grilled – Michael Eats

A Tasty, Beefy Sandwich at Giragi

Published on January 4, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 486 Front Street West, Toronto (inside Wellington Market)
Website: https://www.giragito.ca/

Wellington Market at the Well was already one of the better food courts in the city, but the recent expansion — with places like Bear Steak Sandwiches, Chen Chen’s Nashville Hot Chicken, and The Carvery — makes it hard to beat.

Giragi is another one of the newer places in the food court. It’s an offshoot of Taline, a Michelin-noted restaurant, and yeah, they clearly know what they’re doing.

They serve a variety of meats (and falafel) that you can get in a sandwich or a bowl. I went with the davar (beef) which comes topped with “pickled cucumber, hummus, pevaz, toum, chilli, cilantro, parsley.”

It’s a great sandwich. The first bite is pretty much just sauce, but once you get past that, it’s absolutely crammed with good quality beef. It’s basically a steak sandwich with Armenian flavours, and it’s quite delicious.

That beef, in particular, is just right — it’s cut into fairly sizey chunks, but they’re all tender enough, with rosy pink meat within, that this totally works. They also have a very distinctly smoky flavour from the grill. I liked it a whole lot.

Tasty Filipino Food at Bella’s Inasal

Published on December 26, 2025December 26, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 848 Burnhamthorpe Road West, Mississauga
Website: https://www.bellaslechon.ca/

I don’t go to Filipino restaurants all that often, but whenever I do, I’m like, why is this not a regular thing in my life? Bella’s Inasal definitely gave me those thoughts.

They have a pretty huge menu, but considering they serve a dish called “chicken inasal,” I figured that was probably the thing to order.

The first thing that comes is a small bowl of a garlicky shrimp soup, and wow this was good — it’s got a really great shrimpy flavour, and the toasted garlic complements it perfectly.

As for the chicken inasal, it consists of a perfectly grilled piece of chicken, a generous amount of garlic rice, and a small dish of a zippy papaya slaw called atsara. It’s very, very good; the chicken is super flavourful and perfectly cooked, with a good amount of char from the grill. The rice is nice and garlicky, and the atsara helps cut through the richness. It’s a great dish.

I also tried the pork sisig (“Crispy Pork with Onion, Chili and Calamansi”), which I think I might have liked even better than the chicken? It comes on a sizzling hot plate, and it is absolutely crammed with porky flavour and crispy bits from the hot plate. It’s enormously satisfying.

Tasty Grilled Burgers at Elijah’s Automatic

Published on August 7, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 821 The Queensway, Etobicoke
Website: https://elijahsautomatic.com/

I was actually quite excited to try Elijah’s Automatic, the newest venture from Shant Mardirosian of Burger’s Priest fame. It’s been a while, but when Burger’s Priest first opened and had just the one location on the east end, it was something special. Their burgers were upsettingly good. Basically perfect. That’s not to mention the fact that they pretty much single-handedly ushered in the smashed burger trend that swept through the GTA over the last decade or so.

A new burger place from the brains behind that operation? Yeah, that’s exciting.

Smartly, Elijah’s Automatic isn’t making the griddled burgers you can get at roughly a billion other burger joints in the city; they’re grilling them. It’s kinda funny that, pre-Burger’s Priest, it was hard to find a non-fast-food burger that wasn’t grilled. Now it seems like a delightful change of pace.

I ordered the Automatic with Cheese (“Two flame broiled beef patties with cheddar cheese, pickle, charred onion, mustard and ketchup”) and the beef fat fries.

It’s a solid burger. And when they say it’s grilled, it’s grilled. The smoky, charred flavour is actually a bit overwhelming. I think this style of burger might be better suited to one big patty rather than two smaller ones, which would provide a better balance between the flavour of the beef and the flavour from the grill.

It’s a shame; this article says they’re using dry-aged ribeye fat to give the burgers more flavour, but you’d never know. All you can taste is the grill.

That’s not an unsatisfying flavour, of course. I enjoyed it. My burger blog is basically defunct at this point, but if I were reviewing this there, I’d give it a solid three out of four. It’s slightly on the dry side and probably a bit too finely ground, but it’s quite pleasant. It’s more along the lines of a fast food burger on a good day than something you should go out of your way for, but it’s a tasty burger.

As for the fries, they’re battered, which isn’t my favourite style of fry, but for what they are, they’re very good.

A Healthy Food Court Option at Poulet Rouge

Published on March 29, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 100 City Centre Drive, Mississauga (inside Square One)
Website: https://poulet-rouge.ca/en

I hadn’t heard of Poulet Rouge until very recently, but apparently it’s a Quebec-based chain that’s been around since 2012. They basically have one thing on the menu — grilled chicken bowls — though it’s extremely customizable.

You can pick the flavour of your chicken, the base (brown rice, quinoa, lettuce, or poutine — it is a Quebec chain, after all), the sauce, and various veggie toppings.

I ordered the mini size, which — true to its name — comes in a comically tiny container. It’s packed with stuff, though, so it’s enough for lunch if you want something that isn’t too heavy.

I got the volcano hot chicken on brown rice, and topped it with spicy mayo, olives, cucumber, hot peppers, and a scoop of avocado mash (which costs a bit extra).

It’s not bad at all. I wouldn’t say it blew my mind, but for something from a mall food court (that’s relatively healthy, no less), it’s pretty tasty. The ingredients taste fresh, the flavours are nice and zippy, and while the grilled chicken breast is a bit on the dry side, it’s got some nice char from the grill.

I don’t know if anyone is going to get too excited about this place, but it’s solid food court fare.