lamb – Michael Eats

Quick Bites: Giragi, Barbershop Patisserie, Queen’s Pasta Cafe

Published on August 8, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Lamb Wrap from Giragi

I previously tried the steak wrap from Giragi, and it was stellar. I just tried the vochkhar (lamb), and it was just as good. Clearly, the people in charge of this place know their stuff. As per the menu, this particular wrap comes stuffed with “jajekh, xaviar, pickled turnip, pevaz.” To translate, jajekh is a cucumber yogurt salad, xaviar is an eggplant spread, and pevaz is a mix of onion and parsley. It’s a really, really tasty wrap. It’s so much stuff, and it seems like it should be overstuffed (and technically, it probably is — it’s a mess), but all the flavours work so well together, and the perfectly spiced lamb patties are thoroughly delicious. It’s so good.

Brownie from Barbershop Patisserie

Speaking of things that are obscenely delicious, the brownie from Barbershop is ridiculously good. Like, one of the best brownies I’ve ever had. It’s got an amazingly rich, chocolatey flavour, and the perfectly fudgy-but-light texture has a great chewiness that I can barely even describe. It’s pretty special.

Meatball Sandwich from Queen’s Pasta Cafe

As the name implies, Queen’s Pasta Cafe is mostly about pasta, though they do have a lunch menu with a few sandwiches. I went with the meatball (“Meatballs with Arugula, Mozzarella Cheese and Tomato sauce”), and it was okay. The meatballs were actually quite good, with a nice meaty flavour, a tender texture that isn’t too soft, and a rich sauce. But the stale bun was a bit of a disaster. This is probably my fault, however, for ordering something that isn’t pasta at a restaurant with pasta in its name. Those meatballs would have been boffo on spaghetti, I’m sure.

Lamb Noodles at Three Sheep Gourmet Foods

Published on July 10, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1000 Burnhamthorpe Road West, Mississauga
Website: None

I was intrigued by Three Sheep Gourmet Foods when I saw that they had a dish on their menu called “Lamb Haggis Noodle Soup.” My initial assumption was that this was just a translation quirk — but then I saw that they also have a dish called “Scottish Noodles.”

Could it be… Chinese/Scottish fusion??

No; the answer to that is no. I ordered the Lamb Haggis Noodle Soup, and the only connection to haggis is that it features a bunch of innards. Otherwise, there’s nothing even remotely resembling that dish.

(Still kinda curious about those Scottish noodles, though.)

Aside from dashing my Chinese/Scottish fusion dreams, it’s a solid dish. The soup has a clean, meaty flavour (and is nicely kicked up by the optional chili oil on the counter), the various organs are nicely prepared, and it’s got a very generous amount of thick noodles (which were slightly overcooked, but still satisfying enough).

My only real complaint here is that one of the bits of offal (spleen, possibly?) was just too strong for me. It was like liver times a million. I actually like the metallic, minerally taste of liver, but this one kinda knocked me out. I quite liked everything else in the bowl, however.

A Delicious Burger at General Public

Published on June 27, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 201 Geary Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.generalpublic.ca/

It’s been a while since I’ve had a really good burger, so the one at General Public hit the spot. They only serve it on the happy hour menu, for some reason (which is 4:00pm to 6:00pm), but it’s worth coming here at that time to check it out. Really, really good.

The GP Burger, as per their menu: “red leicester & cheddar blend, bone marrow, onion, branston pickle.”

Given how hard it is to find anything other than a smashed burger in Toronto, a hamburger in any other style is kinda delightful by default.

This one features a nice, hefty patty that’s cooked to a perfect medium rare. They’re obviously using good quality beef with a good amount of fat, because it’s seriously juicy and has a satisfying beefy flavour.

The cheese is nice and gooey, and the toppings mostly complement the burger quite well, other than the onion (I’m not a fan of raw onion, so this my fault, not the burger’s). The bun appears to be too big, and yeah, it kinda is, but it’s so plush and fluffy that it’s not nearly as big of a problem as it seems just by looking at it. It works.

I tried a couple of other things. There was the curried lamb tartare (“kashmiri, curry mayo, poppadom”), which was a really unique spin on a classic dish, with a nice crispy crunch from the poppadom that comes on the side, and a spiced flavour (particularly cumin) that distinguishes it from any tartare you’ve had before.

I also tried the bone marrow, which isn’t normally on the menu but was a special when I went. It’s over-the-top rich (the bread that comes on the side is basically soaked in butter, as if it weren’t decadent enough on its own), but it’s so, so good.

I also had the lemon posset for dessert, which features an ultra-creamy lemon pudding topped with a crispy shortbread cookie. Like everything else, it was seriously tasty — the pudding itself was maybe the silkiest I’ve ever had, and the bright, lemony flavour was perfectly tuned.

Lamb Overload at Bareh Sefid

Published on June 7, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 9325 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill
Website: https://barehsefid.net/

I was pretty excited to check out Bareh Sefid after seeing it on Suresh Doss’ great show, Locals Welcome. They specialize in big platters of various braised lamb parts. I feel like lamb is seriously underappreciated, so yeah, I’m all over that.

Their menu consists entirely of lamb, and if you want to try it all, you’ve gotta go with the Darbari plate: “2 Sides Lamb Head Meat, 1 Tongue, 2 Eyes, 3 Lamb Trotters, 1 Brain, 2 Bowls Of Lamb Broth, With Full Service: Pickled, Home Made Bread, Lime.”

The lamb is all seriously well prepared and unctuously tender. The head and tongue are probably the most straightforward — you’d never know that they’re off cuts just by tasting them. The eyes and trotter both have a similarly squishy texture, and are also quite tasty, if a bit one-note soft. The brain is the most interesting of the bunch, with a firm texture and a slightly liver-esque mineraly flavour.

It’s all nicely spiced, but mostly, the preparation ensures that the lamb flavour is front and centre. The meal comes with a side of lime wedges and zippy pickle relish, with the relish, in particular, doing a great job of cutting through the richness of the lamb.

It’s so much lamb. The platter consists entirely of fatty/collagen-rich lamb along with a couple of types of flatbread to eat it with, and while I was in lamb heaven for the first few bites, eventually, I kinda wanted some other flavours? I like lamb a whole lot, but — for me, at least — this might have been too much of a good thing.

Tasty Eats at Lamb Soup Noodle House

Published on May 22, 2026May 22, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 4750 Yonge Street, Toronto (inside Emerald Park food court)
Website: none

The lamb soup at Lamb Soup Noodle House is pretty tasty, with a very clean lamby flavour. I got the spicy version, which also had a very noticeable fiery kick. Nothing about it blew my mind — but I’m a fan of lamb, and I’m never going to dislike anything that packed with lamb flavour.

(The chunks of lamb are a bit tough and the fat noodles are overcooked, but I think the broth is the real reason to order this.)

I think the better thing to order here, oddly, isn’t the lamb soup — it’s the jian bing, an eggy Chinese crepe.

I actually tried the jian bing here several years ago and quite enjoyed it. It was called Gao’s Crepe back then, so I’m not sure if it’s the same place or another jian bing spot in the same location, but either way, it’s thoroughly delicious.

Rather than going with the standard jian bing, I went with the one that comes stuffed with spicy noodles and cheese (!), and wow it was good. The wrap itself was chewy and satisfying, it has a nice crunch, and the zippy noodles and melty processed cheese work surprisingly well together. There’s also some kind of sausage in there, and yeah, that’s tasty too. It’s all quite junky, but in a really satisfying way.