gelato – Michael Eats

Quick Bites: Ramen Ryu, Matt’s Burger Lab, Lola’s Gelato

Published on March 16, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Ramen at Ramen Ryu in the Well

I mentioned, a few years ago, that Ryu’s Noodle Bar serves some of the best ramen in the GTA. Well, they’ve got a quick-serve outpost in Wellington Market in The Well, the fancy new food court (sorry: food hall) downtown, and it’s quite tasty. The depth of flavour isn’t quite there and the noodles were a bit on the soft side, but for something from a food court, it’s satisfying. The broth may not be up there with the best in the city, but it’s creamy and tasty. It’s a solid bowl of ramen.

Classic Smash Burger at Matt’s Burger Lab

Though Matt’s Burger Lab has a surprisingly deep menu, with a whole bunch of creatively-topped burger and fried chicken sandwiches, I figured the Classic Smash was probably the thing to get: “4 ounce prime beef patty, fresh onion, iceberg, pickle, Lab Sauce.” I skipped the onion, but otherwise got this as-is. It’s pretty tasty. The patty has a decent amount of crust on it, a nice coarse grind, and a mild beefy flavour. The bun (potato bun, I think) is nice and fresh, and the toppings suit it well. The Lab Sauce is basically like a sweeter, zestier version of the typical Big Mac-style sauce you’ll find on so many burgers in the GTA, and it works. There’s quite a lot of it, which in this case is a very good thing, because the well-done burger patty is quite dry. The sauce basically balances things out, but the dryness holds it back from being much better than pretty good. Still, I enjoyed it.

Almond Raspberry gelato from Lola’s Gelato

This is going to be a quick one. I’ve written about Lola’s a few times before on this blog, and it pains me that it doesn’t always come up when people are talking about the best gelato in the city, because it’s a strong contender for that crown. But I think maybe the word is finally getting out, because on my most recent visit, the place was absolutely packed. Of course, it’s just as delicious as ever. This particular flavour had a great almond flavour, which works surprisingly well with the raspberry sauce they have swirled throughout. And it’s just as creamy and luxurious as always. Good stuff.

Quick Bites: Venerosa Natural Gelato, Stacks, Blackbird Baking Co.

Published on March 2, 2025March 2, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Sicilian pistachio gelato at Venerosa Natural Gelato

Venerosa is a relatively new gelato spot on Queen, and it’s quite good. I don’t really have a ton to say about it. It’s gelato! It’s good! It’s not the best or the worst gelato I’ve had in the city, but it’s leaning much, much closer to “best.” I got the Sicilian pistachio, and it’s nice and creamy, and it has a great pistachio flavour. I will almost certainly be back, though I wish the variety of flavours were a bit more interesting (it’s pretty much all standard-issue stuff).

Classic pancakes at Stacks

Stacks is one of those restaurants at the bottom of a condo tower where you have to pay for parking in an area where paid parking isn’t the norm; that’s a bit of a bummer, but they seem to be doing okay regardless. They have an assortment of sweet and savoury items on the menu; I tried the scrambler wrap, which was fine, and the classic pancakes, which are clearly the thing to order (no surprise at a restaurant called “Stacks”). They’re no-frills pancakes done very well, with a great texture that features a delightful balance between substance and fluffiness.

Jam croissant at Blackbird Baking Co.

The jam croissant at Blackbird is basically an almond croissant, but with the addition of jam. I’ve never had that combo before, but as you’d expect, it’s delicious. It works so well, you have to wonder why you don’t see it more often. The last time I had the almond croissant from Blackbird, I found it to be a bit too subtle in its sweetness, but clearly things have changed because this one had a generous amount of sweet almond filling that’s kicked up by the addition of jam. It’s really tasty, though the croissant itself was a bit on the dry side.

Solid Gelato at On Third Thought

Published on December 5, 2024September 14, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 6 Markham Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.onthirdthought.com/

I recently saw On Third Thought on a list of the best gelato in the city, and I thought, wait — this place serves some of the best gelato in the city? And I haven’t heard of it??

Obviously I needed to try it ASAP.

They have about a dozen flavours on the menu, mostly fruity. Interestingly, they have a handful of booze-infused scoops for a one dollar upcharge. I went alcohol-free and got chocolate and caramelized fig.

It’s not bad at all. I personally wouldn’t put this in my top 10, but I’m certainly not mad I ate it. The gelato is served at the perfect temperature and is decently creamy, and while the fig flavour was more tart than I was expecting (and both were leaning a bit sweeter than I prefer), the chocolate had a richness to it that I found quite enjoyable.

