beef – Michael Eats

McExtreme Pulled Pork at McDonald’s (World Menu Heist)

Published on August 18, 2026August 19, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 30 Courtneypark Drive East, Mississauga
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

The World Menu Heist! It’s back!! Is it sad that this is probably one of the highlights of my summer? Please don’t answer that.

As I was leaving the office at lunch today to head to McDonald’s, in my head I was like, we should all be chanting “Menu heist! Menu heist! Menu heist!” I believe this is a totally rational thought that doesn’t raise any troubling implications about my mental state.

For all the normal people out there who don’t get unreasonably excited about novelty menus at McDonald’s, the World Menu Heist is a promotion featuring various items pulled from McDonald’s locations around the world. This year, that includes France, Spain, Australia, Japan, and the Netherlands.

Obviously I’ll be trying everything (what do you think, I won’t be trying every item on this menu? Get out of here) but I started with the McExtreme Pulled Pork from Spain.

Here’s how McDonald’s describes it: “Pulled from Spain, now in Canada. Layers of pulled pork in BBQ sauce, beef, hickory-smoked bacon, white processed cheese, crispy onions for some crunch and creamy chipotle sauce for heat make for one delicious sandwich. One bite leads to another… and somehow it’s all gone.”

I’ve had some weird international McDonald’s menu items over the years, but somehow, pulled pork on a burger at McDonald’s strikes me as particularly weird.

It’s a tasty burger, though sadly, the pulled pork element is negligible. There’s a teeny-tiny amount of pulled pork on the burger, and it’s spread very thin over the large patty. You can taste the BBQ sauce, but I suspect if I had eaten this blind, I wouldn’t have even known the burger had pulled pork on it. There’s just too much other stuff going on.

I did try a little bit on its own, and it’s exactly what you think it’ll be. It’s pretty mushy and soaked in enough BBQ sauce to completely wipe out any pork flavour — but that sauce is tasty, and it’s pleasant enough as a burger topping.

Otherwise, this is probably one of the better burgers McDonald’s has come out with in a while. The creamy chipotle sauce is pleasingly zesty and very mildly spicy, and the BBQ sauce adds a nice sweet/savoury kick. The cheese, bacon, and crispy onions complement it well. It’s a solid fast food burger.

Quick Bites: Bear Steak Sandwiches, Pizza Cantina, Pizza Karachi

Published on July 26, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Original Steak Sandwich from Bear Steak Sandwiches

I’m a big fan of Bear Steak Sandwiches, though I’ll admit that a recent experience there was a bit unfortunate. I ordered the special, which was a steak on rye sandwich, and… it was basically inedible. The rye bread it was served on was so stale and dry that it crumbled into bits the second I picked it up. I took a couple of bites, and then brought it back for a refund, which is something I basically never do. Not great! On the plus side, they seemed to know it was an issue and immediately offered to replace it with an original steak sandwich, which they assured I’d like much better. And they were correct — I’ve previously raved about this sandwich, and yeah, it’s still stellar. A bit too greasy, but otherwise the combo of the ultra-tender steak and zippy chimichurri (and non-stale bread!) is a big winner.

Diavola Stinger from Pizza Cantina

Pizza Cantina, a pizza joint in the Junction, seems to be pretty well regarded, so I was excited to try it. I went with the Diavola Stinger (“San Marzano tomato sauce, hot soppressata, mozzarella & hot honey drizzle”), and it was tasty enough. Certainly, I didn’t dislike eating it. The crust was odd, however. I don’t know if it was supposed to be like that or if something went wrong, but it was extremely stiff and cracker-like, with the ends being full-out crunchy with no softness or chew. It was a bit too much for me, but if you like a crunchy pizza, it was otherwise pretty solid. My only other complaint is that I found the hot honey to be a bit too aggressively applied — but then I find honey on a pizza to work best in small doses. Others may disagree.

Pizza from Pizza Karachi

As you’d gather from the name, Pizza Karachi serves pizza with a Pakistani flair. I tried a couple of pizzas (the Mirchi Sauga and… another one whose name is currently escaping me), and both were solid. They were pan pizzas (somewhat Pizza Hut-esque), and while the vaguely gummy crust was nothing to write home about, the vibrant Pakastani flavours actually worked pretty well.

