BBQ – Michael Eats

Amazing BBQ at Smoking Section Barbecue

Published on August 29, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 30 Queen Elizabeth Boulevard, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.instagram.com/smoking.section.bbq/

Smoking Section Barbecue is currently a pop-up at Great Lakes Brewery in Etobicoke, and wow — I was kinda blown away by how good it was.

I’ve mentioned before that finding legit BBQ in the GTA (that actually tastes smoky) is weirdly difficult. But not impossible, apparently, because here comes Smoking Section to show everyone how it’s done.

The pared-down menu currently features five meats (brisket, ribs, pulled pork, chicken, and sausage), two sides (smokey potato salad and maple vanilla slaw), and a dessert (sticky toffee cake). I went with brisket and sausage, with a side of the potato salad.

Good lord, that brisket — it’s exactly what you want it to be. It’s amazingly tender (but still has texture), features perfectly rendered and unctuous fat, and is nicely seasoned, with a great amount of satisfying smoky flavour.

I’ve never tried the real deal in Texas, but I have to imagine this is pretty close.

The sausage (jalapeno cheddar, I think?) is just as tasty, with more smoky flavour, a satisfying course grind on the meat, and a very pleasant level of greasiness (it’s extremely greasy, but in the best way).

I quite liked the potato salad, too; potato salad has a tendency to just be blandly rich, but this had a nice mustardy pop, yet more smoky flavour, and some contrasting crunch from the celery. It was really tasty.

Even the bread was pretty great. I know plain, untoasted white bread is traditional for a BBQ platter like this, but the toasted, profoundly buttery sourdough here is a clear upgrade.

Solid BBQ at Golden Horseshoe Barbecue

Published on November 10, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 657 Dupont Street, Toronto
Website: https://goldenhorseshoebbq.com/

Golden Horseshoe BBQ started life as a pop-up, and opened their permanent location a couple of months ago to immediate hype.

I sort of figured things would have died down by now, but when I showed up just before the place opened at 11:30 on a Saturday, there was already a line waiting to get in. It took about half an hour before I was sitting in front of my food, and the line was even longer by the time I left. So yeah: popular place. Be prepared to wait a bit.

Like most barbecue joints in the GTA over the last few years, they specialize in Texas-style BBQ, and more specifically: brisket.

In fact, when I sidled over to the guy carving the meats so I could order, his first question was “how much brisket do you want?” They just assume you’re ordering brisket, because of course you are. You can try some of the other meats if you want, but the brisket is clearly the specialty.

I got brisket and a sausage link, along with a side of charro beans and coleslaw.

The brisket is nicely seasoned and unctuously tender — I quite enjoyed it. But like pretty much every Toronto-area BBQ joint, the smoky flavour is just barely there (you really have to close your eyes and use your imagination to detect it).

I don’t get it. What’s everyone in this city doing wrong? Is it the local wood? Not enough time on the smoker? The place smelled pleasantly smoky and the brisket had a visible smoke ring, so I’m a bit flummoxed.

Either way, it was very tender and very tasty, but smoky flavour is a big part of the appeal of this type of BBQ, so it’s a shame.

The sausage, oddly enough, was the highlight. It was packed with flavour, pleasantly greasy, and had some nice pops of flavour and creaminess from the cheese interspersed throughout. Again, not particularly smoky, but hugely delicious.

As for the sides, the vinegary coleslaw was crunchy and zippy, and does a great job of cutting through the richness of the meats. And the charro beans (which are basically like a more savoury, less sweet version of baked beans) featured creamy beans and a nice depth of flavour.

Wacky Eats at The Ex

Published on September 1, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 210 Princes’ Boulevard, Toronto
Website: https://theex.com/

Another year, another batch of over-the-top carnival food from The Ex.

Butter Chicken Birria Tacos from Rick’s Good Eats

Rick’s Good Eats — which specializes in tasty Indian fusion — is always a safe bet, and yeah, these tacos were very good. They came looking a bit flat and sad (and small, considering they cost about twenty bucks with tax and tip), but they’re actually quite delicious, with some tasty butter chicken inside and a whole bunch of gooey cheese. Not cheap, but hey, it’s The Ex. Everything’s a bit overpriced.

