above the norm) to zingy veggies to fresh bread is just right. There’s a nice slathering of creamy mayo and tasty pate, it’s got a mild but noticeable kick, and a slight sweetness from the hoisin.

And the bread is great; it’s got a delicately crispy exterior and a fluffy but substantial interior that holds up to all the filling quite nicely. A lot of banh mi can wreck the roof of your mouth if you’re not careful; this one has a delightful crispiness that you can still eat with aplomb. No risk of mouth shredding here.

The sandwich comes up to five bucks even, which is an absolute steal for the level of quality that they’re serving up. It’s so good.

Meaty Sandwiches at German Doner Kebab

Published on March 14, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 246 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.germandonerkebab.com/

German Doner Kebab is a German chain with locations around the world that specializes in — surprise, surprise — doner kebab.

They have a few things on the menu, though it all revolves around the doner kebab, which is meat that’s cooked on a vertical rotating spit, shawarma-style. They serve chicken, beef, or a mix of both.

I ordered the Original German Doner Kebab, which features a whole bunch of meat (chicken and beef, in my case), veggies and sauce on what they call toasted sesame waffle bread.

It’s tasty enough, though the way the sandwich was constructed meant that there was a ton of meat on the bottom, veggies in the middle, and sauce on top. I tried my best to alternate bites between the three sections so I’d get a variety of flavours, but it was basically impossible to get a mouthful with all three components.

The sandwich comes as it comes, so I wasn’t told anything about the sauces or any of the toppings, but according to the website they have three sauces: signature spicy sauce, signature garlic sauce, and signature yogurt sauce. I wish it were spicier, but otherwise the sauces were quite tasty: they were sweet, garlicky, and a little bit tangy. They would have done a great job of balancing out the saltiness of the meat, but unfortunately there was a voluminous layer of veggies between the meat and the sauce, so I didn’t get any mouthfuls with both.

Because yeah, the meat was very salty. The level of seasoning was so intense that it entirely overwhelmed the flavour of the meat; I tried a bunch on its own (as you can see from the picture, a decent amount had tumbled out of the sandwich before they even brought it to me), and none of it particularly tasted like chicken or beef — it just tasted like generic, salty meat. I literally couldn’t tell any of it apart. They might have accidentally given me one or the other instead of a mix, but the fact that I couldn’t figure out what any of it was supposed to be is… odd.

Still, it was tasty enough; there were no off or gamy flavours here, so it certainly wasn’t unpleasant to eat. That’s not to mention the bread, which was nicely toasted, with a satisfying exterior crunch and fluffy interior that (mostly) held together despite how messy the sandwich was.

It’s hard to wholeheartedly recommend this place when Otto’s Berlin Doner is serving a very similar sandwich that’s much, much better. But if you’re in the area and you’re looking for a hearty, quick meal, you could definitely do worse.

A Tasty Wrap at Tianjin Auntie’s Steamed Bun

Published on March 5, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 77 Huron Street, Toronto
Website: None

When I first found out about the existence of jian bing a few years ago, it was impossible to find in Toronto (if it was being served, I couldn’t find any evidence of it online). Living with the grim knowledge that something so delicious existed, and having no way (outside of an expensive plane ticket) to eat it was actually pretty brutal.

Thankfully, things have changed in the last few years; several places serving jian bing have been popping up, so if you’re looking for it (and you should be looking for it), you’re good to go.

I guess I should probably explain what jian bing even is — it’s more common than it used to be, but it’s not exactly at sushi levels of ubiquity quite yet. It’s a tasty Chinese breakfast wrap that finds a crepe (of sorts) cooked with eggs until they combine into one thing, and it’s all wrapped up with tasty sauces and crispy fried dough. It’s delicious.

And the version they serve at Tianjin Auntie’s Steamed Bun is legit; it’s a seriously addictive combo of chewy exterior and crispy interior, it’s a savoury, a little bit sweet, eggy, and delicious. It might actually be slightly too eggy, however, and the whole thing is somewhat soggy. This dish is traditionally served as street food; I took it to go and was planning to eat and walk, but it quickly became apparent that it was a bit too sloppy to eat while on the move. That’s a minor complaint, however. It was still very good.

(I should also note that Tianjin Auntie’s Steamed Bun is a restaurant with a full menu of tasty looking Northern Chinese dishes, in case I’m giving you the impression that they just serve one thing. A repeat visit is almost certainly in order.)