Michael Eats

Halal Deli Sandwiches at East Meats West

Published on April 1, 2024April 1, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2399 Cawthra Road West, Mississauga
Website: https://www.facebook.com/emwhalal/

East Meats West specializes in halal deli meats; they mainly sell various cooked and uncooked meats that you can buy and take home, but they also have an assortment of sandwiches for take-out.

One of their specialties is Montreal smoked meat. I’m never going to say no to a Montreal smoked meat sandwich, so obviously that’s what I ordered. I went with the small size, which comes with a decent amount of meat, and rings in at a delightfully cheap eight bucks. Can’t go wrong there.

The woman behind the counter asked if I wanted “everything,” which turned out to be quite a lot. The sandwich comes topped with lettuce, pickles, mustard, mayo, and one more sauce (Russian, I’m guessing).

The meat here was thinly sliced and a bit more on the chewy side than somewhere like Sumilicious, which means the extra condiments were probably necessary. The spicing is also a bit more subtle than the norm, so again, the many condiments aren’t unwelcome.

It’s certainly not the best Montreal smoked meat sandwich I’ve ever had, but it’s tasty enough, and it’s hard to deny that it’s a great deal.

Indian Grilled Cheese at Thindi Cafe

Published on March 31, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 400 College Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.thindi.ca/

Thindi is interesting — their website says that their goal was to offer something a bit different from the “curry focused” Indian restaurants in the GTA, focusing instead on Indian street food, with a bunch of sandwiches and jazzed-up Maggi noodles on the menu.

I went with the green chili cheese toast, which the menu describes as being “layered with fresh coriander chutney, onions, bell peppers, thai green chilies and cheese.”

It’s basically an Indian grilled cheese sandwich; it has a nice zippy flavour from the chutney, some pops of spice from the green chilis, and a decent amount of gooey processed cheese.

It didn’t exactly blow my mind, though I will admit that I removed the raw red onions, thus rendering my opinion somewhat worthless (raw onions are terrible, what can I say??). Usually when I remove them from something, I feel like I’m not missing out on much, but in this case I think they were probably pretty important to the overall taste/texture of the sandwich.

A Healthy Food Court Option at Poulet Rouge

Published on March 29, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 100 City Centre Drive, Mississauga (inside Square One)
Website: https://poulet-rouge.ca/en

I hadn’t heard of Poulet Rouge until very recently, but apparently it’s a Quebec-based chain that’s been around since 2012. They basically have one thing on the menu — grilled chicken bowls — though it’s extremely customizable.

You can pick the flavour of your chicken, the base (brown rice, quinoa, lettuce, or poutine — it is a Quebec chain, after all), the sauce, and various veggie toppings.

I ordered the mini size, which — true to its name — comes in a comically tiny container. It’s packed with stuff, though, so it’s enough for lunch if you want something that isn’t too heavy.

I got the volcano hot chicken on brown rice, and topped it with spicy mayo, olives, cucumber, hot peppers, and a scoop of avocado mash (which costs a bit extra).

It’s not bad at all. I wouldn’t say it blew my mind, but for something from a mall food court (that’s relatively healthy, no less), it’s pretty tasty. The ingredients taste fresh, the flavours are nice and zippy, and while the grilled chicken breast is a bit on the dry side, it’s got some nice char from the grill.

I don’t know if anyone is going to get too excited about this place, but it’s solid food court fare.

Jodie’s is a Hidden Gem

Published on March 26, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 331 Horner Avenue, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.instagram.com/jodiesrestaurant/

Jodie’s is basically the definition of a hidden gem. It’s tucked away in an industrial area of Etobicoke, it looks extremely unassuming, and there’s very little information about it online. But yes: it’s a gem.

The menu consists entirely of no-frills diner classics. I came at breakfast and ordered the morning mixer, which comes with two eggs cooked as you like; a pancake or French toast (I went with the pancake); your choice of bacon, ham, or sausage (I got sausage), with a side of home fries and toast.

It’s an exceptionally basic diner breakfast that could very easily be fine, but not much more.

Jodie’s knocks it out of the park, however, with perfectly prepared eggs, a pancake that strikes a great balance between fluffiness and substance, nicely crispy/creamy home fries, and some tasty sausages that I think are fried (they had an exterior crispiness that’s quite delightful). It’s quite simple, but when the execution is as good as it is here, simplicity is where it’s at.

Quick Bites: Banh Mi Nguyet Minh, DeCourses Cafe, The Tuck Shop x Breadhead

Published on March 25, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Pork roll, cured pork and pate banh mi from Banh Mi Nguyet Minh

Not much to say about this one, to be honest. It was a perfectly tasty banh mi; not the best I’ve had, and not the worst. The bread was a bit overly crunchy (it was a bit of a mouth shredder) and I wish there were more pate, but it was otherwise a solid banh mi.

Breakfast sandwich from DeCourses Cafe

DeCourses Cafe is a charming little brunch spot that does quite well (it was packed when I visited, and had a steady stream of people picking up take-out orders). The menu mostly consists of brunch standbys; I went with the breakfast sandwich (“white artisan bread, bacon, fried egg, cheese blend”). Nothing about it particularly stood out, and it really needed something with some zippiness to cut through the richness of the egg, bacon, and cheese, but it was a solid breakfast sandwich. I enjoyed it.

Apple crumble croissant from The Tuck Shop x Breadhead

Note: I’m working on a bit of a backlog at the moment, and apparently this bakery is now defunct. Oh well; here are some thoughts on a bakery you’ll never get to try.
The Tuck Shop x Breadhead is a tiny little bakery that has a small but interesting variety of pastries on offer. I went with the apple crumble croissant, which has the general shape/configuration of a pain au chocolate, but with apple crumble stuff instead of chocolate. It’s very tasty — it’s not nearly as sweet as you’d expect, with a decent dose of apple crumble flavour encased in a good quality croissant. It didn’t exactly blow my mind, but I quite enjoyed eating it.