pita bread – Michael Eats

Quick Bites: Los Panchos Mexican Restaurant, Las Muns, Azhar Kitchen and Bar

Published on October 24, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Birria burrito and carnitas quesadilla from Los Panchos Mexican Restaurant

It’s been a few years since birria mania swept through Toronto, and it’s still going strong. Case in point: Los Panchos Mexican Restaurant has a whole birria section on their menu, where basically every Mexican staple you can think of has been birria-ified. I tried the birria burrito, and while there was no broth on the side, the beef was nice and tender. Nothing about it particularly popped, but I certainly didn’t dislike eating it. I also tried the carnitas quesadilla, and aside from the fact that the pork tasted slightly leftovery, it was a solid version of the dish. Both were crying out for some hot sauce, however — if any was available, I didn’t see it.

Spicy beef and poutine empanadas from Las Muns

I was intrigued by Las Muns, a Spanish empanada chain that has a bunch of locations in Europe, and is starting to expand in Canada. They have a variety of flavours — some classic, some quirky (stuff like Cajun shrimp and Thai chicken). I went with the spicy beef and poutine varieties, and they were both… fine, I guess? They taste more like something you might expect to find in the freezer section at Costco rather than a handmade empanada from a restaurant, but they were both inoffensive enough.

Za’atar fries and muhammara from Azhar Kitchen and Bar

Okay, let’s end this with some positivity. I checked out the happy hour menu at Azhar and tried a couple of things, and both were quite tasty. The za’atar fries weren’t the best fries I’ve ever had, but they were quite solid, with the generous amount of za’atar they were tossed in adding a nice zippy, herbal punch. That’s not the mention the lemon aioli that comes on the side, which was satisfyingly rich and creamy, with a nice brightness from the lemon to round things out. It’s a great dip. I also tried the muhammara (“roasted pepper, walnut, sourdough, pomegranate seed; one pita”), which was even better, with a nice chunky texture and a satisfying cumin-tinged flavour. And the freshly-baked pita on the side was a perfect complement.

Quick Bites: Brodflour, Corleone’s, Villa Madina

Published on January 28, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Pain Suisse from Brodflour

I’ll admit I hadn’t even heard of pain Suisse (which is similar to a chocolate croissant, but with pastry cream and chocolate chips) before seeing it at Brodflour, so I was excited to try it. And yeah, it’s good. I mean, look at it. Of course it’s good. The combo of the gooey chocolate chips and the slightly sweet pastry cream is a clear winner, and the croissant itself — as you’d expect from Brodflour — is stellar.

Veal sandwich from Corleone’s

Corleone’s sells a variety of Italian sandwiches like veal, meatball, and eggplant. I tried the veal, and it was totally fine. Nothing about it particularly jumped out at me (and the bun was a bit gummy) but it’s a solid sandwich. There are a couple of things that stand out about this place, however. One is that they offer a “junior” version of their sandwiches; most places like this sell massive gut-busters that pretty much demand that you take a nap afterwards, so I appreciated that the smaller sandwich here is satisfying without being comically oversized. The other thing I appreciated is that the spiciest version of the sandwich is legitimately fiery, with a generous amount of a legitimately hot pepper paste spread on top.

Chicken shawarma wrap from Villa Madina

Is the shawarma from Villa Madina the best you’ll ever eat? No, absolutely not. But it’s actually pretty decent, and for a eatery from a mall food court, that’s enough. The shawarma has a decent amount of crispy bits and is relatively juicy, and the wrap itself is saucy and tasty. It’s very middle-of-the-road, but it gets the job done.

Unique Sandwiches at Fattoush Sandwich Club

Published on July 9, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 253 Gerrard Street East, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/fattoushtoronto/

Fattoush Sandwich Club serves a bunch of Middle Eastern-inspired sandwiches (though, oddly enough, fattoush is a salad and not a sandwich, and does not feature in any of their sandwich offerings).

I tried a couple of sandwiches, and they were both quite tasty.

