croissant – Michael Eats

A Delicious Pastry at Cho-Kwok-Lat

Published on September 25, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 79 Wellesley Street East, Toronto
Website: https://chokwoklat.com/

I went to the original location of Cho-Kwok-Lat in Markham a few years ago and found it to be thoroughly delicious. They opened a second location downtown last year, and yeah — they’re still cranking out some really stellar pastries.

Sometimes ordering at a bakery is a real struggle, because everything looks so good. That was definitely the case here. I wanted to try everything.

I eventually settled on the cherry berry pistachio pillow, which is filled with a decent amount of tasty jam and gooey pistachio cream in a croissant-like base.

I think that this style of croissant — with the dozens of tiny lines on top that crackle into crispy strips when you eat it — looks stunning, but is less satisfying to eat than the traditional, flatter presentation. Still, they do a great version of it here, with a great contrast between the crispy shell and the fluffy interior.

And the combo of the fruity base and the nutty pistachio cream works very, very well. It’s delicious.

Like when I visited the Markham location, they heated it up a bit first, which I think is such a great idea — it livens up the pastry and amps up the external crispiness, which definitely enhances things.

Tasty Pastries at Barburu

Published on July 12, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1000 Burnhamthorpe Road West, Mississauga
Website: https://www.instagram.com/barburu_bakery/

Barburu is a delightful little bakery and coffee shop in Yuan Ming Supermarket’s food court. They mostly specialize in various filled croissants, though they have a few other types of pastries as well.

I went with the pistachio croissant, and it was quite satisfying. In particular, it’s got a very generous amount of pistachio filling that has a tasty pistachio flavour.

I know it seems odd to complement pistachio filling for tasting like pistachio, but the pistachio flavour just isn’t quite there in a lot of croissants like this. This one definitely doesn’t have that problem.

There’s also a sweet, creamy pistachio spread on top of the pistachio filling, which is a nice touch.

My only real issue here is that the layer of croissant surrounding the filling is quite thin. It’s got a nice crispy exterior and the whole thing is certainly very satisfying, but I would have liked a bit more croissant and a bit less filling. The ratio is off. It’s tasty enough that I’m not going to complain too much, but it’s still a shame.

Quick Bites: Brodflour, Corleone’s, Villa Madina

Published on January 28, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Pain Suisse from Brodflour

I’ll admit I hadn’t even heard of pain Suisse (which is similar to a chocolate croissant, but with pastry cream and chocolate chips) before seeing it at Brodflour, so I was excited to try it. And yeah, it’s good. I mean, look at it. Of course it’s good. The combo of the gooey chocolate chips and the slightly sweet pastry cream is a clear winner, and the croissant itself — as you’d expect from Brodflour — is stellar.

Veal sandwich from Corleone’s

Corleone’s sells a variety of Italian sandwiches like veal, meatball, and eggplant. I tried the veal, and it was totally fine. Nothing about it particularly jumped out at me (and the bun was a bit gummy) but it’s a solid sandwich. There are a couple of things that stand out about this place, however. One is that they offer a “junior” version of their sandwiches; most places like this sell massive gut-busters that pretty much demand that you take a nap afterwards, so I appreciated that the smaller sandwich here is satisfying without being comically oversized. The other thing I appreciated is that the spiciest version of the sandwich is legitimately fiery, with a generous amount of a legitimately hot pepper paste spread on top.

Chicken shawarma wrap from Villa Madina

Is the shawarma from Villa Madina the best you’ll ever eat? No, absolutely not. But it’s actually pretty decent, and for a eatery from a mall food court, that’s enough. The shawarma has a decent amount of crispy bits and is relatively juicy, and the wrap itself is saucy and tasty. It’s very middle-of-the-road, but it gets the job done.

Tasty Pastries at Bartholomew Bakery

Published on September 29, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 467 Edgeley Boulevard, Vaughan
Website: https://www.bartholomewbakery.com/

Bartholomew Bakery does well. I showed up early on a Saturday afternoon and the place was absolutely packed, with a line out the door and a huge crowd inside. I almost left when I saw how busy it was, but there’s something about a line for food that calls out to me. What do those people know that I don’t?? I need to find out.

Anyway, it didn’t take much longer than 15 minutes to get to the front of the line, so it wasn’t too bad.

Bartholomew specializes in various croissants, along with sourdough bread. I got a pistachio croissant along with a loaf of sliced sourdough.

I neglected to take a photo of the bread, which is a shame because that was probably the highlight. All they had when I visited was the honey oat; I almost didn’t order this, because I was afraid it would be too sweet, but I’m glad I did. It is indeed a bit too sweet, but it’s nicely balanced out by the tang of the sourdough. The bread is dense, but not overly so, with a satisfying level of heft and chewiness. It’s a solid loaf of bread.

The pistachio croissant was quite good, but not on the level of the bread.

The pistachio filling had an eggy flavour that I wasn’t particularly crazy about, but otherwise had a great level of sweetness and was absolutely crammed with pistachio flavour. I wish they weren’t so generous with it, though; there’s just way, way too much of it, and it completely overwhelms the croissant itself. I think it was a good-quality croissant (albeit slightly lacking in its crisp-factor), but the deluge of pistachio filling makes it impossible to tell.

Quick Bites: Venerosa Natural Gelato, Stacks, Blackbird Baking Co.

Published on March 2, 2025March 2, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Sicilian pistachio gelato at Venerosa Natural Gelato

Venerosa is a relatively new gelato spot on Queen, and it’s quite good. I don’t really have a ton to say about it. It’s gelato! It’s good! It’s not the best or the worst gelato I’ve had in the city, but it’s leaning much, much closer to “best.” I got the Sicilian pistachio, and it’s nice and creamy, and it has a great pistachio flavour. I will almost certainly be back, though I wish the variety of flavours were a bit more interesting (it’s pretty much all standard-issue stuff).

Classic pancakes at Stacks

Stacks is one of those restaurants at the bottom of a condo tower where you have to pay for parking in an area where paid parking isn’t the norm; that’s a bit of a bummer, but they seem to be doing okay regardless. They have an assortment of sweet and savoury items on the menu; I tried the scrambler wrap, which was fine, and the classic pancakes, which are clearly the thing to order (no surprise at a restaurant called “Stacks”). They’re no-frills pancakes done very well, with a great texture that features a delightful balance between substance and fluffiness.

Jam croissant at Blackbird Baking Co.

The jam croissant at Blackbird is basically an almond croissant, but with the addition of jam. I’ve never had that combo before, but as you’d expect, it’s delicious. It works so well, you have to wonder why you don’t see it more often. The last time I had the almond croissant from Blackbird, I found it to be a bit too subtle in its sweetness, but clearly things have changed because this one had a generous amount of sweet almond filling that’s kicked up by the addition of jam. It’s really tasty, though the croissant itself was a bit on the dry side.