downtown – Michael Eats

A Decent Breakfast Sandwich at Eggslut

Published on June 23, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

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 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.

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.

(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.

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 Thai Food at Kao Kang

Published on May 17, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 486 Front Street West, Toronto (inside Wellington Market)
Website: https://kaokang.ca/

Kao Kang, which is part of The Well’s recent expansion, is a spinoff of Koh Lipe, a Michelin-noted Thai restaurant downtown.

Michelin-adjacent eats in a food court? Yeah, sign me up.

The guy behind the counter noted that the pad gra prao (“holy basil, chili, green bean, garlic, fried egg on rice”) is their most popular dish, so that’s what I went with. You can get it with either chicken or beef; I went with beef.

I enjoyed it. Was it the best version of this dish that I’ve ever had? No, absolutely not. But it’s still a food court. Let’s temper our expectations here.

It’s very, very sweet, and is kinda lacking in the umami punch that you typically get from this dish. It’s a bit one-note in its flavour, but is thoroughly pleasant, with a mild spicy kick and a perfectly cooked fried egg on top. I don’t think I’d order it again, but I’m not mad I ate it.

Tasty Noodle Soup at Ramen Takao

Published on April 19, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 111 Richmond Street West, Toronto (inside Chef’s Hall)
Website: https://www.instagram.com/ramen_takao/

Ramen Takao is a ramen joint in the Chef’s Hall; it’s a collaboration between Ramen Isshin and Ryu’s Ramen. I like both of those places quite a lot, so that seemed like a good sign.

They call their spicy miso ramen their signature dish (“bean sprouts / seasoned egg / spicy negi / pork belly”), so that’s what I went with.

It’s a very good bowl of ramen. Spicy ramen isn’t generally my first choice, but the spice level here is fairly well tuned — it’s got a nice kick, but it isn’t so aggressive that it overwhelms the other flavours in the bowl.

And the broth is quite flavourful, with a nice creamy richness and a satisfying meaty/seafoody flavour.

Everything else here is quite good; in particular, it’s topped with crispy tempura bits, which do a great job of adding some texture to the bowl.

As for the noodles, they’re right where you want them to be, with a perfect level of chewy heft.

Solid Mexican Food at Los Compass Tacos

Published on April 15, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 140 Spadina Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.loscompastacos.com/

Los Compass Tacos has a setup that’s quite Gus Tacos-esque — they have a variety of proteins (al pastor, grilled steak, grilled chicken, and cactus) that you can get in various configurations (tacos, burritos, quesadillas, etc.).

Tacos is right there in the name, so that’s what I got.

I ordered one al pastor, and one asada (grilled steak). You can pick from a corn or flour tortilla; I went with corn for the al pastor, and flour for the asada.

Both were quite good. In particular, the al pastor was nicely marinated and quite tender, with a satisfying punch of sweetness from the grilled pineapple.

The steak was maybe a bit lacking in flavour (I probably should have availed myself of the sauce bar off to the side of the restaurant, but since both tacos came sauced, I figured I’d try them as-is), but was otherwise quite satisfying, with a nice smoky flavour from the grill.
Neither taco knocked my socks off, but both were quite satisfying.

I actually wound up coming back to try the pollo (grilled chicken) burrito, and… I think the tacos are the thing to get here. It wasn’t bad, but it was a bit plain and one-note salty (the fact that I asked for no onions and got onions certainly didn’t enhance my enjoyment of this thing).

Tasty Katsu Curry at Hinoya Curry

Published on March 22, 2026March 22, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 20 Carlton Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.hinoyacurry.net/

Hinoya Curry is a chain that specializes in tonkatsu curry; they’ve got a bunch of locations in Japan and a few worldwide — including, most recently, right here in Toronto.

I actually tried the tonkatsu curry at Hinoya a few years ago in Tokyo and found it to be satisfying, but by Japanese standards, just okay.

By Toronto standards, on the other hand? Quite good!

I ordered the same dish here, tonkatsu curry, which features a fried pork cutlet on top of rice that’s absolutely doused in a rich, beefy curry sauce.

It’s very tasty. The menu describes the curry as “sweet first, spicy later,” and yeah, that’s about right. It’s got a nice balance of sweet and savoury, a pleasant curry flavour, and a lingering heat that’s mild, but definitely present.

It goes very well with the freshly fried tonkatsu, which is nice and tender and retains its crunch, despite being smothered in sauce.

It comes with some pickled radish on the side, which has a vinegary brightness that does a great job of cutting through the dish’s richness. I wish there were more of it, however; they put a teeny-tiny amount on the plate, and I could have used about double or triple (it’s in a container on the side in Japan — or at least it was when I visited — which makes much more sense).

Another nice touch: the container with a mix of puffed rice and toasted garlic on the table, which adds more crunch and flavour to the dish. I’ve never seen this anywhere but here, and I don’t know why — it seems like it would improve pretty much anything.