A Tasty Breakfast at Ying Ji Chang Fen

Published on July 7, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 4040 Creditview Road, Mississauga
Website: https://yinjicanada.com/

Ying Ji Chang Fen does well. I showed up at around 10:00 on a Saturday morning and it was already starting to fill up; by the time I left, it was basically packed. That’s not to mention the constant stream of take-out orders. Clearly, people know a good thing when they find it.

Their menu consists mostly of various congee dishes and rice noodle rolls, and I tried one of each.

First up: Marinated Beef & Shrimp with Chives Rice Noodle Roll. No, it’s not the most photogenic dish you’ll ever see (neither were), but it was thoroughly tasty, with a generous amount of perfectly cooked shrimp and tender beef, a perfectly chewy rice noodle wrapper, and a delicious sweetened soy sauce on top.

Bonus: the extremely tasty chili oil on the table, which enhances everything you put it on.

I also tried the Preserved Egg and Minced beef congee, and yeah, that was just as good. The congee itself was hearty and satisfying, and all the toppings — from the crunch of the peanuts to the chewiness of the preserved egg — worked really well together.

I got a side order of the dough stick, and that was quite good too — slightly oily, but nice and fresh, and a really great complement to the congee.

Quick Bites: Mogouyan Hand Pulled Noodle, Loga’s Corner, Cafe KenKaKu

Published on June 1, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Mogouyan classic beef noodles from Mogouyan Hand Pulled Noodle

Mogouyan Hand Pulled Noodle is a rapidly expanding chain that specializes in, as you might expect, hand-pulled noodles. Shocker, I know! I kept it simple with their namesake dish, which features a generous amount of noodles and sliced beef in a very basic chicken broth, with a decent amount of chili oil for additional flavour and spice. The noodles, sadly, were overcooked and a bit mushy, which is a shame since the chewy noodles are really the whole reason to eat this dish. Otherwise, this was totally fine — nothing about it jumped out at me, but it’s all solidly executed (aside from the aforementioned overcooked noodles) and tasty enough.

Momos from Loga’s Corner

I wanted to visit Loga’s Corner mostly because I had heard good things about their hot sauce. I actually got two, so I’m not sure which one is the one that people love (or maybe it’s both?), but both were nicely flavourful and had a nice kick. As for the momos themselves, I tried three: steamed lamb, steamed veg, and fried potato. The potato was probably the best of the three, with a satisfyingly crispy exterior and nicely creamy potato interior. The lamb was mostly quite good, but had more gristly bits than I would have liked (they were in pretty much every momo). All three definitely needed both of those sauces, particularly the veg, and had a much more muted flavour than you’d expect.

Tori Katsu Omurice from Cafe KenKaKu

Cafe KenKaKu is a delightful little Japanese place that serves a variety of sandwiches, udon, and omurice. I went with the omurice that comes with a side of katsu. I quite enjoyed it — in particular, the omelette was creamy and perfectly cooked, and the katsu was nice and crisp on its exterior and tender within. The omelette and the rice were both a bit underseasoned and bland, which was a shame (even pouring the curry sauce on top didn’t quite add as much flavour was you’d like), but it was all so well prepared that this is a minor complaint.

Delicious Sandwiches at DAM Sandwiches

Published on May 31, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 363A Oakwood Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/dam_sandwiches/

I tried DAM Sandwiches at last year’s Do West Fest and quite enjoyed it, so this visit was long overdue.

They have four sandwiches on the menu along with a rotating special; I believe the brisket (“36 hour slow cooked brisket, sautéed onions & peppers, raw onions, banana peppers, chimichurri mayo, hickory stix”) is the most popular, so that’s what I went with.

It’s seriously good. The beefy, tender brisket is extremely tasty, the veggies complement it well, the hickory stix add some nice crunch, and the zingy chimichurri mayo does a great job of cutting through the richness of the beef.

As good as all that stuff is (and it’s very, very good), the bread might be the star of the show? It features a perfect balance between its delicately crispy exterior and fluffy interior, and kinda reminded me of a really good banh mi.

Clearly, another visit to this place is in order, because they really know their way around a sandwich.