chili oil – Michael Eats

Quality Italian Sandwiches at Uncle Pete’s

Published on September 30, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 161 Baldwin Street, Toronto
Website: https://unclepetes.ca/

Uncle Pete’s is a new sandwich shop in Kensington Market (unaffiliated with Sleepy Pete’s, a breakfast sandwich joint around the corner — I think?) that specializes in Italian cold cut sandwiches on house-made focaccia.

The delightfully pared-down menu actually only has two sandwiches on it: the OG (“Our fresh-baked rosemary focaccia, whipped lemon ricotta, mortadella, prosciutto, chili crisp, arugula topped with balsamic glaze”), and the Pesto Pete, which features tomato and pesto.

I ordered the OG, and it’s a great sandwich. It’s getting so that you can’t go more than a few blocks in the city without stumbling across a new place serving Italian cold cut sandwiches. It’s safe to say that this trend is getting a bit played out, but even still — this place justifies its existence.

That focaccia really makes it. It’s nice and fresh, flavourful, and has a great crispy/chewy contrast. It’s the perfect vehicle for the tasty mortadella and prosciutto.

Everything else works really well together, with some nice creaminess from the ricotta, and a mild kick and a garlic-tinged savoury punch from the chili crisp. That’s not to mention the sweet balsamic glaze, which does a fantastic job of balancing out the salty cold cuts.

Amazing Breakfast Sandwiches at Dad’s Breakfast & Coffee

Published on August 2, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1473 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/dads.goodmorning

Dad’s Breakfast Sandwiches opened pretty recently, and it’s already extremely popular. I tried to visit a couple of weeks ago, at just before noon on a Saturday, and it was all sold out. I don’t mean one or two sandwiches were sold out. I mean they had sold out of everything.

Clearly, going early is advisable. I showed up at around 9:00am this time, and the place was packed, so I’m guessing another sell-out was inevitable.

(An aside: the sign calls this place “Dad’s Breakfast Sandwiches,” but online, it appears to be called “Dad’s Breakfast & Coffee.” Figure out a name and stick with it, guys; this isn’t that hard.)

I tried a couple of the sandwiches: Dad’s ’48 (“egg, hashbrown, cheddar, house ketchup, bacon or sausage”) and Katsu Dad (“katsu egg, caramelized onions, chili crisp, aioli”).

I was wondering if maybe this place was a bit over-hyped, but both of these sandwiches took my skepticism, loaded it into a cannon and shot it into the sun. The hype: 100 percent deserved.

The Dad’s ’48 is the more traditional of the two, but is just perfectly executed on every level. You can choose between bacon and sausage; the guy behind the counter mentioned that they make their sausage in house, so that’s what I went with.

It’s phenomenal. Perfect balance between the silky egg patty, the gooey cheese, the meaty sausage (which is nicely spiced and thoroughly delicious), and the crispy hashbrown. The ketchup and pickle slices (which the menu doesn’t mention) add more flavour and zinginess. The fluffy, slightly sweet bun is the perfect vehicle. It’s a top-tier breakfast sandwich. One of the best in the city for sure.

But as much as I liked that one, I think I might have liked the Katsu Dad even more. The idea of breading and frying an egg patty is, frankly, genius. It’s got a great level of crispiness on its exterior, but the egg patty within is just as silky and perfectly cooked at the non-fried one in the Dad’s ’48.

And the combo of the ultra-savoury, mildly spicy chili crisp and the sweet caramelized onions — not to mention the creamy aioli — is a big winner. I can’t say I’ve ever had a breakfast sandwich quite like this before, and it’s one that will live in my dreams forever.

Tasty Sandwiches at Tutto Panino

Published on July 5, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 100 Sorauren Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.tuttopanino.com/

In case you haven’t noticed, Toronto is in the grips of an Italian sandwich obsession. It seems like every other new restaurant these days is serving up a variety of Italian cold cut sandwiches.

Enter: Tutto Panino. They’ve got the usual assortment of cold salami and mortadella sandwiches, though their specialty — the Bolito (“beef brisket, salsa verde, chili oil”) — is a hot one.

It’s a solid sandwich. It comes crammed with a healthy amount of ultra-tender braised beef brisket, and is topped with a zippy salsa verde. You can get it mild or hot — I went with hot, and yeah, it’s got a decent kick. It’s nothing too aggressive, but it’ll give you a bit of a tingle.

The lightly crispy bun does a good job of holding up to the meaty sandwich, though I wish it were either a bit crustier, or lightly toasted. Everything here is quite soft, so some extra texture would be nice.

Similarly, the salsa verde is tasty, but I really think the sandwich needs some pickles or something a bit more acidic to cut through the richness of the beef.

Still, I didn’t love it, but am I mad that I ate this sandwich? Absolutely not. Would I eat it again? I absolutely would.

Delicious Wonton Noodle Soup at Jim Chai Kee

Published on July 28, 2024 by Michael Nusair1 Comment

Location: 270 West Beaver Creek Road, Richmond Hill
Website: https://www.jimchaikee.ca/

It’s been several years since I’ve been to Jim Chai Kee, but my recollection is that they serve some of the best wonton noodle soup in the GTA.

And hey, what do you know — other than the prices (which have, naturally, gone up a bit), they’ve remained remarkably consistent over the years. It’s still a superb bowl of wonton noodle soup and, yeah, probably the best in the city.

Every element is right where it should be. The noodles are at just the right level of chewiness; the chicken-infused broth is light, but also bursting with flavour; and the wontons are really tasty, with perfectly cooked shrimp.

That’s not to mention the chili oil, which is smoky, flavourful, and extremely spicy. They sell jars of this stuff for $20, which seems like a lot, but when it’s this much better than basically any chili oil you’ve had, it’s hard to quibble with the price. It’s also so spicy and packed with flavour that you’ll inevitably need less of it than you would otherwise, so I have to imagine that the small jar — which, yes, I absolutely bought — will last a while.

I ordered the assorted bowl that also comes with beef and fishballs, and while they’re both very tasty, those amazing wontons are where it’s at. I think I’ll just stick with the wontons next time.

Cheap Eats at Ming’s Noodle Cafe

Published on January 16, 2020 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3447 Kennedy Road, Scarborough
Website: None

Ming’s Noodle Cafe is a Hong-Kong-style diner; it’s also one of those restaurants with a multi-page menu with literally hundreds of choices. If you’re not sure what to order, the All Day Special is a safe bet, and an absolutely incredible deal.

For the almost absurdly low price of 7.45, you get an egg sandwich or an omelette with toast on the side, a main meal, and a drink. It’s an insane deal.

Is the food amazing? No, it definitely isn’t; but for that price how can you complain?

And it’s certainly not bad. I started with the egg sandwich, which features a tasty, buttery omelette between two fluffy slices of white bread. The eggs were slightly overcooked, but it was a respectable sandwich.

Next up was the beef with satay sauce on vermicelli soup. This was fine; the beef is tender, and the satay sauce is tasty enough. Nothing about it particularly stands out… until you add a heaping amount of the chili sauce they have on the table, then it really comes alive.

I wish that sauce were a bit spicier (it’s surprisingly mild) but it’s otherwise sweet, savoury, and addictive, with a face-punch of satisfying flavours. You can buy a jar to take home for six bucks, and you’d better believe I bought one.