Michael Eats

Horcha-ta-ta at Bang Bang

Published on July 11, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 93a Ossington Avenue, Toronto
Website: http://bangbangicecream.com/

Oh hey, another super delicious scoop of ice cream from Bang Bang. Are you surprised? Because I’m definitely not. They’ve been around for five years now, and they’re still serving up what is hands-down the best ice cream in the city. It’s not even close.

This particular flavour was called Horcha-ta-ta and is inspired by horchata, a sweet, creamy drink made from rice.

The ice cream itself has a really rich flavour, and is imbued with cinnamon and other spices (nutmeg I think? Some other stuff, probably?). It’s topped with sweet sticky rice, condensed milk, and a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.

It’s delicious. It actually reminds me quite a bit of rice pudding, but with the cinnamon and other spices giving it a really interesting flavour. And of course, the quality of the ice cream is just as great as ever. It’s so good.

Roast Beef Perfection at Donna’s

Published on July 10, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 827 Landsdowne Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://donnas.ca/

Yep, another sandwich from Toronto Life’s top 25. Another damn good one, too, so clearly this list is not to be trifled with. These sandwiches aren’t kidding around.

Donna’s serves a roast beef sandwich that’s topped with parsnip, horseradish sauce, crispy fried onions (or shallots?), and watercress. As per Toronto Life, the meat is marinated in beef fat and honey. It’s superb.

The sandwich is awash with flavour, but everything works so well together — it never feels too assertive or busy. First and foremost is the very healthy pile of thinly-sliced roast beef. It’s beefy, tender, and just a little bit sweet from the honey. It’s great.

The horseradish sauce is creamy and zingy, with a nice even burn that makes its presence known, but doesn’t overwhelm. The parsnip is kind of ingenious. It’s thinly sliced, and on first glance it looks like cheese. But it’s soft and creamy, and adds a bit of a starchy heft.

It’s all on a soft, fresh, slightly chewy roll that compliments it perfectly. Toronto Life calls it the fifth best sandwich in the city; that sounds about right to me. It’s really, really good.

Tasty Cheese Tarts at Pablo

Published on July 9, 2019October 20, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1800 Sheppard Avenue East, North York (inside Fairview Mall)
Website: https://pablocanada.com/

It’s hard to go wrong with a Japanese cheese tart. It’s basically just a little cheesecake, and it’s delicious. If you’re a cheesecake fan, there’s absolutely no reason cheese tarts shouldn’t be in your life.

The version they sell at Pablo might not be the best one I’ve ever had, but it’s pretty darn tasty.

The filling is sweet but not too sweet, with a rich cheesecake flavour. I wish it had been a bit creamier, but it’s quite good.

The crust could have been a bit more crisp, but again, it’s very good: it’s nice and buttery, with an almost shortbread-like flavour. The crispy crust and the creamy cheesecake is a fairly irresistible combo.

Hand-Pulled Noodles at Omni Palace Noodle House

Published on July 8, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 235 Consumers Road, Toronto
Website: https://www.omnipalace.ca/

I’ve mentioned many times before that a big bowl of chewy, hand-pulled noodles is pretty much the best. That’s just a fact. If you disagree? You’re wrong, and I hate to have to tell you this, but you’re living your life like an idiot.

Sorry, but someone was going to tell you eventually. It may as well be me.

The main thing to order at Omni Palace is the Traditional Lanzhou Beef Noodles, which is a pretty basic bowl of noodle soup topped with thinly sliced beef, cilantro, scallions, and sliced radish.

The broth is actually quite tasty — it’s very salty, but it also has a nice beefy richness, and a mild tingling numbness from sichuan peppercorns. Once you add a heaping spoonful or two (or three, or four) of the smoky, flavourful chili oil, you’ve got a pretty memorable bowl of soup.

The chili oil is surprisingly mild, so you have to add a decent amount if you want a nice kick. That works out quite well, however — it’s so tasty that the bowl seems to get more and more delicious with every additional spoonful.

Then, of course, there’s the noodles, which are available in nine levels of thickness. I went with what they call classic, which is quite spaghetti-like in size and shape. The noodles have all the satisfying chewiness that you’re hoping for, and they’re the perfect thickness for this particular dish.

The only thing here I wasn’t crazy about was the beef; it was a bit tough, and the flavour was middling. But everything else is tasty enough that it really doesn’t matter.

Cupfections at Dairy Queen

Published on July 5, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 5449 Dundas Street West, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.dairyqueen.com/ca-en/

Though Dairy Queen comes out with new Blizzards on a regular basis, new sundaes are much more rare. Maybe once or twice a year? If that?

They recently came out with not one, but two new sundaes called Cupfections; obviously I was all over it.

There’s the Brownie and Oreo Cupfection, and the Summer Berry Cake Cupfection. I tried the latter, which comes topped with berries (blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries), vanilla cake, and chocolate pieces.

It’s basically a trifle, but with a whole bunch of ice cream instead of custard.

So yeah, it’s good. I think if you replace any component in a dessert with a whole bunch of ice cream, you’re pretty much guaranteed to wind up with something delicious. The soft serve at Dairy Queen isn’t exactly great, but with all that other stuff, it’s tasty.

I watched the guy make it, and it was kind of interesting — I assumed the cake would just be cake crumbs, but he actually pulled out a full sheet cake from the fridge (frosting and all) and then dug into it with an ice cream scoop.

It would have been nice if the berries weren’t so cold (they were partially frozen), but otherwise this was a tasty dessert. I think it’s a summer-only thing, which is too bad — it would be a solid addition to the permanent menu.