Tag: calzone

Shawarma/Calzone Fusion at Keko Shawarma

Published on by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Keko Shawarma
Location: 3128 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://kekoshawarmaon.com/

As soon as I found out that Keko Shawarma sells a shawarma calzone, I was sold.  I had zero follow-up questions.  Shawarma calzone?  Yes please.

It’s actually pretty basic.  It’s filled with beef or chicken shawarma, a whole bunch of gooey cheese, and… that’s it.  It comes with a salad on the side, along with a couple of little cups of hot sauce and garlic sauce.

Keko Shawarma

I went with the chicken shawarma, which is definitely above average.  It’s a tiny bit on the dry side, but it’s got a bunch of the crispy bits you’re looking for and is nicely spiced.  It’s quite tasty.

Keko Shawarma

The calzone was made to order and was hot and fresh, with a generous amount of chicken shawarma and melty cheese, and a thin crust that was mostly just a vehicle for the chicken and cheese.

The hot sauce could have been hotter (it was barely spicy at all), but the creamy garlic sauce was seriously tasty and quite addictive.

Keko Shawarma

I’m glad I tried it, but I think I’d get the normal shawarma wrap if I found myself back here.  Shawarma + calzone is a fun combo, but I think there’s a reason it’s not really a thing.  The calzone wasn’t really better than the bread you’d normally get in a shawarma wrap, and the abundant cheese — while tasty — makes this taste more like a novelty than something you’d want to eat on the regular.

McPizza Bites at McDonald’s (The International Menu Heist)

Published on by Michael NusairLeave a comment

McPizza Bites at McDonald's
Location: Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Montreal
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

McDonald’s is currently running a promotion called “The International Menu Heist,” and I feel like it was pretty much made for me personally?  Aside from the fact that I get oddly excited whenever McDonald’s does stuff like this, I also make it a point to visit a McDonald’s and try at least one or two of the unusual local items when I’m travelling.

(For those who are unaware, McDonald’s always has a few menu items in each country that are supposedly tuned to the local palate.)

McPizza Bites at McDonald's

Perhaps the oddest item in this particular promo: the McPizza Bites, an import from Italy. Here’s how McDonald’s describes these things: “The taste of Italy is here with McPizza Bites, the antipasto you’ve been waiting for.  Made with melt-in-your-mouth mozzarella cheese and rich tomato sauce, all wrapped in a delicious, toasted pizza dough – good enough to make you say bravissimo!  It’s time for a pizza party, and you’re all invited.”

I should note that if a pizza exists that’s good enough to make me say “bravissimo!” it certainly isn’t at McDonald’s.

The last time I had a pizza-pocket-esque concoction at McDonald’s, it was the horrifically bad Veg Pizza McPuff in India, so my expectations: not high!

McPizza Bites at McDonald's

This was totally fine, however.  I don’t think it’s particularly different from something you can get at the freezer section of the supermarket, but for what it is, it’s tasty enough.  It’s probably like 90 percent sauce and 10 percent cheese, but the sauce is pleasant and the cheese has some nice gooiness.

The crust has some extremely mild crunchiness, but is mostly just there as a vehicle for the sauce and cheese.  Like everything else about this, it’s perfectly acceptable.

McPizza Bites at McDonald's

The menu suggests that this and the Garlic Mayo-Style Sauce from the UK are “great together,” and yeah, the menu is not wrong.  It’s a very good dip; it’s creamy, it’s got a nice zestiness, and it’s garlicky without being overwhelming.  It completely overpowers the flavour of the McPizza Bites, but it’s tasty enough that I’m not complaining.