cheese – Page 8 – Michael Eats

Stellar Pizza at One Night Only

Published on October 27, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 581 Pape Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://ono.pizza/

I’ve been hearing basically nothing but great things about One Night Only since it opened — it started out as a home-based pandemic-era lark, but quickly became popular enough to justify their own storefront.

They’re way out on the east end and have somewhat unusual hours (they’re closed on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays), so it took me a while to check the place out, but man I’m glad that I did. The pizza here is phenomenal.

I tried the pepperoni, bacon and jalapeno; I typically like a more sparsely-topped pie, particularly when I’m first trying a place, but that was all they had left when I showed up at around 1:30 on a Saturday.

It’s an amazing slice of pizza. The crust has a great balance between exterior crispiness and interior chewiness/fluffiness, with just the right amount of heft and flavour.

The slice is generously topped but still nicely balanced, with a good ratio between the sauce, cheese, and toppings. And while it’s not the pizza I would have picked if I had the choice, it features great quality pepperoni and bacon, and the pops of heat from the jalapeno slices works well.

The buzz about this place meant my expectations were quite high, but this still managed to exceed them. It’s easily on par with top-tier places like Badiali, North of Brooklyn, and Superpoint. It’s so good.

Solid Roman-style Pizza at A Pizza

Published on October 13, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 252 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: None

First off: yes, this place is called “A Pizza,” and yeah, I’m as baffled by the name as you are. I’m not an expert in business, but I think making the name of your restaurant so generic that it’s nearly impossible to find online may not be a great idea? As I noted above, there’s no website — or maybe there is, and I just can’t find it?

The restaurant is also inside a convenience store, which just adds to the oddness factor here.

They have a variety of slices of Roman-style pizza that you can grab and go, along with a few sandwiches and a Nutella-filled doughnut.

I got a slice of the margherita, and it was pretty decent. I don’t exactly foresee Badiali-esque lines around the block anytime soon, but it’s a respectable slice of pizza.

There’s a nice balance of sauce and cheese, and the thick crust is crispy on its exterior and fluffy within. It’s maybe a bit too fluffy, and is a bit lacking in both taste and substance, but it gets the job done.

Ruffles Crunch Teen Burger at A&W

Published on October 1, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1130 Dundas Street East, Mississauga
Website: https://web.aw.ca/

The Ruffles Crunch Teen Burger at A&W is a standard A&W bacon cheeseburger with a bunch of chips in it. The end.

Oh, I guess I should write more? I’ll write a bit more. But that pretty much covers it.

The burger, as per A&W’s website: “A perfectly seasoned grass-fed beef patty topped with Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream chips, lettuce, onions, tomato, bacon, cheddar cheese and a creamy garlic and jalapeño aioli, served on a freshly toasted sesame seed bun.”

It’s not bad. The fat stack of Ruffles adds a decent amount of crunch and some nice zippiness from the seasoning. They make for a decent burger topping, but I think it’s unlikely anyone will walk away from thing thinking that chips should be on all burgers. There’s a reason chips aren’t on all burgers. They’re a bit overwhelming as a topping.

I’ll admit that I didn’t even realize the sauce was supposed to be a creamy garlic and jalapeño aioli until I started writing this review. There wasn’t really enough there for any of the flavours to stand out; it tasted like plain mayo to me.

The rest of the burger is what it is. The patty was a bit dry, but it’s tasty enough. It’s fine. The whole thing is fine. It’s a fast food burger with chips in it. It’s not one of those things where you’re like “wow, this is so much better than I was imagining!” It’s exactly what you’re imagining.

Tasty Breakfast Sandwiches at La Boulangerie

Published on September 30, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1134 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://laboulangeriedundas.com/

The breakfast sandwich at La Boulangerie was recommended by no less than Susur Lee, so I figured it was probably worth checking out.

And clearly, La Boulangerie is a popular place, because it was absolutely swarming with people when I visited on a recent Sunday afternoon.

They have a handful of tasty-looking sandwiches on the menu, but on this particular visit, I was a man on a mission.

The breakfast sandwich, as per their menu: “egg, ham, bacon, white cheddar.”

It’s a well-executed breakfast sandwich, that’s for sure. The eggs are perfectly cooked, and the quality of the ham and the bacon are top-notch.

I don’t know if it’s worth going out of your way for, though. It’s very good, but it’s such a basic, unornamented sandwich that it’s hard to get too excited about it.

This is probably not something I should admit publicly, but it also doesn’t pass my personal “is this substantially better than a McMuffin?” test. I clearly have garbage taste, because I think a McMuffin from McDonald’s is better than like 90 percent of the fancy breakfast sandwiches in the city, including this one.

A Tasty Cuban Sandwich at Havana Sanguich

Published on September 16, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 252 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.havanasanguich.com/

Havana Sanguich is a new sandwich shop downtown that serves what they call “Cuban-style sandwiches and Colombian street food.” It’s mostly a take-out joint, though they do have a few tables outside.

They actually have a pretty extensive sandwich menu, with something like a dozen choices. But of course, if you’re at a Cuban sandwich shop, you’ve gotta get the Cubano.

The Cubano, as per their menu: “black forest ham, lechon, Swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard on Cuban bread.”

I think this place might serve the best Cuban sandwich I’ve ever had? It’s right up there, that’s for sure.

It’s the type of sandwich that could easily be too rich (it’s crammed with a two types of pork and melty cheese), but the balance of flavours is spot-on, with just the right amount of acidity from the mustard and pickles.

The combo of the salty ham and the sizable chunks of tender, flavourful pork shoulder is seriously satisfying, with the gooey Swiss bringing it all together. And the fresh, lightly crispy Cuban bread is the perfect vehicle; it’s nice and fluffy, with just enough substance to hold up to the meaty sandwich.

The sandwich is about 17 bucks, which seems pricey, but it’s easily hefty enough to be shared.

I tried the Cuban smoked brisket sandwich as well (“Cuban break, smoked brisket, roasted mojo pork, Swiss cheese, pickles, fried onions”). It’s hard to top that Cubano, but this was almost as good, with a whole bunch of tender beef and some nice zippiness from the onions. It’s a really satisfying sandwich.

I also tried a couple of the empanadas: beef, and cheese. Both were quite tasty, and both featured a delightfully crispy exterior that set them apart from other empanadas that I’ve had.