Tag: OssFest

Perfectly Crispy Cannoli at Holy Cannoli

Published on by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Holy CannoliLocation: Follow them on Instagram to see where they’ll be
Website: https://www.holy-cannoli.com/

There’s nothing sadder than biting into a cannoli only to find that its would-be crispy exterior has been rendered soft and chewy by the ravages of time.

Holy Cannoli, which had a booth at the recent OssFest street festival, avoids this problem quite definitively by filling their cannoli shells to order.  This is clearly the way to do it.  I don’t know why every bakery doesn’t do it this way.

Holy Cannoli

So of course, the shell was nice and crispy, just as it should be.  It’s crispy but not overly crunchy — it’s basically the perfect cannoli shell.

You can choose from either chocolate chip or vanilla filling; I went with the latter, and it was creamy, sweet, and tasty.  Nothing about it particularly jumped out as being amazing, but it was a solid cannoli.

Mind-Blowing Souvlaki at Mamakas Taverna

Published on by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Mamakas TavernaLocation: 80 Ossington Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://mamakas.ca/

Mamakas Taverna had a booth at the recent OssFest street festival on Ossington, serving up chicken and pork souvlaki.  It was almost improbably good.  Like, is the food at a street festival even allowed to be this good?  It was easily the best souvlaki I’ve ever had.

It’s simple enough — it features pita bread slathered with tsatziki, and topped with chunks of pork and tomatoes (onions are also an option, though I skipped those).

Mamakas Taverna

Every element here is amazing.  The pork is cooked on a spit over coals, giving it a nice smoky flavour.  It’s perfectly cooked and amazingly juicy.

They chop the pork up and toss it in some kind of magical, zesty sauce; little touches like this make all the difference.  The pork would have been perfectly delicious if they had just served it as-is, but that sauce kicks up its flavour, adds additional moisture, and elevates the wrap from good to great.

Mamakas Taverna

The creamy, mint-and-garlic-infused tzatziki is just as delicious as the pork, and complements it exceptionally well.  And the bread is the perfect vehicle — it’s fresh, a little bit chewy, and amazing.  The whole thing is exceptionally delicious.