fries – Michael Eats

Flamin’ Hot Chicken Sandwich from KFC

Published on August 25, 2026August 25, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 4559 Hurontario Street, Mississauga
Website: https://www.kfc.ca/

For the last few years, it feels like KFC has been asking themselves “would this item be out of place in a carnival?” whenever they come out with a new menu item.

In case it’s not clear, I am 100% on board with this philosophy. All fast food should be an affront to good taste. If it isn’t, what’s the point??

And yes, good taste has been affronted. The Flamin’ Hot Chicken Sandwich, as per KFC’s website: “Craving some heat? The Flamin’ Hot Chicken Sandwich features KFC’s juicy, crunchy, signature triple-breaded chicken fillet turned up with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos heat. Coated in bold Flamin’ Hot seasoning, drizzled with spicy Flamin’ Hot sauce, and topped with crunchy Flamin’ Hot Cheetos for an extra fiery kick in every bite – all served on a soft potato bun.”

This is exactly what you want it to be: stupid, but tasty. The sauce is pleasantly zingy with a mild cheesy tang, and the Cheetos (which are generously applied) add an extra dose of crunchiness to a sandwich that’s already quite crunchy. It’s good.

It’s not particularly spicy, which is a shame from something with “Flamin’ Hot” in its name, but it does have a mild kick.

As with everything from KFC, the quality of the sandwich depends quite a bit on whether the chicken was freshly fried, and in my case, it was hot and fresh.

I also tried the Flamin’ Hot Fries: “The Flamin’ Hot Fries feature our crispy golden fries turned up with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos heat. Tossed in bold Flamin’ Hot seasoning for a fiery, crave-worthy bite every time.”

I won’t lie: these were terrible. I got lucky with a fresh piece of chicken, and very unlucky with these fries, which tasted like they had been sitting out for several hours. They were also so lightly seasoned that if I had eaten these blind, I don’t think I would have guessed that they were supposed to be Flamin’ Hot.

(Or maybe my palate was just blown out by the sandwich — it’s not exactly subtle, that’s for sure.)

And of course, I got an order of the Flamin’ Hot dip: “Turn the heat wayyyyy up with our Flamin’ Hot dip. A creamy, spicy dip packed with the bold heat of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Perfect for dunking fries, chicken, or anything that could use a little extra flame.”

This was the exact same sauce that’s on the sandwich, and I’ll admit that it works better as a condiment on a sandwich than as a dip for fries.

It’s weirdly thick, and its one-note zesty flavour gets tiresome when you don’t have a whole bunch of chicken and bread to mellow it out (though the fact that the fries were borderline inedible certainly didn’t help this dip’s case).

They also have a Cheetos Dirty Soda as part of this promotion, but it’s just a normal orange soda with Cheetos on top, so I skipped it. Give me a Cheetos-flavoured soda, you cowards.

I should note that all this stuff is currently supposed to be exclusive to the KFC app until August 31, though I was able to order it on the website without downloading anything. You definitely can’t order it in person for now, however (at least not at the KFC I visited, which didn’t even have any signage up for the promotion).

Cheesy Bacon McFlavour Fries at McDonald’s (World Menu Heist)

Published on August 21, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

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

I mentioned before that the Stroopwafel McFlurry might be the most boring item in this year’s World Menu Heist. Well, the Cheesy Bacon McFlavour Fries — which are just fries, cheese sauce, and bacon — are a very close second.

Here’s how McDonald’s describes them: “France’s Cheesy Bacon McFlavour Fries have gone missing… and surfaced in Canada. Golden fries loaded with a creamy double cheddar cheese sauce and hickory-smoked bacon. Rich, indulgent, and easy to lose track of. Grab them before they’re ‘disparues’.”

(Does McDonald’s really think my French is advanced enough to know what “disparues” means? That’s very kind of them, but the sum total of my decade or so of French classes in school is that I can say “Je m’appell Michael.” (It means “missing,” BTW.))

This was… fine? It was food? I ate it? The cheese sauce is basically a slightly zestier version of Cheez Whiz, and the bacon and fries are what they are.

It likely would have been tasty enough if the fries and/or the bacon were more fresh (or fresh at all), but they were not. The bacon was off-puttingly jerky-like, and the fries were lukewarm, dry, and cardboardy.

