food – Page 43 – Michael Eats

Lots of Flavour at Crafty Ramen

Published on April 18, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 217 Ossington Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://craftyramen.com/

I love ramen. If you browse through this blog a bit, that much should be apparent. I think it’s one of the world’s few perfect foods; I could live off the stuff (it would be a short but happy life).

Crafty Ramen — a lauded ramen joint from Guelph — recently opened their first location in Toronto, on the Ossington strip, and yeah, it’s good. It’s not the best bowl of ramen I’ve ever had, but there was a lot I appreciated about it.

I ordered the Northern Warmer with pork, which the menu describes like this: “A hearty miso ramen inspired by the Hokkaido region of Japan, featuring our very own Miso Robot! Pork chashu, chili miso butter, roasted corn, cabbage, carrot, and menma in our chicken broth.”

There are a lot of neat touches here — there’s the “miso robot,” which I guess is just miso-infused butter shaped like a robot, and the corn is nicely charred, giving it a bit of a smoky flavour.

The broth is very, very salty, however, which does somewhat drown out the would-be complexity from the miso. I certainly didn’t dislike eating it, but it’s a bit one-note and in-your-face.

I added on an egg, and it was perfectly cooked, with a great, jammy yolk. But like the soup, it’s a bit salty — it basically tastes like eating soy sauce with the texture of an egg.

Still! It’s ramen. It is inherently great, even if it’s not the best bowl I’ve ever had. The noodles were maybe a touch overdone, but were otherwise chewy and satisfying.

Chewy, Unique Noodles at Rougamo & Noodles

Published on April 16, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 4905A Yonge Street, North York
Website: https://rougamoxianstylenoodles.com/

I actually wasn’t planning on posting this anytime too soon (I’ve got a bit of a backlog), but I’ve just heard that this restaurant is closing in about a week, so I figured I’d post this now while it’s still around. Check it out before it’s gone!

I could tell you about what Rougamo & Noodles is all about, but Karon Liu wrote about it for the Toronto Star in far more depth than I ever would, so… here’s the link.

I tried a couple of things mentioned in that article. First up was the pork rougamo, a simple dish consisting entirely of stewed pork on a chewy flatbread. This was a tasty if unspectacular sandwich that’s much improved by adding a healthy dollop from the jar of smoky chili oil on the table.

And of course, you can’t go to a place with noodles in the name and not try the noodles, so I went with their specialty, the signature biangbiang noodle. This is a really unique dish that features a single hand-pulled noodle that’s thicker, broader, and chewier than the norm. It comes topped with more of that stewed pork, along with a zippy, tomato-y sauce that works really well with the substantial noodles.

Tasty Buns at Bao Mama

Published on April 4, 2023April 4, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 100 City Centre Drive, Mississauga
Website: https://baomama.ca/

Bao Mama currently has a temporary pop-up in the Food District at Square One (until April 16th), but if you miss them there, you can check out their permanent location in Scarborough. And you might want to do that, because their Filipino-inspired buns are thoroughly tasty.

The first one I tried was the hip hipon crispy shrimp bao, which features crispy fried shrimp topped with a zingy sauce and “Asian house slaw.” The shrimp was a bit overcooked, but this was otherwise quite satisfying, with a nice contrast between the fluffy bao and the crispy fried shrimp, not to mention the tasty slaw and the slightly sweet sauce.

I also tried the triple B braised beef asado bao, which is stuffed with a generous amount of tender braised beef, and topped with the house slaw and crispy onions. This was easily my favourite of the two; that ultra-tender, very flavourful beef is something special.

They have a tangy, sweet chili sauce you can get on the side, and this stuff is a must — it complements both baos perfectly, and does a great job of amping up the flavours and adding a mild kick.

Decent Gelato at Hotel Gelato

Published on April 2, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 532 Eglinton Avenue West, Toronto
Website: http://www.hotelgelato.com/

Hotel Gelato is pretty good. I’ve had worse gelato in the city, and I’ve had better. Can that be the whole post? It’s gelato! It’s good! I don’t know.

I should write a bit more? Okay, fine.

Despite the name, Hotel Gelato is actually not just a gelato shop, but a full cafe with a menu featuring salads, sandwiches, and brunch classics. If you walk to the back of the restaurant, however, you’ll find their namesake gelato.

I tried a couple of flavours: peanut butter and vanilla sponge toffee. They were both perfectly tasty; they could have been richer and creamier, and neither of the flavours particularly blew me away, but it wasn’t exactly a chore to eat. Again: it’s gelato. It’s good. I probably wouldn’t go out of my way for it, but if you’re in the area, I don’t think you’ll be mad that you checked the place out.

Outstanding Pizza at Superpoint

Published on March 26, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 184 Ossington Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.superpoint.ca/

I’ve had slices from Superpoint a few times, but this was my first full pizza, and oh man it was good. I liked Superpoint before, but this bumped them up to a whole new level.

I had the Burrata & Honey: “marinara, local burrata, basil, honey.”

Pizza perfection. Everything just works.

It’s that crust. It’s got a great flavour, and it’s super crispy without ever coming off as too crispy; the balance of chewiness and crispiness is just right, and the contrast between the two is absolutely delightful.

The garlicky zip of the marina is super tasty, and the richness of the creamy burrata — which is torn off in chunks onto the pizza post-bake — balances it perfectly. That’s not to mention the honey, whose sweetness does a great job of rounding out the pizza’s other flavours.

The menu doesn’t mention it, but it’s also seasoned with a herb blend and grated parmesan, and yes. Yes to all of it. It’s so good.