A Delicious Burger at General Public

General Public
Location
: 201 Geary Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.generalpublic.ca/

It’s been a while since I’ve had a really good burger, so the one at General Public hit the spot.  They only serve it on the happy hour menu, for some reason (which is 4:00pm to 6:00pm), but it’s worth coming here at that time to check it out.  Really, really good.

General Public

The GP Burger, as per their menu: “red leicester & cheddar blend, bone marrow, onion, branston pickle.”

Given how hard it is to find anything other than a smashed burger in Toronto, a hamburger in any other style is kinda delightful by default.

General Public

This one features a nice, hefty patty that’s cooked to a perfect medium rare.  They’re obviously using good quality beef with a good amount of fat, because it’s seriously juicy and has a satisfying beefy flavour.

General Public

The cheese is nice and gooey, and the toppings mostly complement the burger quite well, other than the onion (I’m not a fan of raw onion, so this my fault, not the burger’s).  The bun appears to be too big, and yeah, it kinda is, but it’s so plush and fluffy that it’s not nearly as big of a problem as it seems just by looking at it.  It works.

General Public

I tried a couple of other things.  There was the curried lamb tartare (“kashmiri, curry mayo, poppadom”), which was a really unique spin on a classic dish, with a nice crispy crunch from the poppadom that comes on the side, and a spiced flavour (particularly cumin) that distinguishes it from any tartare you’ve had before.

General Public

I also tried the bone marrow, which isn’t normally on the menu but was a special when I went.  It’s over-the-top rich (the bread that comes on the side is basically soaked in butter, as if it weren’t decadent enough on its own), but it’s so, so good.

General Public

I also had the lemon posset for dessert, which features an ultra-creamy lemon pudding topped with a crispy shortbread cookie.  Like everything else, it was seriously tasty — the pudding itself was maybe the silkiest I’ve ever had, and the bright, lemony flavour was perfectly tuned.

Tasty Cookies and Onigiri at Momochee’s Desserts

Momochee's Desserts
Location
: 263 Lakeshore Road East, Mississauga
Website: https://momochees-desserts.square.site/

Momochee’s Desserts is a delightful bakery in Port Credit that specializes in cookies, basque cheesecake and, oddly enough, onigiri.

Momochee's Desserts

Onigiri, for the uninitiated, is a triangular rice ball with various fillings; frequently, it comes wrapped with a sheet of nori that’s been protected from the rice by plastic, keeping it crispy.

Momochee's Desserts

It’s not something that you’d expect to find at a bakery, but yeah, I’m into it.  I’m a big fan of the stuff, but it’s hard to find a really good one in Toronto.  Usually, the seasoning is off or it’s been sitting out too long, with unpleasantly firm rice.

Momochee's Desserts

I went with the spicy mayo onigiri, and aside from being served too cold, it was just right.  The rice was fresh and nicely seasoned, it had a good proportion of creamy tuna filling (with a surprisingly pronounced spicy kick), and the nori was perfectly crispy.

Momochee's Desserts

But of course, the place is mostly a bakery, so I had to get a dessert.  I went with the classic chocolate chip cookie, and it’s quite tasty.  Nothing about it blew my mind, but the contrast between the crispy exterior and gooey interior was satisfying, and it had a nice amount of good quality chocolate chips.

A Decent Breakfast Sandwich at Eggslut

Eggslut
Location
: 545 King Street West, Toronto
Website: https://eggslut.ca/

Hot take alert: whenever I eat a trendy breakfast sandwich in the GTA, I always ask myself the same question — is this better than a McMuffin?  An alarming number of times, the answer is no.  No, this fancy breakfast sandwich that costs several times as much as a McMuffin… does not actually taste better than a McMuffin.

Eggslut

Eggslut opened in Toronto recently to a whole bunch of hype.  The most popular sandwich on the menu seems to be the Fairfax, so that’s what I went with: “cage-free soft scrambled eggs and chives, cheddar cheese, caramelized onions and sriracha mayo in a warm brioche bun.”

