Michael Eats

Tasty Mexican Food at Taqueria el Pastorcito

Published on March 13, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1160 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Website: https://taqueriaelpastorcitoon.com/

It’s always nice when the name of a restaurant tells you what to order. At Taqueria el Pastorcito, you’ve gotta order a taco, and you’ve gotta order the pastor. Easy enough. And indeed, both are extremely delicious.

I tried a couple of things. I got a chorizo taco, and a pastor burrito.

The taco (which comes topped with onions and cilantro; I skipped the onions) is really tasty, with two very fresh corn tortillas stuffed with an extremely generous amount of nicely browned chorizo. The spicing of the sausage is a bit on the mild side, but there are an array of very tasty sauces on the side that makes quick work of that. It’s a great taco.

The pastor was even better. The burrito was a bit odd; as far as I can tell, the filling was basically just meat and a bit of cilantro. But the pork was so tasty, with a nice kick to it and a whole bunch of the delicious crispy bits that you’re hoping for from spit-roasted meat like this, that it totally works.

The place was packed on a recent Saturday afternoon, and it’s very easy to see why.

Cheesy Jalapeno & Bacon Quarter Pounder from McDonald’s

Published on March 12, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 25 The West Mall, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

One thing I appreciate about McDonald’s versus most other fast joints: they aren’t shy with the sauce. I think they’ve smartly realized that a fast food burger patty, on its own, kinda sucks. It needs a bit of help to make up for the lack of moisture and flavour.

Which is to say that the new Cheesy Jalapeno & Bacon Quarter Pounder is saucy as hell (it was one of the messier burgers I’ve eaten in a while), and pretty decent.

Here’s how McDonald’s describes it: “A quarter pound of 100% Canadian beef topped with a cheesy jalapeño sauce, hickory-smoked bacon, pickled jalapeños, ketchup, mustard and two slices of processed cheese served on a toasted sesame seed bun.”

It definitely lives up to its “Cheesy” moniker, with the two slices of cheese and the zippy cheese sauce being a tasty combo. I wish they had skipped the ketchup, though, because it kinda overpowers the burger’s other flavours.

As for it living up to the “Jalapeno” part of its name… not so much. I think there were maybe two or three jalapeno slices in there? And I guess the cheese sauce is technically jalapeno-flavoured, but the ketchup is really all you can taste.

The bacon is a nice addition (bacon is always welcome on a burger, for obvious reasons), but it gets a bit lost among the other ingredients.

Delicious Sandwiches at San Wich

Published on March 11, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 616 Gladstone Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/sanwichto/

Gus Tacos has several locations throughout the city and is reliably tasty, so when I found out they had opened a sandwich shop called San Wich, I was all over it.

Right now it’s take-out only, though they do seem to have space for a decently-sized patio next to the restaurant, so once the weather improves, I’m guessing that’ll be a thing.

I tried a couple of the sandwiches: the beef barbacoa (“Mayo, harvati cheese, beef barbacoa, caramelized and raw onion in a bun”) and the cubana (“Mustard, mayo, pickles, braised pork, ham, harvati and gouda cheese in a bun”).

I really liked them both. The beef barbacoa was absolutely crammed with tasty beef, which was nicely tender without ever feeling mushy. And, of course, beef and caramelized onions are best friends. I skipped the raw onions, and while I don’t regret that choice (raw onions are gross; I’m right and the rest of the world is wrong), I think their crunchiness probably would have enhanced things (too bad they’re so gross — again, you are wrong about this, don’t argue with me about it, just accept it).

As for the bread, the fresh, fluffy roll works perfectly. My only knock against the sandwich is that some kind of acidity — a zippy sauce or some kind of pickle — would have been nice to cut the richness, but otherwise this was top-notch.

I think the cubana was even better. Like the barbacoa, the quality of the various meats was stellar, and unlike the barbacoa, this one was nicely rounded out by the mustard and the pickles, which do a great job of making the sandwich feel less one-note heavy.

I will say, however, that this might have been the greasiest sandwich I’ve ever eaten? The bun was slippery and was dripping the entire time I was eating it. It was like the whole thing had been dipped in a vat of oil. So it might give you a heart attack, but you’ll have a smile on your face when it happens.

I also tried a slice of the tres leches cake; I didn’t photograph this, and honestly, the less said about it, the better. Still hungry after the meal? Get another sandwich!

Tasty Sandwiches at Centre Street Deli Express

Published on March 9, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 995 Bay Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.centrestreetdeli.com/

I’ve written about Centre Street Deli before; I’ve been going there for as long as I can remember, and they continue to serve some of the best smoked meat sandwiches in the city.

They recently expanded to a new location at Yonge and Bloor. It’s substantially smaller than the original location (they call it “Centre Street Deli Express”), but still has a few tables if you want to eat in. And, of course, they’re still serving the same menu.

I got the Old Fashioned sandwich, and yeah — it’s just as tasty as ever. It’s nicely spiced, tender, and delicious.

Is it the best smoked meat in the city? No, probably not — newer places like SumiLicious and Dave’s Genuine Deli would probably take that crown. But for a place that’s been around for decades and is now starting to expand, it’s still very good; they haven’t lost a step.

Quick Bites: Venerosa Natural Gelato, Stacks, Blackbird Baking Co.

Published on March 2, 2025March 2, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Sicilian pistachio gelato at Venerosa Natural Gelato

Venerosa is a relatively new gelato spot on Queen, and it’s quite good. I don’t really have a ton to say about it. It’s gelato! It’s good! It’s not the best or the worst gelato I’ve had in the city, but it’s leaning much, much closer to “best.” I got the Sicilian pistachio, and it’s nice and creamy, and it has a great pistachio flavour. I will almost certainly be back, though I wish the variety of flavours were a bit more interesting (it’s pretty much all standard-issue stuff).

Classic pancakes at Stacks

Stacks is one of those restaurants at the bottom of a condo tower where you have to pay for parking in an area where paid parking isn’t the norm; that’s a bit of a bummer, but they seem to be doing okay regardless. They have an assortment of sweet and savoury items on the menu; I tried the scrambler wrap, which was fine, and the classic pancakes, which are clearly the thing to order (no surprise at a restaurant called “Stacks”). They’re no-frills pancakes done very well, with a great texture that features a delightful balance between substance and fluffiness.

Jam croissant at Blackbird Baking Co.

The jam croissant at Blackbird is basically an almond croissant, but with the addition of jam. I’ve never had that combo before, but as you’d expect, it’s delicious. It works so well, you have to wonder why you don’t see it more often. The last time I had the almond croissant from Blackbird, I found it to be a bit too subtle in its sweetness, but clearly things have changed because this one had a generous amount of sweet almond filling that’s kicked up by the addition of jam. It’s really tasty, though the croissant itself was a bit on the dry side.