Canada – Page 92 – Michael Eats

Tasty Turkish Flatbread at Best Istanbul Restaurant

Published on January 15, 2020 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 235 Augusta Avenue, Toronto
Website: http://bestistanbul.ca/

I recently had a pide at Byblos Uptown that was good but not great; now here comes Best Istanbul Restaurant to show them how it’s really done.

I tried a couple of pides, and they were both seriously delicious. There was the Sucuk Pide (“Turkish flatbread with mozzarella, sucuk meat and eggs”) and the Veggie Pide (“mozzarella, spinach and feta cheese”).

Both were quite good, though the sucuk was my favourite of the two. If you’re unfamiliar with sucuk (which is sometimes spelled sujuk), it’s a really tasty, intensely-spiced sausage that’s kind of like a turbo-charged version of pepperoni. It’s so good.

It works perfectly on the pide, with its assertive flavour matching perfectly with the mild, gooey cheese. The crust is great too, with a nice exterior crispiness and a satisfyingly chewy/fluffy interior. I didn’t notice the egg, however; either they forgot about it (the picture on the menu shows a full egg yolk on the pide), or they mixed it right in with the cheese (though it didn’t taste like they did).

The Veggie was quite tasty as well, though the crust was slightly thinner and crispier, which wasn’t quite as satisfying as the other one. It was also a bit underseasoned, though a spritz from the accompanying lemon wedge easily took care of that problem.

Amazing Sticky Buns at Ambrosia Corner Bakery

Published on January 14, 2020 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 324 Frederick Street, Kitchener
Website: https://ambrosiacornerbakery.com/

Though I was really hoping to try the kouign-amann at Ambrosia Corner Bakery, it turns out I visited on the wrong day — they’re only served from Thursday to Saturday. My disappointment was short-lived, however. As soon as I saw their Pecan Cinnamon Sticky Buns, I knew that I needed to put one in my belly ASAP.

Step aside, kouign-amann; that sticky bun has an urgent appointment with my face.

Yes. It’s as good as it looks. It’s sticky, sweet, and incredible. It looks like it might be too sweet, but it’s actually remarkably well balanced. The caramel on top has a very rich, deep flavour, and the buttery, amazing pastry is substantial enough to hold up to the generous amount of sauce. That’s not to mention the underlying cinnamon flavour, which is delightful.

But then do I even need to be writing this? You have eyeballs. Again: it’s as good as it looks.

Maple & Cheddar Chicken at McDonald’s

Published on January 13, 2020 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 796 Burnhamthorpe Road West, Mississauga
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

The Maple & Cheddar Chicken was a pleasant surprise. “Maple” being so prominent in the name of the sandwich, I sort of figured it would be way too sweet. And yeah, it was sweet. But the sweetness feels relatively well tuned.

The Maple & Cheddar Chicken comes topped with maple mustard sauce, “mayo-style sauce,” cheddar cheese, crispy onions, tomato, and lettuce.

It pretty tasty, though the maple mustard sauce is basically all maple with a tiny bit of mustard. It’s a glaze. It’s incredibly mapley, and hardly mustardy at all.

But the salty chicken, cheddar, and crispy onions all do a pretty decent job of balancing out the sweetness. It works.

Also: put crispy onions on everything, please. They’re delicious and enhance basically everything they’re on. Well, maybe not on dessert, but hey –who knows? Crispy onions on a sundae? Might work. I can’t rule it out.

Asian Fusion Sandwiches at Just Braise

Published on January 8, 2020 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 515 Dundas Street West, Oakville
Website: https://www.justbraise.ca/

The Pho Beef Banh Mi at Just Braise in Oakville is pretty much exactly what you want it to be; it is the Brundlefly version of a bowl of pho and a banh mi, and it’s delicious.

Here’s how the menu describes it: “braised beef, pho sauce, pickled veg, cucumber, garlic mayo, hoisin+sriracha, cilantro.”

The combo of the beef and the pho sauce does a great job of capturing the flavour of that particular soup. The only issue: the beef was actually pretty dry, which holds the sandwich back from greatness.

Everything else was quite tasty — the pickled veggies and the crunchy cucumber add a nice bright counterpoint to the savoury beef, and the garlic mayo / hoisin / sriracha combo compliments the beef very well.

It helps that the bread is perfect; it’s lightly crispy on the outside, with a great fluffy interior. It’s a tasty sandwich.

Unique Brunch at Byblos Uptown

Published on January 7, 2020 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2537 Yonge Street, Toronto
Website: https://byblosuptown.com/

Brunch is great, no doubt about it. Eggs Benedict, pancakes, French toast — all tasty stuff. But sometimes you want something a bit different, and if that’s the case, the Middle-Eastern-influenced brunch menu at Byblos fits the bill quite nicely.

We started with the Turkish Manti Dumplings (“eggplant + yogurt sauce + date molasses”), which was easily the weakest dish of the three I tried. The yogurt/molasses sauce was one-note sweet and tangy, and the dumplings were basically pure mush. There was almost no distinction in texture between the wrapper and the creamy filling.

Up next was the Eggplant Kibbeh: “zucchini flower + baharat + chickpea batter.” This was interesting. Kibbeh is a Middle Eastern dish made from spiced ground beef; it’s essentially a fried meatball stuffed with more meat.

The vegetarian version they serve here has only the most vague kibbeh-like properties, but it’s tasty for what it is; it’s nicely spiced, and the creamy filling contrasts well with the crispy fried exterior.

My main meal was the Bastirma Khachapuri: “manouri cheese + egg + guindilla + urfa chili.” This was basically a Turkish pide filled with cheese, eggs, and bastirma, a cured meat that’s generally thought to be the precursor to pastrami.

It was pretty tasty — it was freshly baked, with a nice crispy exterior and a chewy interior. It’s not the best pide you’ll ever eat, but of course, the combo of cheese, eggs, and salty cured meat is a winner. That’s always going to be a winner. It’s hard to go wrong there.