pistachio – Page 2 – Michael Eats

Quick Bites: Venerosa Natural Gelato, Stacks, Blackbird Baking Co.

Published on March 2, 2025March 2, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Sicilian pistachio gelato at Venerosa Natural Gelato

Venerosa is a relatively new gelato spot on Queen, and it’s quite good. I don’t really have a ton to say about it. It’s gelato! It’s good! It’s not the best or the worst gelato I’ve had in the city, but it’s leaning much, much closer to “best.” I got the Sicilian pistachio, and it’s nice and creamy, and it has a great pistachio flavour. I will almost certainly be back, though I wish the variety of flavours were a bit more interesting (it’s pretty much all standard-issue stuff).

Classic pancakes at Stacks

Stacks is one of those restaurants at the bottom of a condo tower where you have to pay for parking in an area where paid parking isn’t the norm; that’s a bit of a bummer, but they seem to be doing okay regardless. They have an assortment of sweet and savoury items on the menu; I tried the scrambler wrap, which was fine, and the classic pancakes, which are clearly the thing to order (no surprise at a restaurant called “Stacks”). They’re no-frills pancakes done very well, with a great texture that features a delightful balance between substance and fluffiness.

Jam croissant at Blackbird Baking Co.

The jam croissant at Blackbird is basically an almond croissant, but with the addition of jam. I’ve never had that combo before, but as you’d expect, it’s delicious. It works so well, you have to wonder why you don’t see it more often. The last time I had the almond croissant from Blackbird, I found it to be a bit too subtle in its sweetness, but clearly things have changed because this one had a generous amount of sweet almond filling that’s kicked up by the addition of jam. It’s really tasty, though the croissant itself was a bit on the dry side.

Another Delicious Doughnut at Dipped Donuts

Published on December 24, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 161 Baldwin Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.dippeddonuts.ca/

It’s been a few years since I’ve been to Dipped Donuts, and I figured another visit was probably in order. Every other doughnut I’ve had from this place has been great, and hey, guess what? It’s still great.

I’m a big fan of the flavours here, which manage to be unique without ever coming off as gimicky. Whoever’s coming up with the doughnuts clearly knows what they’re doing.

On this visit I got the saffron pistachio: “filled with pistachio pastry cream and topped with rich saffron glaze, pistachios and rose petals.”

It’s so good; the pistachio filling is creamy and packed with pistachio flavour (and it tastes like real pistachio, not pistachio extract), and the glaze gives it a really nice floral hum that complements the nuttiness perfectly. It’s sweet, but doesn’t punch you in the face like so many doughnuts do. It’s great.

And of course, the doughnut itself is as tasty as ever. Is Dipped Donuts the best doughnut shop in the city? It might be.

A Great Cake at Oompa Bakery

Published on September 29, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 71 Underhill Drive, North York
Website: https://oompabakery.com/

Oompa Bakery is a delightful little bakery in North York; they were mostly cleared out when I visited on a Saturday afternoon (they clearly do well!), but they did have dacquoise cakes in a variety of flavours.

The one I tried featured pistachio- and raspberry-flavoured buttercream sandwiched between two little cakes. I really enjoyed it.

The buttercream was perfect; super creamy, not overly buttery, and with a great contrast between the pistachio and raspberry flavours.

The cake in a dacquoise is kinda like a macaron, but with the addition of ground almonds, which gives it a more substantial texture and a slightly nutty flavour. It was quite tasty, with a delicately crispy exterior and a chewy interior that complemented the smooth buttercream perfectly. It’s a great dessert.

Tasty Vegan Doughnuts at Bloomer’s

Published on August 19, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1510 Drew Road, Mississauga
Website: https://www.bloomersto.com/

Every time I go to a vegan bakery, or a vegan ice cream shop, or a vegan [insert dessert that absolutely should not be vegan here], I think, well, this is going to be bad. And then, more often than not, it’s not bad!

(Though nothing will ever surprise me more than the deliciousness of the the vegan ice cream at Honey’s. It’s ice cream. Ice cream. How is a vegan version that creamy?? It’s sorcery.)

I just tried the rose pistachio doughnut at Bloomer’s, a popular vegan doughnut shop with several locations around the GTA, and I was surprised by how good it was. You’d never guess it was vegan if someone gave it to you blind.

It’s maybe a touch too sweet, but the pistachio/rosewater combination is thoroughly delicious (and the rosewater flavour is more pronounced than you’d think).

The doughnut itself is top notch — it’s not too airy or too dense, with a nice chewiness that doesn’t overwhelm. I wish it had a bit more of a yeasty flavour, but that’s a relatively minor complaint.

Pizza and Gelato at Eataly in Sherway Gardens

Published on November 3, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 25 The West Mall, Etobicoke (inside Sherway Gardens)
Website: https://www.eataly.ca/stores/eataly-sherway-gardens/

The Eataly in Sherway Gardens has just opened, and while it isn’t quite as impressive as the downtown location (it’s roughly half the size at 25,000 feet, as per Toronto Life), it’s still an absolute must-visit for anyone who’s even vaguely into Italian food.

The selection there is absolutely massive, with all kinds of pantry items, fresh pasta, cheese, meat, and prepared foods. The prices, however, are serious business — looking at the price tags on the prepared foods, in particular, is not for the faint of heart. It’s all a bit below restaurant pricing for stuff you have to bring home and heat up yourself, so I guess it’s not too crazy if the food is really good. But I will admit that paying 16 bucks for one small serving of cold lasagna just feels wrong on a very fundamental level, even if it’s delicious.

(Or maybe I’m just a cheapskate.)

I tried a couple of things. They have a decent selection of pizza slices that you can either eat in the restaurant (though there are only a handful of tables at the moment) or take out. It’s a thick crust, Roman-style pizza, which is ideal in a grab-and-go setting since it reheats quite well. I got the margherita, and while nothing about it particularly stood out (the crust, in particular, is pretty bland), it’s a solid slice of pizza.

They had eleven flavours of gelato on offer; I went with the old standby, pistachio, and it was fine. This is a thoroughly insufferable complaint, but I was recently in Italy and was eating gelato on a daily basis, and what they’re serving here is basically trash compared to that.

That’s not fair, of course, but even compared to what’s available in Toronto, the gelato here is good, but not great. The pistachio flavour was a bit off (it definitely tastes like they’re using real pistachios, but I think they might be using flavouring as well), and the texture wasn’t quite as creamy as it should be.