Etobicoke – Page 10 – Michael Eats

Tasty Montreal-Style Bagels at Kettlemans Bagel

Published on January 8, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 847 Brown’s Line, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.kettlemansbagels.ca/

Kettlemans Bagel serves Montreal-style bagels — I was actually in that city recently and tried fresh bagels from the big two (St. Viateur and Fairmount) and yeah, if you’re craving a Montreal-style bagel in the GTA, the version at Kettlemans is bang-on. It’s got a satisfyingly substantial chew, it’s a little bit sweet, and the wood-burning oven gives it some nice personality. And as you can see from the open kitchen in the store, they make them fresh throughout the day. They’re quite good.

(And yes, as far as I can tell, “Kettlemans” does not have an apostrophe, though the company themselves seems to be a bit confused about it. The logo on the shop is sans-apostrophe, but if you go to their website, it’s about 50/50 apostrophe/no-apostrophe. I’m just going to assume that the logo is right.)

They have a variety of bagel types that you can get on their own, but if you’re looking for more of a meal, you can pick from a bunch of different sandwich options. I went with the Kettlemans Special: “smoked salmon, deli cream cheese, tomato & red onion, served with garlic olives.” You can pick the type of bagel that you want, but since the photo in the restaurant used the sesame seed variety, that’s what I went with.

It’s a tasty sandwich — the smoked salmon is nothing to write home about, but combined with the juicy tomato and the ultra-silky cream cheese (it’s easily the creamiest cream cheese that I’ve ever had, with the usual zippiness of cream cheese but with a texture that’s closer to mayo), it’s a quality sandwich.

I’m not a fan of raw onions, so I got mine without, but for most normal people I’m sure that they would have enhanced the sandwich — something crunchy would have been nice.

Spicy Chicken McNuggets at McDonald’s

Published on January 7, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1001 Islington Avenue, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/

Hey, guess what? Spicy Chicken McNuggets are Chicken McNuggets that are… spicy. Shocking, right??

Well, I figured they might taste slightly different, or have some kind of different seasoning or something, but as far as I can tell they taste just like the regular version, but with heat.

That spice level isn’t exactly going to blow your face off, but it is there. I’d probably put it a notch or two above mild.

I got the Ghost Pepper dip on the side, and that stuff is actually quite tasty; it’s noticeably hotter than the McNuggets, and it’s creamy and delightfully zippy. The heat sneaks up on you. It doesn’t seem that hot at first, but by the time I was done, my mouth was nice and toasty. I’d buy a whole bottle of that stuff if I could.

A Delicious Sandwich at V’s Schnitzel House

Published on January 5, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 448 Brown’s Line, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.vsschnitzelhouse.com/

I’ve heard nothing but good things about the schnitzel sandwich at V’s Schnitzel House, so that’s what I ordered. It was delicious. I wish I hadn’t ordered it.

Specifically, I ordered the pork schnitzel sandwich (chicken is also an option), which comes topped with lettuce, tomato, and “Magic dill sauce.”

It’s a top-notch sandwich — the fluffy Kaiser roll has just enough heft to hold up to the meat without overwhelming, the lettuce and tomato add a nice dose of freshness and crunch, and the Magic dill sauce is seriously delicious.

I ordered the house salad on the side. It also comes with the Magic dill sauce, and man that stuff is so good. It’s creamy, a little bit sweet, garlicky, and has a pronounced dill flavour. You can buy a bottle of this stuff for ten bucks, and I’m very tempted to go back and pick one up.

But I mentioned that I wish I hadn’t ordered the sandwich (in spite of how delicious it was), and that’s because the schnitzel itself was amazing. It was hard to tell in the context of a sandwich, but I think this might have been the best schnitzel I’ve ever had? The exterior was perfectly crispy, the seasoning was great, and the meat itself was thoroughly tender. Clearly, I need to go back and try the schnitzel on its own ASAP.

A Tasty Dessert at Old Mill Pastry & Deli

Published on December 8, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 385 The West Mall, Etobicoke
Website: https://oldmillpastry.ca/

Old Mill Pastry & Deli is an unassuming little place that sells a bunch of European groceries, along with pastries like burek and the thing I tried, a delightful Turkish dessert called tulumba.

I wasn’t familiar with this particular dessert until I tried it here, and clearly I’ve been missing out because it’s delicious.

The closest thing I can compare it to is a churro; they’re both fried tube-like pastries with ridges along the outside.

But the tulumba is thicker and soaked in syrup — I guess it’s kind of like if a churro and a Greek doughnut (a.k.a. loukoumades) had a baby. It’s syrupy but not overly sweet, with an interior that’s heartier than a traditional doughnut with an almost custardy flavour, and an exterior that has a satisfying crunch that’s amped up by those ridges. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed this.

Tasty Australian Pastries at The Sydney Grind

Published on November 29, 2022November 29, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2883 Lake Shore Boulevard West, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.thesydneygrind.com/

The Sydney Grind is a delightful Australian-themed coffee shop that serves a bunch of tasty-looking pastries. One of those pastries: the lamington, an Australian specialty that features yellow cake coated in chocolate and coconut.

It’s quite tasty. I mean, how could it not be? It’s just plain cake with chocolate and coconut — all tasty stuff.

Well, I guess you could mess it up by making a bad quality cake or using shoddy chocolate, but that’s clearly not the case here. The cake is tasty and moist, and the chocolate/coconut combo is expectedly delicious.