mozzarella – Michael Eats

Tasty Sandwiches at Philadelphia Kitchen

Published on December 7, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 281 Broadway, Orangeville
Website: https://philadelphiakitchen.ca/

I continue to be thoroughly puzzled about why Philly cheesesteaks are so difficult to find in the GTA. There’s Illstyl3 Sammies, which is delicious, if not entirely authentic, and… that’s about it.

Well okay, there’s also a chain called Philthy Philly’s, but the less said about that place, the better. And I’m sure there are a whole bunch of restaurants with a cheesesteak on the menu, but if you want a place that specializes in the stuff, it’s Illstyl3 Sammies or bust.

But hey, if you don’t mind driving to Orangeville (which is technically part of the GTA, though just barely), there’s also Philadelphia Kitchen.

They serve a classic Philly cheesesteak (just steak, onions, and cheese on a roll) that you can either get with mozzarella or Cheez Whiz. I tried both.

It’s a tasty sandwich, though it’s probably a bit too heavy on the onion. I think the ratio of onion to beef is something like 1:1. Griddled onions are definitely a big part of a cheesesteak’s flavour, but the proportion here is so high that it overwhelms the beef.

On the other end of the spectrum, the ratio of beef to cheese is probably like 10:1. Both sandwiches were very, very light on cheese, which is a shame.

I quite enjoyed both, however. The proportions of beef, cheese, and onions makes this feel like something other than a classic cheesesteak, but whatever it is, it’s thoroughly tasty, with a whole bunch of perfectly-cooked beef that’s really satisfying. It’s not what I was expecting, but also not lacking in deliciousness. The search for a real-deal Philly cheesesteak in the GTA continues, however.

Tasty Sandwiches at Vero Italian Sandwich Co.

Published on October 26, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 477 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://verosandwich.ca/

All restaurants are Italian sandwich shops now. Don’t like it? Sorry, them’s the breaks.

But you know what? Based on the quality of places like this and Alfie’s, I for one welcome our new Italian sandwich overlords.

They have a handful of meaty sandwiches on the menu (and one vegetarian). I went with the Gabagool: “Capicola, Mortadella, Fresh Mozzarella, Giardiniera, Tomato and Arugula.”

Yeah, that’s a top-notch sandwich. The bread is great (it’s got a nice balance of chewiness and crispiness), there’s a generous amount of good quality cold cuts, it’s nice and zippy, and the fresh mozzarella adds a nice creaminess that rounds things out.

It was a little greasy (it was dripping with oil) and the flavours don’t quite pop like in the best versions of this type of sandwich, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit.

Tasty Subs at Lambo’s Deli

Published on January 12, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 176 Bellwoods Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.lambosdeli.ca/

Lambo’s is one of those places that’s pretty much always busy, no matter when you go. Though it’s certainly possible for a place like this to be overhyped, generally speaking, if you’re doing that well, you’re probably doing something right.

And indeed, Lambo’s is doing something right. They’re a sub shop, with nine classic deli subs on the menu. I went with the Italian Trio: “Soppressata, mortadella, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, roasted red peppers, pickled red onion, arugula, pesto, Calabrian chili spread.”

It’s a very tasty sandwich, with a great balance between the salty meats, rich cheese, zingy pickled onions, and flavour-packed pesto and Calabrian chili.

It seems a bit pricey at $16, until you get it and realize that each overstuffed sandwich is easily big enough to feed two.

I also tried the Caprese: “Fresh mozzarella, tomato, balsamic glaze, arugula, breadcrumb gremolata, pesto.”

I will admit that I missed the meat in this one, but it was still quite satisfying — in particular, the addition of the breadcrumb gremolata is actually quite ingenious. I wouldn’t have thought to put breadcrumbs in a sandwich, but it brings a nice crispiness that works well with the soft cheese and tomato.

Tasty Slices at Gram’s Pizza

Published on December 21, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1640 Dupont Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/grams.pizza/

Pizza! It’s good!

(Why yes, writing the opening paragraph of these blog posts is always the hardest part, why do you ask?)

Gram’s Pizza is a new pizza joint near the Junction that serves a variety of slices, along with whole pies. I went with the cheese (“tomato sauce + mozz + grana padano”), because a plain cheese pizza is the best way to suss out the quality of a pizza joint (also cheese pizza is delicious).

It’s a solid slice of pizza. The crust has a nice crispy exterior and is slightly thicker than the norm for this style of pizza, but it works. And they’re clearly not shy with the grana padano, with its nice salty sharpness really shining through.

It didn’t exactly rock my world, but it’s a very good slice of pizza. I’d come back.

A Simple (but Delicious) Sandwich at Mattachioni

Published on July 22, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1617 Dupont Street, Toronto
Website: http://www.mattachioni.com/

If it weren’t for Toronto Life’s list of the best sandwiches in the city, there’s no way I would have ordered the mortadella sandwich at Mattachioni. Aside from the fact that the pizzas looked very, very good, the mortadella sandwich is quite bare bones — it’s just mortadella and fresh mozzarella on tomato focaccia bread.

But of course, sometimes the simplest things are the best. If you’re dealing with really good quality ingredients, less is more.

The contrast between the tender, salty mortadella and the creamy mozzarella works really well (fresh mozzarella has a radically different texture than the rubbery shrink-wrapped balls at the supermarket — it’s soft, creamy, and luxurious).

The fluffy, slightly chewy focaccia is quite good too, though I wish it had a bit more texture (it was soft throughout). It was also soaked through with olive oil; it gives the sandwich a nice greasy heft, though it might have been a little bit too much of a good thing.

Still, it’s a very tasty sandwich. I don’t think I’d put it on my list of the best in the city, but I don’t begrudge anyone for putting it on theirs.

I also got to try a little bit of the Margherita pizza, which was absolutely outstanding (I didn’t take a picture of that one, sadly, so you’ll just have to take my word that it looked and tasted amazing).

They have both custard and dulce de leche bomboloni for dessert (a.k.a. Italian doughnuts). I tried both, and while they were tasty, they definitely weren’t on the level of the sandwich or the pizza. They were a little bit too dense, with a slightly oily flavour.