dessert – Page 35 – Michael Eats

Tasty Flavours at Knockout Ice Cream

Published on July 1, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 342 Westmoreland Avenue North, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/knockout_icecream/

Knockout Ice Cream is a new ice cream shop in a formerly industrial area that’s recently become a foodie hotspot — places like Parallel and Famiglia Baldassare are right around the corner.

I’m interested in a new ice cream place by default, but the fact that this is the latest venture from Arthur Pezzelli, who was also involved with Bang Bang and Koishi, clinches it. Bang Bang serves what is clearly the best ice cream in the city, so of course.

The set-up is quite Bang Bang-esque, with the flavours listed on the wall behind the register, a freezer selling to-go tubs to the left, and a space that’s basically just big enough to order and then leave (they have a few chairs outside the entrance).

No ice cream sandwiches, however, though they do have a machine to make bubble waffles.

I tried the dulce de leche, which has a deep, intense caramel flavour (the ice cream itself tastes like dulce de leche rather than having sauce swirled inside). It was also incredibly rich and creamy, so it’s clearly top-tier ice cream.

It was a touch too sweet, however, and the texture was gummier than I’d like, so I don’t think Bang Bang has anything to worry about quite yet. But the place literally just opened (June 21st, according to their Instagram); assuming they work out the kinks, I think it could easily become one of the better ice cream shops in the city.

Creamy Japanese Pancakes at Fuwa Fuwa

Published on June 27, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 408 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.fuwafuwapancakes.com/

Like Hanabusa Cafe in Kensington Market, Fuwa Fuwa specializes in Japanese souffle pancakes, which are basically like a cross between a pancake and a custardy souffle.

I’ve already talked about Hanabusa Cafe; you can probably just read that post to get a sense of what Fuwa Fuwa is like. They’re very, very similar.

I ordered the cookies and cream, which comes with two pancakes topped with Oreo-cookie-infused cream, a whole Oreo cookie, and a scoop of ice cream on the side.

It’s quite good — the pancakes are light, fluffy, custardy, mildly sweet, and very creamy. The only noticeable difference between this place and Hanabusa Cafe are that the pancakes here are slightly creamier. I couldn’t tell if they were slightly underbaked, or if that was intentional. Either way, they were very tasty.

The cookie-laden cream compliments them well, though the ice cream was overly sweet, with an odd flavour I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

Tarte au Citron at Bang Bang

Published on June 25, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 93a Ossington Avenue, Toronto
Website: http://bangbangicecream.com/

I think this is going to be the shortest post I’ve ever written. The tarte au citron flavour at Bang Bang is basically like the best lemon meringue pie you’ve ever had, but as an ice cream.

Lemon meringue pie? Delicious. Bang Bang? Delicious. Cram those two things together? Yeah, it’s delicious. Of course it’s delicious. That’s just math.

The ice cream is creamy and pleasantly tart, with a great lemony flavour. It’s got silky meringue swirled in for some additional creaminess and to help cut the tartness of the ice cream. And then there are buttery, delicious chunks of pie crust.

It’s all just as good as you’d hope it would be.

Burnt Marshmallow at Ed’s Real Scoop

Published on June 21, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 189 Roncesvalles Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.edsrealscoop.com/

I’ve mentioned before that the ice cream at Ed’s Real Scoop can be a bit hit and miss. One of their more consistent flavours, however, is the burnt marshmallow. It’s pretty much always delicious.

I mean, how could it not be delicious? It’s basically sweet cream, which is clearly the best flavour at Ed’s, with a rich, deeply flavourful caramel sauce swirled in. It only just barely tastes like burnt marshmallow (it tastes more like creme caramel to me), but more importantly, it tastes delicious.

And the ice cream itself is nice and creamy, though like all of the ice cream at Ed’s in the last few years, it has a slightly gummy texture that I find marginally off-putting. It’s not a huge deal, but it’s there and it’s unfortunate (I will concede that in this particular case, the gumminess could be attributed to the fact that this is a marshmallow flavour. But it’s there in all of their flavours, sadly).

Carrot Cake Doughnut at Dipped Donuts

Published on June 19, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

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

Dipped Donuts: still great. I tried the blueberry basil doughnut from this place last year, and it was seriously tasty.

The one I just had — the carrot cake — might have been even better. It’s outstanding.

It’s a raised doughnut topped with cream cheese frosting, carrot cake chunks, candied walnuts and ginger, and a caramel drizzle.

It’s definitely sweeter than the last doughnut I tried, but it was just right. The frosting was gooey and satisfying, and the chunks of cake were seriously tasty. The nuts and the ginger amps up the flavour, and the caramel? Come on. It’s indulgent and amazing.

And of course, the doughnut itself was just as good as I remembered, with a nicely substantial texture and a great flavour. It’s a top-shelf doughnut.