Liberty Village – Michael Eats

Solid Tacos at Ghost Taco

Published on July 11, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 151 East Liberty Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.ghosttaco.ca/

Ghost Taco is a solid taco joint in Liberty Village. It’s affiliated with a brewery (Something in the Water Brewing Co.), so if you’re in the mood, you can get a beer to go with your taco. The menu even gives you beer pairing suggestions for each taco.

I tried a couple of tacos. First up: Alabama Chicken (“fried chicken, Bama sauce, corn salsa, shrettuce”).

This was pretty solid. The fried chicken tender tasted like something you might find at a fast food chain, but it was freshly-fried, crispy, and satisfying. And the combo of the zippy salsa and the creamy Bama sauce worked well. This didn’t knock my socks off, but I enjoyed it.

Next up: Vampire (“fried cheese, pickled jalapeno, braised pork, tortilla, guac & pico, sriracha aioli”).

This was definitely my favourite of the two. It’s that fried cheese on the exterior. It’s crispy, chewy, and immensely satisfying. The rest of the taco is solid, with a nice balance of flavours, but that cheesy shell is where it’s at.

Bonus: the tacos are generously-filled and $5.50 a piece, so it’s a great deal.

Spicy Chicken Sandwich at Aloette Go

Published on November 13, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 171 East Liberty Street, Toronto
Website: https://aloettego.com/

I’ve had a couple of things from Aloette and thought they were both pretty great. Well I just tried the Spicy Chicken Sandwich (“Crispy buttermilk fried chicken, Aloette hot sauce, Go sauce, & shredded lettuce”), and hey, what do you know? It’s great as well.

It’s a really, really good fried chicken sandwich. The chicken itself is ultra-tender thigh meat, and the crispy exterior? Perfection. It’s got a great level of crunch without being overly substantial, and it’s nicely seasoned.

It’s topped with hot sauce and “Go sauce” — it doesn’t look all that saucy from the photo (sadly, I wasn’t able to cut it in half), so you’ll just have to take my word for it that it was saucy and delicious. The hot sauce / Go sauce combo is basically Aloette’s version of Buffalo sauce and ranch, which is a classic combo.

The heat level is somewhere between medium and hot — it’s certainly not the spiciest thing you’ll ever eat, but it’s satisfying.

And the bun was soft and fresh, and held up to the saucy chicken quite well (again, you can’t tell, but I assure you that it was saucy). It’s a stellar fried chicken sandwich.

Tasty Sandwiches at Paris Steak

Published on May 25, 2025May 25, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 120 Atlantic Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.parissteak.ca/

Paris Steak has an admirably focused menu — you can get their steak (ribeye, striploin, or chuck) in a sandwich, by itself with fries, or on a salad, and that’s about it.

They have a small seating area downstairs, but seem to be mostly a take-out joint.

The sandwich, as per their menu: “Your choice of steak, seasoned and grilled medium rare, served on a buttered ciabatta bun with arugula salad and house-made chimichurri.”

I tried a couple: ribeye and striploin, and both were quite tasty; I slightly preferred the fattier ribeye, but both were perfectly cooked and quite tender, with the toasty ciabatta bun being a great vehicle for the substantial steak.

It’s a very satisfying sandwich, though the heavy-handed application of garlicky, herby chimichurri — while extremely tasty — kinda defeats the point of using dry-aged steak, at least somewhat. While dry-aging does add tenderness, which is certainly a factor here, its main draw is that it adds complexity to the beef’s flavour. That’s almost entirely lost here, with the flavour of the beef being mostly overwhelmed by the chimichurri.

I should reiterate that the thing that’s overwhelming the flavour of the steak is thoroughly delicious, so it feels absurd to complain too much. But I wish that the chimichurri was dialed back a bit so that it could complement the steak without becoming the star of the show. Regardless, it’s a very good sandwich.

The duck fat fries (“fresh-cut fries tossed in duck fat and finished with parmesan crumble”), on the other hand? 100% perfect, no notes. Great flavour, with an amazing crispy/creamy balance. Legitimately some of the best fries I’ve ever had.

Great Baked Goods at Brodflour

Published on July 29, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 8 Pardee Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://brodflour.com/

Brodflour is a delightful little bakery in Liberty Village that sells sandwiches, pastries, and outstanding loaves of sourdough bread. They might actually sell my favourite loaf of bread in the city — it’s thoroughly delicious, and unlike a lot of other bakeries that sell higher-end sourdough loaves, they actually offer to slice it.

(Yes, surprisingly enough, there are an unnerving number of fancy bakeries in the city that sell $10+ loaves of bread and refuse to slice them for you.)

I tried the smoked salmon sandwich (“Jerusalem bagel, house-made labneh, capers, pickled onions, salt and pepper, tomatoes”), which is tasty. The bagel is maybe slightly too dense, but they’re clearly using good smoked salmon, and all of the ingredients work really well together (I’m normally not a fan of onion with smoked salmon, but pickling them takes away most of that raw onion harshness). It’s not a mind-blowing sandwich, but it’s quite good.

What was mind-blowing was the cardamom knot. Oh man this thing was tasty. It’s sweet but not too sweet, the pastry has a really great chewy texture that’s not too dense, and the sugar on the outside gives it a nice texture that contrasts with the chewy interior. That’s not to mention the cardamom flavour, which is delightfully intense. It’s a great, great pastry.

An Upscale McRib at Aloette

Published on November 8, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 171 East Liberty Street, Unit 127A, Toronto
Website: https://aloetterestaurant.com/

Aloette has recently added a few new things to their menu, including a McRib-esque rib sandwich, and yeah, obviously I’ve gotta try that.

The Ribette Sandwich, as per the menu: “Slow cooked pork ribs, coleslaw, pickles, pickled onions, BBQ sauce.”

Okay fine, it’s actually not much like a McRib, which features a ground pork patty and is only tangentially related to ribs. This one contains actual ribs (but with the bones conveniently removed), and it’s extremely tasty.

It’s not smoky at all, which is too bad, but it’s porky and tender, and features some nicely crispy/charred bits from the grill. It’s slathered in a deliciously sweet and tangy BBQ sauce, and topped with pickles and pickled onions, which do a great job of adding some crunch and cutting through the richness of the fatty pork.

It also comes with a little tub of zingy coleslaw that you’re supposed to add to the sandwich yourself; BBQ sandwich + coleslaw is always a great combo, and yeah, it works quite well here.

It’s served on a fluffy, lightly chewy bun that holds up nicely to the saucy sandwich. It’s great.

I also tried the fries, which are crispy, fluffy, and perfectly cooked. Good stuff.