Restaurant Review – Page 57

Great New York Style Slices at Pizzeria Badiali

Published on September 26, 2021October 14, 2021 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 181 Dovercourt Road, Toronto
Website: https://www.pizzeriabadiali.com/

Pizzeria Badiali is a pizza joint that bills itself as “a nod to the New York classics.” And yeah, it’s quite different from the Neapolitan-style pizzas you can find all over town.

Of course, it would have to be — it’s a slice shop, and the floppier slices of a Neapolitan-style pizza aren’t exactly grab-and-go compatible.

The slices here, on the other hand, have a delightful crispiness that never feels overly crunchy, with an interior texture that balances fluffiness and chewiness quite well. It reminds me a bit of the slices they serve nearby at Superpoint, but I think this might be even better.

I got the margherita: “crushed tomato, fior di latte, pecorino and padano, basil.”

It was great — in particular, the balance between the creamy fior di latte and the sharp pecorino and padano really popped.

The place is quite popular (someone actually came out and announced a twenty minute wait for a new batch of slices shortly after I got mine), and with the combo of great quality toppings and a superlative crust, it’s easy enough to see why.

Oji Seichi Might Just Serve the Best Ramen in the City

Published on September 22, 2021 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 354 Broadview Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.ojiseichi.com/

Oji Seichi is the brainchild of Mitch Bates; he was previously the chef at Grey Gardens and the sadly defunct Momofuku Shoto, and in case those credits aren’t enough to tell you that the guy knows what he’s doing, let me tell you: the guy knows what he’s doing. Based on my recent visit, the ramen at Oji Seichi might just be the best in the city? It’s right up there, that’s for sure.

The menu also features an assortment of sandwiches, and I’m sure those are delicious too (how could they not be, given the quality of the ramen?), but trust me — you need to get the ramen.

The classic ramen features a broth made with chicken, pork, and seafood (a vegetarian option is also available) and comes in either shio or shoyu. I got shio, and holy moly it was so good.

The broth is (mostly) perfect. It’s a bit too greasy (your lips feel slick with grease almost immediately), but other than that, it’s outstanding. It’s lighter than the rich tonkotsu style of ramen that’s so common in the GTA, but it’s absolutely exploding with flavour. It’s got a deep roasty/meaty flavour that’s abundantly satisfying, with a subtle seafoody kick that hums along in the background without ever calling attention to itself. It’s also lightly smoky, but again, in a way that complements all the other flavours in the bowl so well.

I’ve mentioned this before, but the best bowls of ramen have this magical ability to keep revealing something new with each mouthful, and this is definitely that. The flavours are not subtle, but it absolutely never feels one-note or tiresome.

They make their noodles in house, and like the rest of the bowl, they’re top-notch; they’re perfectly chewy and have a very subtle, almost nutty flavour. So good.

The toppings are outstanding, too. The egg looks like it might be a bit undercooked in the photo, but trust me: it’s great. Perfectly jammy yolk, super flavourful — my only complaint is that the bowl comes with half an egg and I needed about a million of them.

And the chashu, with its silky, melt-in-your-mouth texture, is even better. They finish it on the grill to give it a smoky flavour, and good god I want to dive into a swimming pool filled with the stuff like Scrooge McDuck but with pork belly instead of money. Crazy good.

A Decent Falafel Sandwich at The Haifa Room

Published on September 19, 2021September 19, 2021 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 224 Ossington Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/thehaifaroom/

The Haifa Room has been up and running for a bit more than a month, and while the dining room isn’t open quite yet, they do have a take-out window where you can get a variety of sandwiches.

I went with the falafel sandwich: “Falafel, tahina, hummus, z’hug, cucumber and tomato salad, marinated red cabbage, parsley, onions, and pickles.”

I asked them to hold the onion, but otherwise got it as is.

It’s a solid sandwich, though nothing about it particularly blew me away. The falafel itself is crispy and flavourful, with a nice fluffy interior that’s almost creamy (it might have been a tad undercooked, but it was tasty regardless). And the healthy amount of parsley they top it with is a nice touch, adding a herby punch that complements the falafel quite well.

None of the other toppings particularly stand out, however, and I missed the red pickled turnips that you typically find in a sandwich like this; there were copious amounts of tahini and hummus, and in the absence of something with some zip, it felt overly rich and a bit one-note in its flavour. It did have pickle slices, but they weren’t assertive enough to add much of anything.

(The menu also says the sandwich is topped with z’hug, a herby Yemenite hot sauce, but I didn’t see or taste anything even remotely hot-sauce-like in the sandwich.)

The vaguely stale pita bread probably didn’t help, which came out of a bag and tasted like it came out of a bag.

I feel like I’m complaining a lot for something I actually quite enjoyed, but pretty much everything here is one small step away from being very good, so it’s easy to notice the flaws that are holding it back.

Delicious Pork Bone Soup at Mapo Gamjatang

Published on September 16, 2021 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 4916 Yonge Street, North York
Website: https://www.mapocanada.com/

Gamjatang (A.K.A. pork bone soup) is one of those dishes that might sound a bit intimidating on paper, since the bones in question come from the spine of the pig, which isn’t exactly a common cut of meat. But it’s so good.

(I was about to say “done well, it’s so good” but then I realized that I’ve never had a bad version of this dish. I’m sure they’re out there, but I guess it’s hard to completely mess up, because it’s always tasty.)

The version at Mapo Gamjatang was especially delicious, with a super flavourful broth and surprisingly generous (and ultra-tender) chunks of pork. Sometimes you have to work hard to find the meat on the bones in this dish, but this particular version featured a shocking amount of tasty pork. It’s delightful.

It’s a great deal, too. The regular bowl (large is an option, but trust me, regular is plenty) costs 13 bucks and comes with a generous (and tasty) assortment of banchan.

Decent Fried Chicken at Dave’s Hot Chicken

Published on September 12, 2021 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2066 Yonge Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.daveshotchicken.com/

Dave’s Hot Chicken is an American fried chicken chain with a couple of locations in the city, and one more on the way. It’s easy to be cynical about the explosion of fried chicken restaurants in the city (Nashville hot chicken in particular), but aside from the fact that now is not exactly an easy time to be a restauranteur, fried chicken is delicious. Nashville hot chicken is delicious. So sure, why not?

The menu here consists pretty much entirely of fried chicken tenders that you can either get on their own, or in a sandwich. You can pick from seven levels of spiciness ranging from “no spice” to “reaper.”

I went with the sandwich and got it hot, which was milder than you’d expect — it has a noticeable kick, but it’s not exactly going to get anyone too hot and bothered. If you have any kind of tolerance for heat, extra hot or even reaper is probably a better choice.

Otherwise, it was pretty tasty — the white meat is a bit on the dry side, but it’s really well seasoned and quite tasty, with an exterior that’s noticeably crispy, but not overwhelming. It’s topped with a zingy special sauce, pickles, and coleslaw, which all do a great job of cutting through the richness of the sandwich.

It comes with crinkle-cut fries that are battered and seasoned; I’m normally not crazy about battered fries, but these were pretty good (I think it’s mostly that tasty seasoning, which would probably make anything taste good).

As far as fried chicken in the GTA goes, this isn’t on the level of local joints like Chica’s or PG Clucks, but for a chain it’s not bad at all.