The first was the Smashed Beef: “Beef Mix, Pomegranate Molasses, Tahini.” This is sort of burger-esque, though the meat tastes more like kofta than like a burger patty (this is not a bad thing). The pomegranate molasses adds some sweet zippiness, and the tahini adds richness. It’s a solid sandwich.

I think I liked the Crispy Eggplant even better: “Eggplant, Siracha Toum, Tomato Confit.” As you can see from the photo, this is a substantially sloppier sandwich, with a whole bunch of lettuce and tasty sauces. But the real star of the show is the eggplant itself; when they say it’s crispy, it’s crispy. It’s breaded and fried, and it has a very pronounced crunchiness that holds up even to the very saucy sandwich. The contrast between the crunchy exterior and the creamy interior is thoroughly delicious.

A Delicious Sandwich at Falafel Plus

Published on December 7, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1065 Canadian Place, Mississauga
Website: https://falafelplus.ca/

I’ve had the falafel at Falafel Plus a few times now, and it’s consistently delicious — some of the best falafel in the GTA. I figured it was probably about time to try something different; despite the name, this place actually serves a whole bunch of Middle Eastern standbys.

I went with the magaly, which is a fried eggplant and cauliflower sandwich. You can get this topped as you’d like, but by default it comes with creamy garlic sauce, zingy cucumber salad, hot pepper, and (I think) a different garlicky sauce.

It’s really good. The eggplant has a great flavour and is luxuriously creamy, and the cauliflower adds a meaty bite. Combined with the tasty toppings, it’s a top-notch sandwich.

Given how good the falafel is, I was expecting this to be tasty, but I was actually pretty blown away by how much I enjoyed it.

Meaty Sandwiches at German Doner Kebab

Published on March 14, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 246 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.germandonerkebab.com/

German Doner Kebab is a German chain with locations around the world that specializes in — surprise, surprise — doner kebab.

They have a few things on the menu, though it all revolves around the doner kebab, which is meat that’s cooked on a vertical rotating spit, shawarma-style. They serve chicken, beef, or a mix of both.

I ordered the Original German Doner Kebab, which features a whole bunch of meat (chicken and beef, in my case), veggies and sauce on what they call toasted sesame waffle bread.

It’s tasty enough, though the way the sandwich was constructed meant that there was a ton of meat on the bottom, veggies in the middle, and sauce on top. I tried my best to alternate bites between the three sections so I’d get a variety of flavours, but it was basically impossible to get a mouthful with all three components.

The sandwich comes as it comes, so I wasn’t told anything about the sauces or any of the toppings, but according to the website they have three sauces: signature spicy sauce, signature garlic sauce, and signature yogurt sauce. I wish it were spicier, but otherwise the sauces were quite tasty: they were sweet, garlicky, and a little bit tangy. They would have done a great job of balancing out the saltiness of the meat, but unfortunately there was a voluminous layer of veggies between the meat and the sauce, so I didn’t get any mouthfuls with both.

Because yeah, the meat was very salty. The level of seasoning was so intense that it entirely overwhelmed the flavour of the meat; I tried a bunch on its own (as you can see from the picture, a decent amount had tumbled out of the sandwich before they even brought it to me), and none of it particularly tasted like chicken or beef — it just tasted like generic, salty meat. I literally couldn’t tell any of it apart. They might have accidentally given me one or the other instead of a mix, but the fact that I couldn’t figure out what any of it was supposed to be is… odd.

Still, it was tasty enough; there were no off or gamy flavours here, so it certainly wasn’t unpleasant to eat. That’s not to mention the bread, which was nicely toasted, with a satisfying exterior crunch and fluffy interior that (mostly) held together despite how messy the sandwich was.

It’s hard to wholeheartedly recommend this place when Otto’s Berlin Doner is serving a very similar sandwich that’s much, much better. But if you’re in the area and you’re looking for a hearty, quick meal, you could definitely do worse.