GTA – Page 74 – Michael Eats

Amazing Pastries at Cho-Kwok-Lat

Published on August 31, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 31 Main Street North, Markham
Website: https://chokwoklat.com/

There are a whole bunch of really good bakeries doing fancy French desserts in the GTA, so if you want to stand out, you’d better be really good.

Cho-Kwok-Lat stands out.

They have two display counters; one with tasty looking croissants, and the other with fancy cakes. I wanted to eat everything in both displays immediately. The woman behind the counter said that the chocolate rum almond croissant is their most popular, so I figured that was probably a good choice.

It’s immediately clear why it’s so popular. It’s basically like an almond croissant and a pain au chocolate had a baby, and it’s just the absolute best. The combination of the tasty almond paste and the great quality chocolate is so good, and the croissant itself is buttery, flaky, and perfect. I was worried that it might taste overly boozy, but if “rum” weren’t in its name, I don’t think I would have known it was there.

The woman behind the counter heated it up for me, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen with a croissant like this before, but which is clearly the way to go. The croissant was just barely warm, but it had been heated up enough to really emphasize the pasty’s exterior crisp-factor, and to make the chocolate nice and gooey. Good stuff.

McCrispy at McDonald’s

Published on August 28, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 30 Courtneypark Drive East, Mississauga
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

The McCrispy is the newest addition to the McDonald’s permanent menu, and… it’s fine, I guess?

It’s a fried chicken sandwich topped with shredded lettuce and “creamy mayo-style sauce,” and served on a potato bun. It’s basically a McChicken, but with a theoretically nicer chicken patty, and with a different bun.

They also sell a deluxe version of this that comes with tomato and bacon, and that’s almost certainly the way to go — the sandwich is extremely middle-of-the-road. It’s a fried chicken sandwich. It exists. It’s not offensive. I don’t have anything much nicer than that to say about it.

I had assumed that the chicken was going to be a real chicken breast instead of the reconstituted stuff you’ll find in a McChicken (because if it isn’t, why even bother when the McChicken is still on the menu??), but it didn’t taste that way to me. It’s quite possible that I’m misinterpreting what this sandwich is even supposed to be, because the McDonald’s website just says that it’s “100% Canadian-raised seasoned chicken” and doesn’t say anything about it being a whole piece of chicken.

But seriously then: why bother? Because of the bun? I guess it’s a bit chewier than your average McDonald’s bun, but if you hadn’t told me it was different, I don’t think I would have noticed.

Also: it’s always a crapshoot when you order anything from a fast food chain, but the signage outside the restaurant says the sandwich is “so juicy. So tender” and mine was neither of those things. So I guess I prefer the McChicken — it’s extremely similar, but at least I’ve never had one of those that was this dry.

Delicious Pastries at Cannoli Crunch

Published on August 21, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: I was at the Taste of Little Italy festival, but their permanent location is at 850 King Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.cannolicrunch.ca/

There was a whole bunch of interesting food at the recent Taste of Little Italy street festival, though Cannoli Crunch — who make various flavours of cannoli and then fill them fresh to order — was one that I couldn’t resist.

(Also: after a couple of years of their absence thanks to you-know-what, it was quite delightful to be back at a street festival.)

Though some of the other flavours sounded interesting, I went with the classic ricotta-filled cannoli dipped in pistachio. Hey, it’s a classic for a reason.

It was so good. It was filled to order, so the shell remained abundantly crispy, as it should. And the filling was actually quite unique; cannoli filling generally has that slightly grainy texture that you get from ricotta, but the version here was smooth like custard while still retaining its delightful ricotta flavour.

The contrast between the crispy shell and the ultra-creamy filling was really nice, and the whole thing had a perfect level of sweetness — sweet, but not in-your-face sweet. It was a great dessert.

Quick Bites: Amanecer Salvadoreño Restaurant, Frenchie’s Doughnuts, 3 Mariachis Mexican Restaurant

Published on August 17, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Papusas and a combination plate at Amanecer Salvadoreño Restaurant

This is a fantastic hidden gem in north Etobicoke. I heard that the papusas are the thing to order here, and yeah, they’re top-notch. But the rest of the menu is no slouch; I also tried the combination plate that came with steak, shrimp, and plantain, and everything was very, very good.

Blueberry cheesecake doughnut at Frenchie’s Doughnuts

Frenchie’s has a fun gimmick that makes them feel delightfully distinct from a run-of-the-mill doughnut shop: they fry their doughnuts fresh and then top them to order (you can either pick from one of their pre-topped selections, or customize your own toppings). I went with the blueberry cheesecake, and the highlight was the doughnut itself; it’s cakey and still warm when you get it, like a full-sized version of Tiny Tom’s.

The Mariachi Platter at 3 Mariachis Mexican Restaurant

That beast of a plate is the Mariachi Platter, which comes with a chicken enchilada, two chorizo tacos, a shredded beef burrito, Mexican rice, guacamole, beans, pico de gallo, and a zippy green sauce. As the menu says, “why have one when you can have it all?” Why indeed. I shared this, obviously — I’m not Andre the Giant — and pretty much everything was quite tasty, particularly the burrito, which was crammed with tender, tasty beef. The taco was a bit dry, but aside from that it was a delicious (and huge) plate of food.

An Amazing Turkey Sub at Good Behaviour Submarine

Published on August 14, 2022August 14, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 342 Westmoreland Avenue North, Toronto
Website: https://goodbehaviourto.ca/

The last time I went to Good Behaviour, I tried a couple of the hot subs, and found them to be tasty, but not much more than that; they were a bit too one-note rich. Well, clearly the cold subs are the way to go, because I just tried the turkey and it was very, very good.

The turkey, as per their menu: “smoked turkey, smoked gouda, grainy mustard, salsa verde, pickled artichoke, iceberg lettuce.”

The key here is that, unlike the hot subs, there are a variety of tastes and textures — the meaty turkey, the creamy cheese, the crispy lettuce, and the sharp mustard and salsa verde are a winning combo. It seems like a lot of lettuce, but it’s nicely dressed, so it adds a ton of flavour, not to mention the very satisfying crunch and freshness.

It’s a great balance of flavours that’s all held together by a fresh, tasty bun; it’s a seriously top-notch sandwich.

I also got a scoop of ice cream, because it’s an ice cream shop, so of course I got some ice cream. I got the coconut cream pie, which is rich, creamy, and thoroughly coconutty, with tasty cookie chunks interspersed throughout.