food – Michael Eats

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).

A Tasty Slice at Big Trouble Pizza

Published on April 14, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 191 Geary Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://bigtroublepizza.com/

I tried the very odd Butter Jam Jam pizza at Big Trouble years ago, when they were still on Spadina, and liked it quite a bit. They’ve since moved to Geary (which has become a bit of a food hotspot), and now serve burgers as well as pizza.

I stuck with the pizza, and tried a slice of the King Fungi: “Cremini Mushrooms, Beech Mushrooms, Mozzarella, Sauteed Onions, Chives, Truffle Oil and Tangy Chilli Jelly.”

I mostly got this after being intrigued by the sight of several bright red cubes of chilli jelly on the pizza, and yeah, that stuff works. It’s a very savoury pizza, with a nice umami punch from the two types of mushrooms, and the sweet and spicy jelly does a fantastic job of balancing that out.

I was a bit worried about the presence of truffle oil, which I don’t particularly care for, but it wasn’t applied too heavily, and was only mildly offensive (rather than ruining the pizza outright, which it would have if they had used too much of it).

And the crust was great — it’s thicker and breadier than the New York style you might be expecting, with an almost focaccia-like heft and nice external crispiness that holds up nicely to the heavily-topped pizza.

Chocolatey Amazingness at Blackbird Baking Co.

Published on April 12, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 172 Baldwin Street, Toronto
Website: https://blackbirdbakingco.com/

I’ve written about Blackbird several times (tl;dr — it’s great and you should go there), so my inclination is to just write a Quick Bite review about this. But the chocolate cork at Blackbird? It needs its own post. It’s too good to share space with anything else

It’s phenomenal. Legitimately one of the best pastries I’ve ever had. It’s kinda like a really great cakey brownie, but also stuffed with delicious chocolate mousse.

The chocolate flavour here is intense. If you like chocolate (or things that are delicious) then you owe it to yourself to try this.

I don’t have a whole lot more to say about this. But I feel very strongly that everyone needs to know how great it is.

The New, Improved Whopper at Burger King

Published on April 9, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 6010 Dixie Road, Mississauga
Website: https://www.burgerking.ca/

Burger King has come out with a new “better than ever” Whopper and… it’s fine? It’s a Whopper? I don’t know what to tell you.

Here’s how Burger King describes it: “Already BK Canada’s most iconic burger, the Whopper has been further refined to deliver an even better experience. Made with more than a 1/4lb of 100% flame-grilled beef and hand-cut produce, the Whopper is now served on a more premium, better tasting bun and in a box to help ensure it makes it to Guests exactly the way it left the kitchen.”

The news stories about this thing also mention a new mayo, but the Canadian press release doesn’t have a peep about that, so I’m guessing that part didn’t come to Canada.

About a month ago, when the news first came out and before the new Whopper was introduced here, I went and had an old Whopper so I could compare the two, and it was perfectly pleasant. It came wrapped in paper but wasn’t smushed at all, and the bun was fine. Maybe a bit too sweet and dense, but totally acceptable.

The biggest issue was the burger patty itself, which is not being improved, but probably should; it had that smoky flavour you associate with Burger King, which is nice, but it was extremely dry.

As for the new Whopper, I think maybe the bun was slightly more plush, but otherwise they both tasted exactly the same. It’s possible that if I had eaten them side by side, the differences would have been more apparent, but a month apart they were basically identical. The old one? Fine. The new one? Also fine. Perfectly acceptable fast food hamburger, but definitely not my first choice.

Throwback Subs at Lakeshore Super Submarine

Published on March 29, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2939 Lake Shore Boulevard West, Etobicoke
Website: None

The best thing about Lakeshore Super Submarine is how delightfully old-school it is. It’s apparently been around for over 50 years, and it looks like pretty much nothing has changed in that time (though it’s not dirty or run-down at all).

It’s cash-only, and the prices — like everything else about the place — are a throwback. I got the “mini” assorted sub (it’s smaller than the standard foot-long, but not by all that much), and it cost $6.75 exactly for a relatively hefty sandwich.

There were a few other customers when I was there, and I think I was the only non-regular. I can see why.

No, there’s nothing all that exciting about it — it’s a pretty standard cold cut sub, dressed with mayo and sub sauce, and with the usual veggies. But it’s a no-frills sub done well, and given what they’re charging for it, I can see why people come back.