focaccia – Michael Eats

Tasty Brunch at Gateau Ghost

Published on December 1, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 974 College Street, Toronto
Website: https://gateaughost.com/

Gateau Ghost is a charming brunch spot and bakery with a Korean twist (the menu features a variety of brunch standbys that are tweaked with stuff like bulgogi, kimchi, and Korean fried chicken).

I went with Owen’s Sando: “focaccia, caramelized onions, cabbage, jalapeño & cilantro, teriyaki pork shoulder OR teriyaki tofu.” (I went with pork shoulder, of course.)

It’s a solid sandwich with a great balance of flavours and textures: it’s sweet, savoury, crunchy, creamy, and chewy. In particular, the sandwich does a really great job of balancing out its sweet and savoury flavours, and it’s quite satisfying.

That’s not to mention the focaccia, which is clearly fresh and suits the sandwich perfectly. It’s a sloppy, overstuffed sandwich, but the bread holds up to it nicely without overwhelming.

The sliced pork shoulder is a bit on the dry side, which holds the sandwich back from greatness, but otherwise I liked this a lot.

You can also get a salad or fries for a four dollar upcharge; I went with the salad, which looks like the typical vinaigrette-dressed mixed greens you’ll find a place like this, but is actually a big upgrade from the norm, with a punchy zestiness that really works.

As for the bakery side of the equation, they mostly specialize in madeleines that come in various flavours. I tried the opera madeleine, which takes the coffee-and-chocolate infused flavours of an opera cake and crams it into a madeleine. It was really good.

Quality Italian Sandwiches at Uncle Pete’s

Published on September 30, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

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

Uncle Pete’s is a new sandwich shop in Kensington Market (unaffiliated with Sleepy Pete’s, a breakfast sandwich joint around the corner — I think?) that specializes in Italian cold cut sandwiches on house-made focaccia.

The delightfully pared-down menu actually only has two sandwiches on it: the OG (“Our fresh-baked rosemary focaccia, whipped lemon ricotta, mortadella, prosciutto, chili crisp, arugula topped with balsamic glaze”), and the Pesto Pete, which features tomato and pesto.

I ordered the OG, and it’s a great sandwich. It’s getting so that you can’t go more than a few blocks in the city without stumbling across a new place serving Italian cold cut sandwiches. It’s safe to say that this trend is getting a bit played out, but even still — this place justifies its existence.

That focaccia really makes it. It’s nice and fresh, flavourful, and has a great crispy/chewy contrast. It’s the perfect vehicle for the tasty mortadella and prosciutto.

Everything else works really well together, with some nice creaminess from the ricotta, and a mild kick and a garlic-tinged savoury punch from the chili crisp. That’s not to mention the sweet balsamic glaze, which does a fantastic job of balancing out the salty cold cuts.

A Delicious Cold Cut Sandwich at Buon Giorno Caffe & Panini

Published on September 4, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1134 The Queensway, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.buongiornocaffe.ca/

There’s something magical about a meaty Italian sandwich, despite its simplicity. Just a whole bunch of cold cuts on bread? Too simple, right?

Wrong. Especially if it’s as good as it is here.

I was actually planning on ordering the hot veal sandwich, but when I went in, the guy behind the counter sold me on the cold cut sandwich on focaccia, which he said is a Thursday and Friday special. There was something about the way he described it, and his promise that I was “gonna love it!” had me convinced.

I think they describe it better on their website than I ever could:

This signature sandwich is only available on Fridays. That’s the day we take fresh Rosemary & Roasted Sweet Pepper Focaccia and stuff it with generous layers of Mortadella, Genoa Salami, Capocollo and Provolone and then smother it with hot Muffuletta just for fun. We’ll forgive you if you curse when you try this one. Our regulars have lovingly named this the “F@#*in Focaccia Sandwich”.

I know it seems like they’re overselling it, but you know what? I don’t think they are. The focaccia is perfectly soft and chewy, with some nice flavour from the rosemary and the peppers. The fat stack of cold cuts are all super tasty and really well balanced, the cheese adds a bit of creaminess, and the muffuletta gives it a nice zingy pop that cuts through the richness. It’s a top-notch sandwich.

A Simple (but Delicious) Sandwich at Mattachioni

Published on July 22, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1617 Dupont Street, Toronto
Website: http://www.mattachioni.com/

If it weren’t for Toronto Life’s list of the best sandwiches in the city, there’s no way I would have ordered the mortadella sandwich at Mattachioni. Aside from the fact that the pizzas looked very, very good, the mortadella sandwich is quite bare bones — it’s just mortadella and fresh mozzarella on tomato focaccia bread.

But of course, sometimes the simplest things are the best. If you’re dealing with really good quality ingredients, less is more.

The contrast between the tender, salty mortadella and the creamy mozzarella works really well (fresh mozzarella has a radically different texture than the rubbery shrink-wrapped balls at the supermarket — it’s soft, creamy, and luxurious).

The fluffy, slightly chewy focaccia is quite good too, though I wish it had a bit more texture (it was soft throughout). It was also soaked through with olive oil; it gives the sandwich a nice greasy heft, though it might have been a little bit too much of a good thing.

Still, it’s a very tasty sandwich. I don’t think I’d put it on my list of the best in the city, but I don’t begrudge anyone for putting it on theirs.

I also got to try a little bit of the Margherita pizza, which was absolutely outstanding (I didn’t take a picture of that one, sadly, so you’ll just have to take my word that it looked and tasted amazing).

They have both custard and dulce de leche bomboloni for dessert (a.k.a. Italian doughnuts). I tried both, and while they were tasty, they definitely weren’t on the level of the sandwich or the pizza. They were a little bit too dense, with a slightly oily flavour.