GTA – Page 51 – Michael Eats

Jodie’s is a Hidden Gem

Published on March 26, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 331 Horner Avenue, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.instagram.com/jodiesrestaurant/

Jodie’s is basically the definition of a hidden gem. It’s tucked away in an industrial area of Etobicoke, it looks extremely unassuming, and there’s very little information about it online. But yes: it’s a gem.

The menu consists entirely of no-frills diner classics. I came at breakfast and ordered the morning mixer, which comes with two eggs cooked as you like; a pancake or French toast (I went with the pancake); your choice of bacon, ham, or sausage (I got sausage), with a side of home fries and toast.

It’s an exceptionally basic diner breakfast that could very easily be fine, but not much more.

Jodie’s knocks it out of the park, however, with perfectly prepared eggs, a pancake that strikes a great balance between fluffiness and substance, nicely crispy/creamy home fries, and some tasty sausages that I think are fried (they had an exterior crispiness that’s quite delightful). It’s quite simple, but when the execution is as good as it is here, simplicity is where it’s at.

Fun Fusion Brunch at Curryish Tavern

Published on March 24, 2024March 24, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 783 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://curryishtavern.ca/

As you might guess from the name, Curryish Tavern is a fusion restaurant that mixes Indian flavours with pub classics like burgers and fries. The brunch menu, which I tried, features a bunch of brunch standbys with an Indian twist.

I had the samosa eggs benny, which finds a couple of samosas topped with poached eggs and ghee hollandaise, served with ultra-crispy home fries and a slice of “mirch maple pork belly.”

It’s a tasty dish. The samosas themselves are a bit middle-of-the-road, but the combo of the samosas, the perfectly poached eggs, and the zippy ghee hollandaise — not to mention the sweet, tender pork belly — is a winner. My biggest complaint here is that the pork is off to the side instead of on top of the samosas as you’d expect, which feels like an excuse to give you less of it (which is odd considering that the dish isn’t exactly cheap at 21 bucks).

(I should also note that since I wrote this (I’ve got a bit of a backlog) the menu has been changed slightly; the benedict now costs $18, and the pork is a $5 upcharge.)

The potatoes are great; they’re perfectly cooked, with a delightfully crispy exterior and a fluffy interior.

Delicious Handmade Pasta at Pasta Forever

Published on March 21, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1693 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://pastaforever.ca/

Pasta Forever is a tiny little shop on Dundas that mostly specializes in freshly made pasta you can cook at home, along with various Italian pantry items. They also have a rotating menu of pasta dishes, sandwiches and salads you can take to go.

On this particular visit, there was only one pasta dish on the menu: “beet + ricotta mezzaluna with poppyseed butter, tarragon, + mint.”

I quite enjoyed it. In a lot of ways, it tasted like something you might be served at a nice restaurant; the beet and ricotta mixture is creamy and zippy, the herbs and poppyseed add a nice dose of flavour, the walnuts give it some textural contrast, and the whole thing is rich without feeling overly heavy.

A couple of things held it back from greatness, however. Most pressingly, the pasta was undercooked; the middle part was perfect, but the crimped edges were pretty tough. That’s not to mention the sauce, which didn’t really cling to the pasta the way you’d like, instead pooling at the bottom of the dish. The whole thing was tasty enough that it was easy to overlook these nitpicks, but it was still a bit of a shame.

Satisfying Fried Chicken at Burger Legend

Published on March 18, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1086 Islington Avenue, Etobicoke
Website: https://burgerlegend.ca/

Burger Legend recently opened a new location in Etobicoke; I tried the burger at their original Streetsville location a few years ago, and thought it was pretty solid.

I had the fried chicken sandwich this time, which they serve in various styles (Buffalo, Nashville, Cajun, etc.). I ordered the Nashville hot chicken, and it was pretty tasty.

It’s very hard to go wrong with a crispy, freshly-fried piece of fried chicken, and yeah, it was quite good. The white meat was a bit on the dry side and the chicken itself was underseasoned, but it was otherwise a solid fried chicken sandwich.

It is, as you’d hope from Nashville hot chicken, pretty spicy. It’s not going to blow your face off, but the spice level is noticeable. It’s topped with coleslaw and something they call “Bawss sauce,” and both are quite tasty and complement the chicken well. They also do a pretty good job of bringing the chicken some much-needed flavour.

The nicely toasted bun is soft, fresh, and holds up nicely to the substantial piece of chicken. It’s not a sandwich that’s going to rock anyone’s world, but it’s thoroughly tasty.

Tasty Italian Food at Spaccio West

Published on March 17, 2024March 17, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 128A Sterling Road, Toronto
Website: https://www.terroni.com/locations/spaccio-west

Taking over the spot where the Drake Commissary used to be, Spaccio West is the latest addition to Terroni’s increasingly expanding Italian food empire.

It’s an enormous space, and features a full restaurant, an Italian grocery, and an assortment of pastries, pizza slices, and sandwiches you can take out.

I’ll have to return at some point to check out the restaurant, but on this trip, I tried the porchetta sandwich.

Featuring a generous amount of thinly sliced porchetta topped with some braised greens and some kind of creamy sauce, it’s a solid sandwich. It doesn’t have any of the crispy bits you might hope for from a porchetta sandwich, but the meat is tender and tasty enough that this never feels like a big deal.

It’s served on a flatbread that basically tastes like an undressed pizza. This mostly works quite well, though the bread is a bit on the bland side.