cheese – Michael Eats

Stellar Diner Food at Susie’s Rise & Dine

Published on April 22, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 539 College Street, Toronto
Website: https://susiestoronto.com/

The crowds at Susie’s Rise and Dine are no joke — the first time I tried to visit, I told them I didn’t have a reservation and was told the wait would be something like two hours. Clearly, reservations are advised.

It’s in the style of an old-school diner, with the menu mostly consisting of brunch and diner standbys (with the occasional item having a bit of an Asian twist).

I tried a couple of things. First up: the tuna melt (“Japanese tartar sauce, malt vinegar pickled celery, sour cream & onion kettle chips, American cheese, served on griddled rye bread”). I wasn’t planning on ordering this, but the waitress said it was her favourite, so sure, why not?

The waitress was 100% right. Good god, that tuna melt. It’s almost certainly the best I’ve ever had. I know that it looks pretty standard (I mean, there’s not much you can do to gussy up a tuna melt), but trust me, it was obscenely good.

The contrast between the perfectly crispy bread and the creamy tuna (not to mention the extra crunch and flavour from the chips) is perfect, and the whole thing has an addictively zippy flavour that just works. It’s so satisfying.

Next up: The Big Trouble Breakfast Sandwich (“soft scramble, char siu glazed sausage, crispy hash brown patty, cheese, scallion milk bun”).

This was good, but after that mind-blowing tuna melt, there was really nowhere to go but down — and yeah, that’s where this went. All the components are quite nice and it’s an above average breakfast sandwich, but none of the flavours really pop and it feels like it’s missing something.

Some pickles or a sauce with some zip to it would really perk things up (though the sausage was quite light on the char siu glaze; it’s possible that more of that might have added the flavour that the sandwich was missing). Still, I didn’t dislike eating it, that’s for sure, but it couldn’t help but be a bit of a letdown after the tuna melt.

A Great Breakfast Sandwich at Kitten and the Bear

Published on April 20, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1414 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.kittenandthebear.com/

You wouldn’t think that Kitten and the Bear — an unassuming little bakery that specializes in scones — would serve one of the best breakfast sandwiches in the city, but hey, what do you know? They do.

They’re actually one block over from the breakfast sandwich amazingness of Dad’s Breakfast & Coffee, and they serve a breakfast sandwich that’s pretty much just as good (but with substantially less hype).

There’s just the one breakfast sandwich on the menu, the Egg & Cheese on a Scone: “Fluffy egg and aged cheddar on a fresh herb scone. Add peach & red pepper savoury jam or hot honey!” I went with the jam, which they make in-house.

Everything here just works: the sharp, gooey cheddar; the silky egg; the nice contrasting sweet and savoury punch of the jam; and especially, the amazing scone.

I mean, the place specializes in the stuff, so I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that the scone is stellar, but it really is. It’s delightfully buttery, with a nice crispy exterior, and an interior that really nails the fluffiness and substance that you want from a scone.

The quality of the egg, cheese, and jam is high enough that this would be a great sandwich even on lesser bread, but that scone really takes it over the top.

A Tasty Slice at Big Trouble Pizza

Published on April 14, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 191 Geary Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://bigtroublepizza.com/

I tried the very odd Butter Jam Jam pizza at Big Trouble years ago, when they were still on Spadina, and liked it quite a bit. They’ve since moved to Geary (which has become a bit of a food hotspot), and now serve burgers as well as pizza.

I stuck with the pizza, and tried a slice of the King Fungi: “Cremini Mushrooms, Beech Mushrooms, Mozzarella, Sauteed Onions, Chives, Truffle Oil and Tangy Chilli Jelly.”

I mostly got this after being intrigued by the sight of several bright red cubes of chilli jelly on the pizza, and yeah, that stuff works. It’s a very savoury pizza, with a nice umami punch from the two types of mushrooms, and the sweet and spicy jelly does a fantastic job of balancing that out.

I was a bit worried about the presence of truffle oil, which I don’t particularly care for, but it wasn’t applied too heavily, and was only mildly offensive (rather than ruining the pizza outright, which it would have if they had used too much of it).

And the crust was great — it’s thicker and breadier than the New York style you might be expecting, with an almost focaccia-like heft and nice external crispiness that holds up nicely to the heavily-topped pizza.

A Great Breakfast Sandwich at Alma + Gil

Published on March 28, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 392 Dufferin Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.almaygil.com/

Alma + Gil started as a pop-up specializing in breakfast sandwiches, and have recently expanded to a new location with a full menu. There’s some tasty-looking stuff on the menu, but of course, I had to get one of those sandwiches.

I went with the pork belly sando: “overeasy free run egg, roasted pork belly, cheese chicharron, caramelized onion sauce, brioche.”

It’s a great sandwich, with the combo of the perfectly runny egg, tender pork belly, and crispy cheese being thoroughly delicious.

The “cheese chicharron” is just a piece of cheese that’s been browned and crisped up on the griddle, and yeah, of course it’s a great addition to this (or any) sandwich.

The soft, ultra-fluffy brioche bun adds some mild sweetness, and is a great vehicle for the other ingredients here.

There are a couple of things holding this back from breakfast sandwich perfection (I wish they had gotten at least a little bit of colour on the pork belly, and the ultra-rich sandwich is crying out for some hot sauce or anything acidic to cut through its decadence somewhat), but it’s still a top-tier sandwich.

Delicious Slices at Sadboy Pizza

Published on March 23, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 51 Main Street South, Georgetown
Website: https://sadboy.ca/

I can’t say I’m in Georgetown often (or ever), but I had heard nothing about good things about Sadboy Pizza and was in the general vicinity, so sure, why not?

All those good things: 100% correct. Sadboy Pizza serves some top notch slices.

They have a variety of interesting-looking pizzas, but I’m all about the plain cheese, particularly when I’m first trying a place, so I went with the mozz OG (“fresh and aged mozzarella blend”).

It’s a great slice of pizza. In particular, the crust is just where you want it to be, with a perfect amount of exterior crispiness, a tender chewiness within, and a really satisfying flavour.

The combo of fresh and aged mozzarella adds a pop of flavour that you normally don’t get in this type of pizza, and there’s a good ratio of cheese to tasty sauce.

It’s not one of the bigger slices I’ve ever had, but it was also only five bucks even. Which means that it was small enough and cheap enough that I was able to justify buying a second slice. I went with the breakfast4dinner (“garlic cream sauce, crispy diced hashbrowns, bacon, chicken breakfast sausage (halal), sesame seed crust, frank’s maple syrup drizzle”), and yeah, it was just as good.

I don’t know that I would have guessed the breakfast angle if you hadn’t told me — it tastes like a pretty standard meaty pizza, though the syrup does add a nice sweetness that helps to balance out the saltiness from the sausage and bacon. Still, whatever it is, it’s quite delicious.

My only real complaint here is that both slices could have used another minute or two in the oven (they were both a bit lukewarm around the middle), but other than that? Sadboy totally holds up to any of the top-tier pizza joints in the GTA. It’s that good.