healthy – Michael Eats

A Tasty Wrap at Fresh

Published on September 18, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 25 The West Mall, Etobicoke (inside Sherway Gardens)
Website: https://www.freshkitchens.ca/

I’ve been to Fresh a couple of times, and thought it wasn’t much better than fine on either visit. So I can’t say my expectations were particularly high on this visit, but you know what? I thoroughly enjoyed my wrap.

I ordered the broccoli Caesar wrap (“Roasted broccoli, heritage blend lettuce, chick’n tenders, Caesar dressing, grilled whole wheat tortilla,”) and when it came, I thought: uh oh. That’s too much green. That is an impenetrable-looking wall of green. That can’t be good.

But the broccoli was nicely roasted and liberally dressed with a zippy, garlicky Caesar dressing, and yeah, it worked. The “chick’n” tenders were crispy and warm from the fryer, and the fake chicken inside was close enough to the real deal that, with all the veggies and dressing, it was quite passable.

I got a salad on the side with the house dressing, which was maybe the oiliest salad dressing I’ve ever tasted? The pool of oil eventually made its way to the wrap and made it slick with grease and hard to eat. But aside from that? A surprisingly tasty meal.

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.

Enjoyable Health Food at iQ

Published on December 29, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3401 Dufferin Street, North York (inside Yorkdale Mall)
Website: https://www.iqfoodco.com/

Though I hadn’t heard of iQ until very recently, they actually have nine locations as I write this, mostly downtown. The whole place kind of comes off as a parody of a trendy health food joint, with various bowls and avocado toasts on the menu, but based on the bowl I tried, it’s actually pretty tasty.

I got the Steelhead + Veg bowl: “roasted steelhead trout, avocado, roasted sweet potato, steamed broccoli, cucumber, pickled onion, jalapeno, brown rice, chopped romaine, lime wedge, carrot ginger dressing.”

It’s not bad at all. It’s got a good variety of tastes and textures, the dressing was nice and zippy, and the quality of the fish (which is served cold, like the rest of the ingredients here) is quite good. I don’t think it’s going to blow anyone’s mind, but for something that’s so blatantly healthy, it’s pretty satisfying.

Fake Burgers and Real Onion Rings at Fresh

Published on November 30, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Toronto
Website: https://freshrestaurants.ca/

The original plan was to review the veggie burger from Fresh for my burger blog. But then I actually ate it, and to be honest… I didn’t want to.

It’s not a burger. They call it a burger, and it basically looks like a burger, but the taste and the texture both contain zero hamburger-like properties. I only post a review on Tasty Burgers every couple of weeks, and it just didn’t feel right wasting one on something that absolutely, positively isn’t a hamburger.

We started with the much-lauded onion rings, which are frequently called the best in the city. And yeah, they’re good — maybe not best-in-the-city good, but they’re quite tasty. They actually reminded me a lot of what they serve at A&W — they’re similarly hearty, with a crispy breaded exterior encasing a perfectly cooked onion.

They were slightly underseasoned, however, and a little bit greasier than you’d like (which is particularly odd given the restaurant’s health food pedigree). I think I like A&W’s version slightly more, especially given how crazy expensive the ones at Fresh are (eight bucks for five substantial rings).

As for the “burger,” I ordered the banquet burger, which features fake bacon and fake cheese on a fake hamburger patty.

It’s fine. It’s actually not bad for what it is, but as I mentioned earlier, it’s not going to satisfy anyone’s hamburger cravings. The taste and texture are quite falafel-esque (but without the crispy exterior). Like most veggie burgers, it’s on the mushy side — a problem that’s compounded by how incredibly dense the wheaty bun is. It’s so unforgivingly brick-like that it’s actually quite difficult to eat, but I got through it.

The fake cheese is basically a thick, salty paste, and the fake bacon literally could not have tasted less like bacon. It was sweet and vaguely plantain-like. It wasn’t bad, but comparing it to bacon is absurd.

Quality Salads at Flock

Published on October 31, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 330 Adelaide Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.eatflock.com/

If you’re downtown and you’re looking for something quick and relatively healthy, you could probably do worse than Flock. Though I’m not crazy about their much-ballyhooed chicken sandwich (its texture is one-note soft, and it generally doesn’t taste much better than something I could throw together at home from leftovers), I just tried one of their salads and found it quite satisfying.

I got the Frenchy Flock (“Mixed Greens & Arugula, Vine Beans, Crispy Onions, Roasted Cauliflower, French Lentils, Sweet Peppers, Cucumber, Cherry Tomatoes, Hard Boiled Egg, Yellow Zucchini with Roasted Tomato/Olive/Caper Vinaigrette”) and had it topped with pulled chicken.

Yes, it’s a lot of stuff. And it’s a quality salad; the veggies are all nice and fresh, and the zippy vinaigrette suited it well. The pulled chicken was above average, and did a good job of making the salad feel like a full meal.

But the roasted cauliflower was overcooked and mushy, and the egg was chalky and dry, which was unfortunate. Also unfortunate: with the chicken add-on, it came up to about $17.50. That’s almost hilariously expensive for a salad that, though tasty, isn’t substantially better than the pre-packed salads you can get at a nicer supermarket (which cost about half as much).