They also serve the gelato in a glass bowl with a metal spoon if you’re eating on the patio, and I found this to be unexpectedly delightful. You wouldn’t think it would make a difference, but there’s something about it that just feels better than eating out of the usual disposable cup.

Quick Bites: Crumbl, Tom’s Dairy Freeze, Lola’s

Published on November 10, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Chocolate chip cookie from Crumbl

Crumbl is an American cookie chain that opened in Mississauga earlier last year with a ton of hype. I actually tried to go around when they opened, and the line was so intense that I wound up skipping it altogether. Things have calmed down quite a bit (the place was empty on my recent visit), so I was finally able to try the chocolate chip cookie (they have a rotating menu of six cookies, but the chocolate chip is what made them famous). The cookie seemed like it should have been pretty decent; it’s not too sweet, and it’s clearly made with good quality chocolate. But the cookie was way, way underbaked, with a pronounced raw flour flavour and a middle that was more gummy than chewy. I’m assuming this was partially on purpose, to create a softer cookie, but they clearly went a bit too far (it probably doesn’t help that the cookie is enormous, which makes it harder to underbake without having a fully raw middle).

I should note that I originally wrote this a few months ago (I have a bit of a backlog). I recently tried Crumbl’s second location in Mississauga, around Dixie and Dundas, hoping that the first cookie was just a mistake — surely it’s not supposed to be that underbaked? I had the exact same experience. I also overheard a family in line raving about how much they love the cookies here, so clearly this place has its fans. I am not one of them.

Strawberry sundae from Tom’s Dairy Freeze

I just checked — this will be my seventh time featuring Tom’s Dairy Freeze on this blog, and you know what? I regret nothing. The place continues to serve the city’s best soft serve, so why shouldn’t I write about it on a semi-regular basis? It’s my duty. I got the strawberry sundae on this particular visit, and it was, of course, delicious. I find the sauces here tend not to be nearly as good as the ice cream itself, but this one was great — in particular, the huge chunks of strawberry complemented the creamy ice cream perfectly.

Chocolate gelato from Lola’s Gelato

Speaking of amazing ice cream, every time I check out Lola’s, I’m like “is this the best gelato in the city??” Certainly, they’re neck-and-neck with Mizzica (Nani’s used to be a contender, but my last few visits have been surprisingly poor). I got plain old chocolate on this particular visit, and while it was maybe a touch too sweet, it had a great chocolate flavour and the texture was perfect: super rich and creamy, and served at the right temperature (e.g. not as hard as a brick).

Pizza and Gelato at Eataly in Sherway Gardens

Published on November 3, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 25 The West Mall, Etobicoke (inside Sherway Gardens)
Website: https://www.eataly.ca/stores/eataly-sherway-gardens/

The Eataly in Sherway Gardens has just opened, and while it isn’t quite as impressive as the downtown location (it’s roughly half the size at 25,000 feet, as per Toronto Life), it’s still an absolute must-visit for anyone who’s even vaguely into Italian food.

The selection there is absolutely massive, with all kinds of pantry items, fresh pasta, cheese, meat, and prepared foods. The prices, however, are serious business — looking at the price tags on the prepared foods, in particular, is not for the faint of heart. It’s all a bit below restaurant pricing for stuff you have to bring home and heat up yourself, so I guess it’s not too crazy if the food is really good. But I will admit that paying 16 bucks for one small serving of cold lasagna just feels wrong on a very fundamental level, even if it’s delicious.

(Or maybe I’m just a cheapskate.)

I tried a couple of things. They have a decent selection of pizza slices that you can either eat in the restaurant (though there are only a handful of tables at the moment) or take out. It’s a thick crust, Roman-style pizza, which is ideal in a grab-and-go setting since it reheats quite well. I got the margherita, and while nothing about it particularly stood out (the crust, in particular, is pretty bland), it’s a solid slice of pizza.

They had eleven flavours of gelato on offer; I went with the old standby, pistachio, and it was fine. This is a thoroughly insufferable complaint, but I was recently in Italy and was eating gelato on a daily basis, and what they’re serving here is basically trash compared to that.

That’s not fair, of course, but even compared to what’s available in Toronto, the gelato here is good, but not great. The pistachio flavour was a bit off (it definitely tastes like they’re using real pistachios, but I think they might be using flavouring as well), and the texture wasn’t quite as creamy as it should be.