chicken – Page 21 – Michael Eats

Fried Chicken Perfection at Heirloom

Published on October 30, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: It’s a truck, so check Twitter or their website
Website: https://www.heirloomtoronto.com/

Either my memory is wrong or the food at the Heirloom food truck has seriously improved, because I have a vague recollection of trying their fried chicken sandwich a few years ago and not being particularly impressed.

I just had the Szechuan fried chicken sandwich, and holy guacamole, it was so good.

Heirloom’s menu describes this as “brined chicken thigh, homemade Szechuan sauce, pickled cucumber, bean sprout, organic peanut, scallion aioli, brioche bun.”

My only real complaint is that the chicken was a bit dry; though the menu claims they’re using thigh meat, I’m fairly certain it was actually breast. Either way, it was slightly overcooked and a bit less juicy than it should have been.

Other than that? Crazy good.

The exterior crisp-factor was perfect, with a profound level of crunchiness that’s never overbearing.

And let’s face it: there are very few things in life more satisfying than biting into a perfectly crispy piece of fried chicken.

The sandwich is saucy as hell (it’s impossible to eat without getting sauce all over your hands and face), but it absolutely works.

The Szechuan sauce is sweet, savoury, garlicky, and a little bit spicy (this is a minor complaint, but I wish it were a bit spicier. It’s basically a mild tingle). It’s absolutely fantastic, and the big peanut chunks give it a nice nutty crunchiness.

The richness of the aioli works great with the flavour-packed sauce, and the pickled veggies help to cut through the overall heaviness of the sandwich.

The whole thing is an absolute assault of assertive flavours and textures, but it’s so well balanced. It’s easily one of the best fried chicken sandwiches I’ve had in a while.

Passable Noodle Soup at Pho Vistro

Published on October 29, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 259 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: http://www.phovistro.com/

The pho at Pho Vistro was fine. There wasn’t anything particularly wrong with it, and I didn’t dislike eating it.

But it made no real impression on me; my biggest takeaway is that it was food and I ate it. It wasn’t memorable in any particular way.

They have a few different varieties of pho on the menu; I ordered the restaurant’s namesake dish, which features beef and chicken.

The broth had a nice, clean chicken flavour, but almost none of the distinctive spicing you expect from a good bowl of pho. They have a couple of bottles of sauce on the table that add a nice dose of spice and zestiness; these are absolutely essential. On its own, the soup is seriously bland.

The slices of chicken and beef are okay, but they all had a vaguely leftovery flavour, and they’re all a bit tough.

The broad rice noodles are what you’d expect. They’re good.

It all adds up to a very inoffensive meal that I can’t imagine anyone getting too excited over.

Italian Pesto Chicken Sandwich at McDonald’s

Published on July 4, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 5310 Dixie Road, Mississauga
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.ca

Next stop on the World Taste Tour: Italy, with the Italian Pesto Chicken Sandwich. This is a McChicken patty topped with a pesto aioli sauce, shaved parmesan, arugula, and tomato. It’s served on a “toasted focaccia bun sprinkled with rosemary.”

It’s actually not bad. It’s definitely a lot better than the Chinese Szechuan Burger, and probably about on the same level as the French Creme Brulee McFlurry.

Like with the Szechuan Burger, the biggest issue here is with the meat itself.

The chicken patty is what it is. It’s spongy, salty, ultra-processed, and has about as much resemblance to an actual piece of chicken as a Hyundai has to a Ferrari. They’re in the same general ballpark, but they’re really not the same thing.

It’s junk, but then anyone walking through the doors of a McDonald’s knows exactly what they’re going to get. Again: it is what it is. It’s fine.

And everything else was pretty good. The pesto aioli sauce has a surprisingly vibrant pesto flavour, and the shaved parmesan isn’t bad at all. Parmesan, pesto, and peppery arugula are a boffo combination, and McDonald’s doesn’t mess it up. The whole thing is aggressively salty, but other than that it tastes pretty good.

There wasn’t much rosemary flavour from the bun, but it was fresh, hearty, and a little bit chewy. It suited the sandwich nicely.

Gross Meatballs and Tasty Dessert at Ikea

Published on June 12, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1475 The Queensway, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.ikea.com/

Hot tip: Ikea serves chicken meatballs now, and you should absolutely, positively never order them. You’re welcome.

They’re actually quite similar to the standard beef meatballs, which are junk — but tasty junk. I wouldn’t want to eat them on a regular basis, but they’re not bad for what they are.

The chicken meatballs, on the other hand, are not tasty junk. The flavour is basically fine; they taste a lot like the beef meatballs, but saltier and with a vague chicken-like flavour.

But the texture is horrific. Remember those rubber Super Balls that would bounce and bounce and bounce? I’m pretty sure these meatballs have most of the same properties. They were so rubbery and horrible that I couldn’t even cut through them with a fork.

On the plus side, I also had a slice of the chocolate caramel cake, and it’s surprisingly great. It’s certainly not gourmet — it actually reminds me a lot of the brownies they used to serve in my high school’s cafeteria, but with the addition of caramel — but it’s rich and sweet and satisfying. I think the next time I find myself in Ikea, I might just skip straight to the dessert.

Classic Eats at Swiss Chalet

Published on May 31, 2018May 31, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 5980 McLaughlin Road, Mississauga
Website: https://www.swisschalet.com/

This is going to be a short one. Because I just had the quarter chicken with fries from Swiss Chalet, and come on. Do you really need me to describe this for you? I’m pretty sure that you can legally lose your Canadian citizenship if you’ve never tried Swiss Chalet’s chicken.

I know there are some people who think that Swiss Chalet has gone downhill and that it’s just not very good, and I think those people are nuts. I can’t speak to anything beyond the chicken and the fries — it’s all I ever order — but those two items are still quite tasty.

And at eleven bucks for the chicken, a heaping portion of delicious fries, and a roll, it’s a pretty great deal. Yes, white meat is a couple of bucks extra, but lets face it: dark meat is superior in every regard. That’s not even an opinion. That’s fact. It’s just science. It’s tastier and more moist. I have a theory that people who prefer white meat don’t actually like chicken very much, because white meat is just a dryer, blander version of dark.