It’s fine.  The soft scrambled eggs are perfectly cooked, with a luxuriously rich, creamy texture.  The sweetness from the caramelized onions and pillowy brioche bun helps to balance out the saltiness of the eggs.  It’s tasty.

Eggslut

But the bun is so, so soft, and in the absence of anything that isn’t squishy in the sandwich, the texture is one-note mush.

Contrast this with a Sausage ‘N Egg McMuffin, where you get a nice balance of textures — light crunch and chewiness from the toasted muffin, softness from the egg and cheese, and meatiness from the sausage.  The Fairfax is clearly using better quality ingredients and cheffy technique, but the McMuffin is more satisfying.

Eggslut

(Not to mention that the McMuffin costs about five bucks, whereas this costs fifteen and absolutely does not feel worth the splurge.)

I should mention that I also tried the French Toast Sticks (“house-made brioche French toast dusted with cinnamon sugar and served with maple custard”), and they were actually pretty amazing.  The French toast is pleasantly custardy, with a perfectly crispy exterior and a nice punch of flavour from the cinnamon and sugar.  The creamy custard on the side complements it perfectly.

Eggslut

It’s kinda hilarious that the menu calls this a side (it’s straight-up dessert), but whatever you call it, it’s delicious.

Tasty Gelato at Aura Gelato Artigianale

Aura Gelato Artigianale
Location
: 1070 Saint Clair Avenue West, Toronto
Website: https://auragelato.com/

Aura Gelato Artigianale is a bit confusing — the sign on the outside says Gemma Gelato, but everything on the inside of the shop (including the cups) calls it Aura Gelato Artigianale.  Online, it’s occasionally referred to as “Aura Gelato Artigianale at Gemma Gelateria.”  So… it’s a collaboration between the two shops, I guess?

Aura Gelato Artigianale

Whatever it is, it’s good.

I always like to go basic when I try a gelato or ice cream joint for the first time; it’s the best way to suss out the quality.  With no big chunks or funky flavours to hide behind, it’s all about the gelato itself.

Aura Gelato Artigianale

I got the dark chocolate, and yeah, that’s good stuff.  It’s super rich and creamy, the sweetness is very well tuned, and the chocolate flavour is nicely robust.  It’s really tasty.

Quick Bites: Emmer, Dear Grain, Craque de Creme

Peanut Butter Miso Cookie from Emmer
Peanut Butter Miso Cookie from Emmer

Toronto Life recently called the peanut butter miso cookie from Emmer one of the best new cookies in the city, so obviously I needed to try it.  And yeah, it’s fantastic, with a really addictive crispy/chewy contrast and a deep savouriness from the miso and the generous amount of salt on top.  The level of sweetness here is very, very restrained, which seems like it maybe shouldn’t work, but it absolutely does.

Blueberry Scone from Dear Grain
Blueberry Scone from Dear Grain

I feel like I can’t bring up Dear Grain without grumbling about their refusal to slice most of their (very delicious!) bread (unless you buy it frozen), so: what’s the deal with that??  With that out of the way, I’ll say that their blueberry scone is absolutely fantastic.  Seriously, seriously good.  The exterior is nice and crispy, it’s sweet without being too sweet, it’s got a nice blueberry punch, and the texture of the scone itself is perfect.  It also comes with a little cup of tasty lemon curd, and its pleasant tartness really takes things over the top.  It’s so good.

Canele from Craque de Creme
Canele from Craque de Creme

Speaking of tasty pastries, the canele from Craque de Creme is thoroughly tasty, with a rich custardy flavour and a restrained sweetness that I found to be quite delightful.  The overly crunchy exterior does hold it back from canele perfection, however.  I love a nice crisp, caramelized exterior on a canele, but this one takes a step or two (or three, or four) too far.  The rock hard exterior here kinda shredded the inside of my mouth.