Cookies – Page 3 – Michael Eats

Quick Bites: Tarboosh Restaurant, Maji Curry, The Night Baker

Published on September 9, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Shawarma and falafel plate at Tarboosh Restaurant

I ordered the Tarboosh combination plate here (because you should always order a dish with the name of the restaurant in it), which comes with chicken shawarma (beef is also an option), falafel, and two sides (I went with hummus and tabouleh). It didn’t rock my world, but it was all tasty enough. The chicken tasted more like baked chicken breast than like shawarma; it was nicely seasoned, but I wish it had been a bit juicier. The falafel was actually quite unique — it was easily the lightest, fluffiest falafel I’ve ever had, and the flavour reminded me more of a hush puppy than typical falafel. And the two sides were pretty solid, particularly the hummus, which was a bit heavier on the tahini than I generally prefer, but super creamy and luxurious.

Pork Cutlet Curry with Cheese from Maji Curry

Maji Curry is a Japanese curry chain that recently opened in Toronto. I’m a big fan of Japanese curry (what’s not to love?), so yeah, I checked it out. I ordered the pork cutlet curry with cheese, which is one of their signature dishes. It’s odd; I figured the pork cutlet would be panko-breaded tonkatsu, but it looked and tasted more battered than breaded (and the pork itself was a bit on the dry side). The “cheese” seemed to be more decorative than anything else, as it had a milky texture and not much flavour. As for the star of the show — the curry — it was perfectly tasty (I certainly didn’t dislike eating it), but it wasn’t substantially better than the Japanese curry bricks you can get at Asian supermarkets.

Classic chocolate chunk cookie from The Night Baker

I actually assumed I had already blogged about this place, which is why I only took one quick photo and then scarfed the cookie down. Apparently I haven’t! Oh well, next time I guess. And there will definitely be a next time: the classic chocolate chunk cookie here (which also has walnuts and sea salt) is top notch. It’s nicely chewy with a crisp exterior, the flavours are all where they should be, and the walnuts do a great job of adding a mild crunch and tempering the sweetness of the cookie a bit.

Delicious Chocolate Chunk Cookies at Courage Cookies

Published on December 18, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1561 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.couragecookies.ca/

It’s hard to go wrong with a good chocolate chip (or chocolate chunk in this case) cookie. Done well, it’s one of the greatest things ever. Done badly, it’s still pretty damn good.

Seriously: think about all of the chocolate chip cookies you’ve eaten in your lifetime. Have you ever had one that wasn’t, at the very least, pretty good? I’ll bet you haven’t! It’s so simple, and it’s very hard to outright mess up.

I know this all kind of sounds like a preamble to me saying “well they’ve finally messed it up!” but no, that is absolutely, positively not the case. The chocolate chunk cookie at Courage Cookies? Delicious.

I mean, it’s got great quality chocolate, a nice crispy/chewy balance, and a satisfying brown sugary flavour to round it all out. How can you go wrong there? It’s also topped with a good amount flaky salt; I know not everyone is crazy about this, but I like the balance of sweet and salty that this brings, and the way that it helps cut the sugariness of the cookie. It’s very good.

Outstanding Pastries at Barbershop Patisserie

Published on September 11, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 859 College Street, Toronto
Website: https://barbershoppatisserie.square.site/

I’m sorry to have to inform you, but this is one of those “stop whatever you’re doing right now and visit this bakery” moments, so whatever you’re doing right now — even if it’s important — stop it immediately. Get in your car, or get on public transit, and head over to Barbershop Patisserie. It’s the real deal.

I’ve been there a few times now, and everything is fantastic. Apparently their most popular pastry is the lemon bichon, which is kind of like a kouign-amann — it features a flaky, croissant-like laminated pastry and an exterior layer of crispy sugar, which has a deep, dark caramelized flavour. But it’s also filled with a generous amount of creamy, tart lemon curd, which contrasts perfectly with the sweet exterior. It’s not the most photogenic dessert ever, but man it’s amazing. It’s probably one of the best pastries I’ve ever had.

The chocolate chip cookie isn’t quite as mind-blowing as the lemon bichon (what is?), but it’s a top-notch cookie, with a great contrast between its crispy exterior and chewy interior, and a very generous amount of above average chocolate. The light sprinkling of salt on top helps to balance things out.

I also tried the wild blueberry custard tart, and hey, guess what? It’s delicious. It features a great balance between the creamy custard and the sweet blueberries, and of course that buttery pastry is outstanding.

But why are you still reading this? You should be on your way already.

Cookies and Cream at Ice Creamonology

Published on July 18, 2021 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1184 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.icecreamonology.com/

Ice Creamonology had only been around for a few months when, after what sounds like a pretty horrifying dispute with their landlord, they had to move out of their spot on Queen’s Quay. That’s a bummer, but they seem to have landed on their feet, with a new location on the west end right next to Chen Chen’s.

Their rotating menu mostly consists of old standbys like pistachio, dark chocolate, and vanilla; I kept it pretty simple with Cookies and Cream, which they describe as coming with “real Oreo pieces and Oreo crumbs.”

Nothing about the flavour particularly blew me away, though to be fair I’m not sure what you could do with cookies and cream to make it mind-blowing. It features a pretty perfect amount of cookie pieces; it’s enough to give it a nice Oreo-infused flavour, but not so much that it overwhelms the ice cream.

And the quality of the ice cream is pretty decent, though the flavour is a bit muted and it’s gummier than I’d like (it’s much stretcher and chewier than your average scoop).

The Glorious Return of the Chipwich

Published on October 8, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Purchased at: Wegman’s, 675 Alberta Drive, Amherst NY
Website: https://theoriginalchipwich.com/

Remember the Chipwich? Because I certainly do! In my childhood it felt like it would be a part of my life forever, but then it became harder and harder to find, and it was eventually taken off the market altogether.

Well, it’s back! Alas, it’s still not available in Canada (sorry if I got your hopes up), but if you’re willing to drive to Buffalo (because we all know that driving to Buffalo for an ice cream sandwich is a totally reasonable thing to do), it’s easy enough to find.

And yes: it’s just as glorious as I remembered. No… more glorious.

It’s pretty simple — it’s vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two chocolate chunk cookies, and rolled in mini chocolate chips.

No, it’s not gourmet, but the contrast between the soft cookies, the creamy ice cream, and the great crunch you get from the chocolate chips is pretty magical. I was prepared for this to be more about the nostalgia than anything else, but it’s actually quite tasty.