food – Page 7 – Michael Eats

Quick Bites: Louf, Luca Pizza, Sidra BBQ & Grill

Published on December 28, 2025December 28, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Hummus bil lahma from Louf

Louf is a Palestinian restaurant near Casa Loma (it’s probably the closest I’ve been to Casa Loma since I was a kid). I went at brunch and tried a few things, though the only dish that really jumped out at me was the hummus bil lahma (“chickpeas, tahina, lemon, ghee, beef, spices, pine nuts”). It’s a solid bowl of hummus, with a satisfyingly zippy, cumin-tinged flavour. And the braised beef on top is perfectly tender. It’s a great combo.

Cheese pizza from Luca Pizza

Luca Pizza frequently comes up in discussions of the best pizza in Mississauga, and I guess I kind of get it. The place opened in 1975, and it looks like not much has changed in there in the intervening decades; it’s definitely got a bunch of old-school charm. And the pizza kind of reminds me of what a place like Pizza Pizza would be serving, if Pizza Pizza weren’t terrible. It’s cheap, cheesy, and filling. I also liked that the crust had a nice exterior crispiness. But I have to imagine that the people calling this the best pizza in the city are coming with a big dose of nostalgia — without that, it’s hard to fully overlook the canned-tasting sauce or the bland crust (it’s the kind of crust that makes you realize why dipping sauce with pizza became a thing). Still, while I’m not going to rush back, it was pretty satisfying for what it was.

Lamb shawarma wrap from Sidra BBQ & Grill

Mostly, I wanted to try Sidra — a shawarma joint in Oakville — thanks to the presence of lamb among their shawarma selections. My understanding is that lamb shawarma is actually quite common in the Middle East, but it’s weirdly rare in the GTA (and if you do find it, it’ll likely be mixed with beef). Sadly, I don’t think the lamb shawarma here was cooked on a vertical spit, which does kind of defeat the point (there were zero crispy bits), and the seasoning was probably a bit too aggressively applied. Still, it was a bunch of tasty, relatively tender lamb in a wrap, so yeah, I enjoyed it. Probably not worth going out of your way for, but if you’re in Oakville already, sure, why not?

Good Quality Gelato at Il Gelato Di Carlotta

Published on December 27, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 17 Lock Street, St. Catharines
Website: https://www.gelatodicarlotta.com/

Il Gelato Di Carlotta is a delightful gelato shop that started out in Niagara on the Lake, but has since expanded, with several locations in the area (apparently they used to have one in Vaughan Mills, but currently, the closest one to the GTA would be in Oakville).

The flavours pretty much just stick to the classics (stuff like pistachio, stracciatella, hazelnut, etc.) — this isn’t the most exciting thing ever, but hey, they’re classics for a reason.

I went with gianduia (chocolate and hazelnuts — Nutella, basically), and yeah, they know what they’re doing. The gelato is incredibly smooth and creamy, and I don’t think I need to tell you that the combo of chocolate and hazelnuts is a winner. I wish the sweetness were dialed back a notch or two, but it’s otherwise so delicious that it’s easy enough to overlook.

I should note that I checked out the Oakville location a couple of months after this visit and tried the pistachio gelato bar, and was somewhat less impressed — most pressingly, the pistachio gelato had very little pistachio flavour, and was completely overwhelmed by the chocolate exterior.

Lee’s Stonemill Rice Roll is a Food Court Gem

Published on December 21, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1000 Burnhamthorpe Road West, Mississauga (inside Yuan Ming Supermarket)
Website: https://www.leesriceroll.com/

Lee’s Stonemill Rice Roll is a great food court eatery that specializes in — you guessed it — rice rolls. The rice roll plates here mostly cost seven or eight bucks, which made me think they were going to be way smaller than they were. It’s a great deal.

I tried the house minced pork and egg rice roll, the beef brisket rice roll, and an order of the scallion pancakes.

Both rice rolls were really tasty, particularly with some chili oil drizzled on top. The dish features thick rice noodles topped with various meats, with the noodles having a nice chewiness that complements the meaty toppings quite well (both the minced pork and the ultra-tender brisket were great).

The scallion pancakes were a bit dense, but still quite enjoyable — and at $4.25 for a decent amount, a solid deal.

Quick Bites: Outback Steakhouse, Blondies Pizza, Insieme

Published on December 20, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Bloomin’ Onion at Outback Steakhouse

Remember the Outback? We had a bunch of them around the GTA, but then they abruptly closed down all their locations and, mostly, left Canada altogether. But they’ve got a couple of locations in Niagara Falls, so sure, for nostalgia’s sake, why not? I got the Bloomin’ Onion (of course) and a steak. The steak was just okay (it was mostly pretty decent, but was something like 50% gristle), but the Bloomin’ Onion was actually pretty great. This was always my favourite thing about the Outback, and yeah, it’s just as delicious as I remembered. It was nicely seasoned and perfectly fried, with the individual petals having a great exterior crispiness and tender onion within. And the zesty dipping sauce complements it perfectly. You can find knockoff Bloomin’ Onions at various carnivals and ribfests, but the version at the Outback can’t be beat.

Cheese pizza from Blondies Pizza

I’m not sure why it took me so long to check out Blondies Pizza — they’ve been around for a few years now, and have expanded to an impressive 14 locations. So clearly, they’re doing something right. I tried the plain cheese pizza, and yeah, it’s not bad. But while it’s definitely a step up from chain pizza like Dominos or Pizza Pizza or whatever, it’s not remotely on the level of any of the better pizza joints in the GTA. Most pressingly, the slice I got was fresh out of the oven (it was still hot despite the fact that it was handed straight to me without being reheated), but had a crust that was just one-note soft and chewy, with zero exterior crispiness.

Margherita pizza from Insieme

Speaking of pizza that’s not much better than okay… Insieme. They have a lunch special where you can get a pretty generous salad and a pizza for 18 bucks (or at least they did when I originally wrote this — I’m not seeing any mention of it on their website), so it’s definitely a good deal. And the pizza was mostly pretty solid, with a great amount of char on the crust and a nice exterior crispiness. It’s a bit gummy, however, and I’m not sure what kind of tomatoes they were using, but the sauce was overly acidic (it was downright sour). Still, it certainly wasn’t outright bad, and they have chili oil available by request that really jazzes it up.

Tasty Basque Cheesecake at Tea One Bakery and Cafe

Published on December 19, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 900 Rathburn Road West, Mississauga
Website: https://www.instagram.com/teaonebakery/

Though Tea One Bakery and Cafe has a whole bunch of tasty looking Chinese-style buns and pastries, they also have a whole display case filled with a variety of Basque cheesecake slices. Clearly, that’s the thing to order.

Basque cheesecake, for the initiated, is a crustless cheesecake with a dark, caramelized top.

I got a slice of the original, and wow, it was good. It had a perfect texture — nice and creamy, and just set enough. It’s incredibly rich, but the relatively restrained sweetness and tart flavour does a great job of balancing things out.

I’m going to have to come back and try some of the other flavours, because it was legitimately one of the better slices of cheesecake that I’ve ever had.