Michael Eats

Pizza and Gelato at Eataly in Sherway Gardens

Published on November 3, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 25 The West Mall, Etobicoke (inside Sherway Gardens)
Website: https://www.eataly.ca/stores/eataly-sherway-gardens/

The Eataly in Sherway Gardens has just opened, and while it isn’t quite as impressive as the downtown location (it’s roughly half the size at 25,000 feet, as per Toronto Life), it’s still an absolute must-visit for anyone who’s even vaguely into Italian food.

The selection there is absolutely massive, with all kinds of pantry items, fresh pasta, cheese, meat, and prepared foods. The prices, however, are serious business — looking at the price tags on the prepared foods, in particular, is not for the faint of heart. It’s all a bit below restaurant pricing for stuff you have to bring home and heat up yourself, so I guess it’s not too crazy if the food is really good. But I will admit that paying 16 bucks for one small serving of cold lasagna just feels wrong on a very fundamental level, even if it’s delicious.

(Or maybe I’m just a cheapskate.)

I tried a couple of things. They have a decent selection of pizza slices that you can either eat in the restaurant (though there are only a handful of tables at the moment) or take out. It’s a thick crust, Roman-style pizza, which is ideal in a grab-and-go setting since it reheats quite well. I got the margherita, and while nothing about it particularly stood out (the crust, in particular, is pretty bland), it’s a solid slice of pizza.

They had eleven flavours of gelato on offer; I went with the old standby, pistachio, and it was fine. This is a thoroughly insufferable complaint, but I was recently in Italy and was eating gelato on a daily basis, and what they’re serving here is basically trash compared to that.

That’s not fair, of course, but even compared to what’s available in Toronto, the gelato here is good, but not great. The pistachio flavour was a bit off (it definitely tastes like they’re using real pistachios, but I think they might be using flavouring as well), and the texture wasn’t quite as creamy as it should be.

Quick Bites: Chica’s Chicken, SumiLicious, Honey’s

Published on November 1, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

The O.G. Sandwich from Chica’s Chicken

The Nashville hot chicken sandwich at Chica’s is very different than it used to be. I should note that it’s still juicy, crispy, and abundantly flavourful. It’s easily one of the best fried chicken sandwiches in the city. But it used to be among the best fried chicken I’ve ever had, and it’s not quite there at the moment. It’s also noticeably smaller than it used to be — I’m going to guess that it’s about one third of the size? If you look at a photo of what it used to look like, and then compare it to the photo above, the difference is stark. Chica’s used to sell a smaller sandwich called the “Small Fry,” which they clearly got rid of because it is not possible to sell a sandwich smaller than what they’re currently serving. I also ordered it at the max level of heat, “hot AF,” and while it was quite spicy, it’s not at the blow-your-head-off level of heat that it used to be. Still! I need to reiterate that it’s very, very good. A step down from the best fried chicken I’ve ever had is still pretty damn good.

Smoked meat sandwich at SumiLicious

I haven’t been back to SumiLicious since it opened in 2018; it’s since been recognized by no less than the Michelin guide, and I was curious to see how it’s held up. Well, it was glorious then, and it’s just as glorious now. I mean, just look at the photo. Look at it. It’s easily the best smoked meat in the city. I actually had Schwartz’s in Montreal relatively recently, and while I think that place is still the king (the spicing there is a bit more satisfying), SumiLicious is pretty close.

Chocolate matzo toffee crunch ice cream from Honey’s

I’ve written about Honey’s before, and how shocked I was that a place that serves entirely vegan scoops of ice cream could be so thoroughly delicious. Well, it’s still mystifyingly good. Seriously, how can vegan ice cream be this creamy?? I will say that the more you eat it, the more you notice the absence of the expected dairy/creamy flavour, but aside from that, the texture and flavour is dead on. I’m pretty positive that if you went out and did a blind taste test, 99 percent of people would have no idea that what they’re serving here is vegan. As for this particular flavour, it was quite good — the matzo has a mild crunch from the toffee, and a nice restrained sweetness that works very well with the chocolate.

A Satisfying Breakfast at A Bing – Chinese Crepe

Published on October 31, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 895 Bay Street, Toronto
Website: None

I mentioned recently that jian bing — a tasty Chinese crepe — used to be nearly impossible to find in the city, and is now delightfully common. Case in point: A Bing – Chinese Crepe, which is now the third place I’ve written about specializing in the Chinese breakfast dish.

The menu features several different versions with fillings like sausage, chicken, or bacon, but as far as I’m concerned, the classic is where it’s at.

I ordered the traditional style crepe: “egg, crisp fritter, green onion, cilantro, sauce.”

It was quite tasty, though the flavour was a bit muted; slightly more of the sweet sauce would have been welcome. Plus, this dish generally features a hot sauce of some sort, and that was completely absent here. I’m assuming I could have requested this, but they didn’t mention it and I didn’t think to ask. Next time.

The taste might not have been quite as vibrant as I would have liked, but the texture was dead-on. The contrast between the crispy fritter and the slightly chewy eggy crepe was absolutely delightful.

Delicious and Unique Ramen at Afuri Ramen + Dumpling

Published on October 29, 2023October 29, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 411 Church Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.afuriramen.com/

There are many, many ramen shops in the GTA, but I can say with a good amount of certainty that what they’re serving at Afuri Ramen is delightfully unique.

Their specialty seems to be the yuzu shio, which the menu describes as “shio tare, chicken broth, bamboo shoot, frisee, chashu, egg, nori, yuzu, thin noodles.”

It’s the yuzu (a clementine-esque fruit from Asia) that sets this apart; the light, chicken-infused broth has a distinctive citrus-zest brightness that really makes it sing (there’s also a tasty browned garlic flavour that rounds things out). It’s leagues apart from the typically heavy tonkotsu ramen that’s so common in Toronto, but no less delicious.

The toppings are (mostly) quite tasty, with the perfectly cooked egg having a delightfully savoury kick, and with the light bitterness of the frisee contrasting nicely with the slightly sweet broth. That’s not to mention the thin, chewy noodles, which complement the bowl perfectly.

The chasu is the one weak point; it’s fine, but it’s a bit tough, and nothing about the flavour particularly stands out. Still, everything else is so good that this barely even matters.

Decent Ice Cream Sandwiches at Ernie’s Icebox

Published on October 27, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 403 Jane Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.erniesicebox.com/

Fact: there is no such thing as a bad ice cream sandwich. Cookies + ice cream = delicious. That’s just science.

Which is to say that Ernie’s Icebox specializes in ice cream sandwiches, and they are, of course, good.

Unlike a place like Bang Bang that makes everything to order, the sandwiches are pre-made and kept frozen. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but holy moly do they ever freeze the hell out of these things. When they serve it to you, it’s the most frozen thing you’ve ever seen. It’s an impenetrable brick; basically impossible to eat.

I let it stand for about 15 minutes, and it was still rock hard. So I waited yet another 15 minutes, which was probably five to ten minutes too long; it was a bit drippy.

I ordered the peanut butter and jam, which features raspberry (I think?) jam-infused ice cream with chewy peanut butter cookies.

And again, it was good — scientifically, it was an inevitability — but I can’t say anything about it jumped out at me. The ice cream was a bit thin, and nothing about the PB and J combo particularly popped. It was tasty, but both the peanut butter and jam flavours were a bit too muted.