(Didn’t the fries at McDonald’s used to get soggy when they were stale? Did they change the formula? Because even soggy fries likely would have been more satisfying here.)

I also got an order of the Truffle Flavoured Mayo Style Sauce from Sweden, which was okay. I’m not generally a fan of truffle oil, which this definitely tastes like, so it’s possible you’ll like this better if you enjoy that stuff.

It basically tasted like a thick, gloppy cream of mushroom soup with truffle oil. It wasn’t my favourite thing ever, but the fries were so dry, and so monotonous in their cheesy/salty flavour, that I still wound up using all of it.

Solid Tacos at Contigo Taco Bar

Published on August 15, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 6465 Millcreek Drive, Mississauga
Website: https://contigos.ca/

I wanted to check out Contigo Taco Bar after reading about it in Toronto Life, and yeah, it’s good. Do you need to stop what you’re doing and check it out immediately? Probably not, but it’s a solid taco joint.

I tried a few things. First up were a couple of tacos: chorizo, and BBQ pulled pork.

These might have been the messiest tacos I’ve ever eaten; the tortillas (flour, if I’m remembering right?) are a bit on the small side, and they absolutely load them up. They definitely do their best to give you your money’s worth, that’s for sure.

I liked both, but the pulled pork, which featured a generous amount of tender pork shoulder doused in a pleasantly zesty BBQ sauce, was my favourite of the two.

The aforementioned Toronto Life article specifically mentioned the fries supreme, so I got an order of that as well. This featured a very generous amount of melted cheese, cheese sauce, sour cream, and a whole bunch of veggies on top of a bunch of relatively well-prepared frozen fries. It’s not gourmet, but it hits the spot.

Outstanding Japanese/Italian Fusion at Tatsuro’s

Published on August 7, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1378 Queen Street East, Toronto
Website: https://www.tatsuros.com/

I like Tatsuro’s a whole lot. I’d heard good things, and I figured I’d like it, but it kinda knocked my socks off.

They serve pasta and brunch with a Japanese flair; I stuck to the pasta side of the menu, and based on the level of quality, I’ll clearly have to come back to try their brunch.

There was a Japanese pasta spot in Markham called Shiso Tree Cafe that, sadly, closed a few years back; since then, I’ve had a Shiso-Tree-Cafe-sized hole in my heart. That hole has finally been filled.

I started with the nori fries (“nori seasoning, spicy mayo”). These were quite tasty; the fries were nicely cooked, the nori sprinkled on top works really well, and the spicy mayo on the side is enjoyably zippy.

For my main, I had the Wafu Carbonara (“bacon, ponzu, onsen egg, parmesan”), and yikes, it was so good.

It was incredibly, incredibly rich — with the richness only being amped up by the silky onsen egg they put on top. It basically melts into the sauce when you mix it up, and really cranks up the dish’s creaminess.

By all accounts it should be too heavy and rich, but there’s a nice lightness you get from the citrusy ponzu that really cuts through the heaviness and makes the dish sing. Legitimately one of the best bowls of pasta I’ve had in a long time.

I also tried the Curry Bolognese (“beef + pork curry, pickled onion, fried shallot, cilantro”), which takes the flavours of Bolognese and Japanese curry and crams them together in a way that’s surprisingly delightful.

Tasty Fish and Chips at Sunnyside Provisions

Published on May 3, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 287 Roncesvalles Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://sunnysideprovisions.ca/

Sunnyside Provisions is a delightful little market on Roncesvalles that sells some fancy grocery items and prepared meals, along with a handful of sandwiches and other stuff you can take out (they have a few patio tables out front, but mostly, it’s a grab-and-go joint only).

I’d heard good things about the fish and chips (“Nova Scotian beer-battered haddock, fries, tartar sauce”), so that’s what I went with.

Yeah, it’s a solid dish. In particular, the batter is great; the fish in this dish often features an overly thick, substantial exterior that overwhelms the delicate meat within, but that’s not the case here. It’s nice and thin, but still has a good level of crispiness. It’s very satisfying.

The fish itself was a touch on the overcooked side and a bit dry, but not enough to particularly rain on my parade. I quite enjoyed this.

The zippy tartar sauce was also quite tasty, if a bit too oniony for me, a certified raw onion hater.

As for the fries, they’re a bit thinner than you typically expect from fish and chips, but they’re crispy and tasty enough that I’m not complaining.