fast food – Page 6 – Michael Eats

McSpicy at McDonald’s

Published on February 12, 2025 by Michael Nusair2 Comments

Location: 1001 Islington Avenue, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

The McSpicy isn’t the most exciting new item at McDonald’s. It’s basically a spicy McCrispy? I don’t think the chicken patty is identical, but the flavour and texture of the breading is similar enough that if they had called this the Spicy McCrispy, no one would have batted an eye.

Here’s how McDonald’s describes it: “The McSpicy chicken sandwich brings the heat, made with 100% seasoned white meat chicken breast marinated, battered and breaded in a fiery seasoning blend. Enjoy this crispy delight topped with shredded lettuce and cooling mayo-style sauce, all in a toasted sesame seed bun.”

It’s not super exciting, but also: it’s pretty good. Notably, the spice level is actually surprisingly pronounced. No, it’s not going to blow your face off, but for something from a fast food joint, it’s got some heat.

And that spice actually does make a difference — it takes what would otherwise be a pretty ho-hum, vaguely dry fast food chicken sandwich and gives it a decent amount of personality.

Garlic Mushroom Bacon Cheeseburger at Wendy’s

Published on November 20, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 5250 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.wendys.com/en-ca

Wendy’s is on a roll — the last burger I tried here, the French Onion Cheeseburger, was easily a top-tier fast food hamburger. This one? Not on that level, but still quite tasty!

The Garlic Mushroom Bacon Cheeseburger, as per their website: “A quarter pound of fresh, never-frozen Canadian beef, roasted mushrooms, 3 strips of Applewood smoked bacon, muenster cheese, and Renée’s Gourmet Creamy Garlic Spread. Literally oozing with umami.”

Muenster cheese! On a fast food cheeseburger! Ooh la la.

Also, normally I’d mock the line “literally oozing with umami,” but you know what? It kinda is. It’s savoury AF, and is definitely more umami-packed than your typical fast food fare.

Maybe too umami-packed? On top of being incredibly savoury, it’s a bit of a salt bomb. Something with a little sweetness and/or acidity to cut through the salty richness would be nice.

Still, I can’t deny that it’s tasty. The very rich, garlicky sauce pairs nicely with the mushrooms and the bacon, and the slice of muenster cheese definitely sets it apart from its American-cheese-topped fast food brethren.

Seriously though, throw some pickles on there or something? It’s a lot.

Cajun Ranch McCrispy at McDonald’s

Published on November 14, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1001 Islington Avenue, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

I’ll admit that after the upsettingly bad Raptor Chicken Nacho Poutine, I thought, maybe I should give McDonald’s a break? Maybe I don’t need to keep doing this to myself?

But no, I do need to keep doing this to myself. I am compelled. Maybe admitting I have a problem is the first step?

I actually enjoyed this one, though. What do you know!

The Cajun Ranch McCrispy, per McDonald’s website: “A crispy chicken sandwich made with tender and juicy 100% Canadian-raised seasoned chicken, topped with shredded lettuce, red bell pepper crisps and creamy Cajun ranch sauce, all served on a toasted potato bun.”

I quite liked that Cajun ranch sauce. It had the usual ranch flavour, but was also enjoyably zesty with a very, very mild spicy kick. I’d buy a bottle of that stuff.

And the red bell pepper crisps were a nice touch. They were basically like the crispy onions or crispy jalapenos that McDonald’s has used a few times before, but… with red bell peppers. Little crispy fried bits are always going to be welcome on a sandwich.

Otherwise it’s a standard McCrispy, but that sauce actually does elevate it.

Raptor Chicken Nacho Poutine at McDonald’s

Published on November 8, 2024November 8, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1001 Islington Avenue, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

I’ll admit that the Raptor Chicken Nacho Poutine kind of sent me into an existential panic. Like, where did I go wrong in my life that I’m sitting alone in a McDonald’s on a Friday evening, scarfing down an ill-advised novelty poutine so I can review it for my food blog? What wrong turn did I make to get here?

The Raptor Chicken Nacho Poutine is not good. But hey, I ate it. It caused me to look deep down inside myself and not like what I see, but I did eat it and finish it, so of course I’m going to blog about it. Otherwise what was it all for??

Here’s how McDonald’s describes this thing: “this new offering is made with 100% Canadian-raised seasoned chicken, our World Famous Fries™ layered with stringy cheese curds and savoury gravy, topped with tortilla strips and drizzled with nacho cheese sauce.”

Maybe I’m exaggerating a bit about how bad this is. It’s not gross, I guess, but I didn’t find anything about eating it to be particularly pleasant. It’s mostly just an odd hodgepodge of flavours and textures that don’t particularly belong together.

I think the nacho cheese sauce is the worst offender. I actually like nacho cheese sauce, but combined with the gravy and curds it had an odd sourness that I found off-putting. The tortilla strips were fine, but again, they just seemed odd in the context of a poutine.

As for the big chunks of chicken that they had plopped on top — like everything else, they’re just kinda there, doing their own thing. They don’t really add anything to the dish.

Then there’s the poutine base, which is fine, but I don’t think McDonald’s has a great poutine in the best of times, and this was certainly not the best of times (the fact that the fries were paler and soggier than usual didn’t help).

Ruffles Crunch Teen Burger at A&W

Published on October 1, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1130 Dundas Street East, Mississauga
Website: https://web.aw.ca/

The Ruffles Crunch Teen Burger at A&W is a standard A&W bacon cheeseburger with a bunch of chips in it. The end.

Oh, I guess I should write more? I’ll write a bit more. But that pretty much covers it.

The burger, as per A&W’s website: “A perfectly seasoned grass-fed beef patty topped with Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream chips, lettuce, onions, tomato, bacon, cheddar cheese and a creamy garlic and jalapeño aioli, served on a freshly toasted sesame seed bun.”

It’s not bad. The fat stack of Ruffles adds a decent amount of crunch and some nice zippiness from the seasoning. They make for a decent burger topping, but I think it’s unlikely anyone will walk away from thing thinking that chips should be on all burgers. There’s a reason chips aren’t on all burgers. They’re a bit overwhelming as a topping.

I’ll admit that I didn’t even realize the sauce was supposed to be a creamy garlic and jalapeño aioli until I started writing this review. There wasn’t really enough there for any of the flavours to stand out; it tasted like plain mayo to me.

The rest of the burger is what it is. The patty was a bit dry, but it’s tasty enough. It’s fine. The whole thing is fine. It’s a fast food burger with chips in it. It’s not one of those things where you’re like “wow, this is so much better than I was imagining!” It’s exactly what you’re imagining.