Poutine Dumps from Super Noodle Company

Unfortunate name aside (I shouldn’t have to say this, but please don’t shorten dumplings to “dumps”), this was also quite good. The menu describes this as “homemade chicken dumplings, torched American cheese, coconut curry gravy, crispy shallots, garlic, fresh green onions & chili oil.” It’s not even remotely poutine-like (I never in a million years would have made that connection if you hadn’t told me), but whatever it is, it’s tasty. The combo of cheese and dumpling is vaguely pierogi-esque and quite satisfying, and everything else in the bowl is tasty.

Korean Fried Chicken Sandwich from Korean Fried Chicken

The chicken in the sandwich was pretty skimpy (it maybe filled half of the bun), but the chicken that was there was crispy, juicy, and covered in the usual Korean fried chicken sauce, which is always satisfying. The fries were a bit undercooked, however.

Rib Sandwich from Hogtown Ribs

Well, something had to be a dud, I suppose. I don’t know why I thought (or hoped, at least) that this would have actual rib meat rather than ground-up McRib-style patties, but yeah, of course it was the latter. And okay, fine, I can roll with a McRib — but the meat here had clearly been sitting in a warming tray for hours, with a chewy texture and that gamy flavour you get from pork that’s been reheated one time too many.

Chicken Nugget Cookie from Craig’s Cookies

Here’s a head-scratcher: the rib sandwich that seemed like a sure bet was a dud, and the chicken-nugget-stuffed cookie that should have been gross was… actually kind of good? This seems like it should be horrible, but it’s tasty for the same reasons that chicken and waffles are tasty — it has a very similar flavour, but in a convenient hand-held package. And the salty chicken nugget helps to balance out the sweetness of the cookie itself (which is always a bit more pronounced than I’d like at Craig’s Cookies). I was shocked by how much I liked this.

An Amazing Breakfast Sandwich at Hot Pork

Published on May 11, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 932 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/hotpork.to/

I think the Smoked Beef Brisket sandwich at Hot Pork might be the best breakfast sandwich I’ve ever had? If it’s not the best, it’s right up there, that’s for sure.

It’s the beef brisket. Good lord, that brisket. You’re basically cheating when you make a sandwich with brisket that good. You could put that brisket in/on anything, and it will suddenly be one of the best versions of that thing that you’ve ever had.

It’s just perfectly prepared, with a great level of smokiness that puts literally every BBQ joint in the GTA to shame, and an unctuous tenderness that’s seriously satisfying.

It’s otherwise a very simple sandwich, with just mayo, BBQ sauce (which is glazed right onto the brisket, which is griddled to caramelize the sauce), and an egg on a toasted English muffin.

The toastiness of the English muffin adds some nice texture to the tender brisket and the creamy egg, and the egg is perfectly cooked (normally I’d prefer a runny yolk, but on a sandwich like this I think the more solid texture works).

And the egg/brisket combo works so well (but again, that brisket would be delicious with basically anything).

It’s a phenomenal sandwich.

The McRib is Finally Back

Published on December 11, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2439 Steeles Avenue East, Brampton
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/

The McRib! It’s back! Sort of — for some bizarre reason, McDonald’s has chosen to only bring it back to five random locations in the GTA, mostly in Brampton. But you know what? This is the first time in like a decade that the McRib has come back to Canada, so I’m certainly not complaining.

I seem to recall that the last time the McRib came back, it wasn’t as good as I remembered. But my McRib nostalgia is strong, so of course I had to try it again.

It’s good! I was wrong, it’s good. It helps that I got a freshly-prepared one — it was quite dry last time, and that definitely wasn’t the case here. It also helps that I ordered it without onions, and with extra pickles instead, and yeah, that’s the way to go. Raw onions are for jerks.

It comes absolutely slathered in a slightly smoky, sweet-but-not-too-sweet BBQ sauce, which is a pretty big part of its appeal.

Maybe I just got lucky and got a very well-prepared one, but I think is probably one of the better things on the McDonald’s menu. Hopefully it’s not another decade before they bring it back again.