pizza – Page 8 – Michael Eats

Quick Bites: Superpoint, Good Behaviour Ice Cream, Falafel Plus

Published on July 14, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Cheese slice from Superpoint

Superpoint! It’s still great. This time I got a plain cheese slice, and it’s absolutely phenomenal — it’s got the perfect amount of gooey cheese, tasty sauce, and that nicely crispy/chewy thin crust. Pizzeria Badiali is right nearby also serving up top-notch slices, and I’m extremely envious of anyone who lives in the area because they’re both so good.

Mint Chocolate from Good Behaviour Ice Cream

Easily the weirdest scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream I’ve ever had — it didn’t taste like mint or chocolate. If I had eaten this blind, I honestly don’t think I would have guessed mint. It tastes more like a mild key lime pie. It’s not bad, it’s just weird when you’re expecting mint. As for the chocolate, I’m of the opinion that standard chocolate chips are useless in ice cream. They have a nice crunch, but nothing else — frozen chocolate chips are too cold to properly melt in your mouth, so they basically just crumble into little bits that you can’t taste.

Falafel from Falafel Plus

If you have “falafel” right in the name of your restaurant, you’d better be able to back that up. I’m happy to say that Falafel Plus very much backs that up: the falafel here has a great balance between crispy exterior and fluffy interior, and it’s perfectly spiced, with a herby flavour that’s very satisfying. Clearly, I’m going to have to return and try a bunch more stuff, because they have a fairly extensive menu, and based on the falafel it’s probably all tasty.

Barbecue Meets Pizza at Conspiracy Pizza

Published on July 3, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 858 Eglinton Avenue East, Toronto
Website: https://www.conspiracypizza.ca/

Though Conspiracy Pizza started out as a pop-up inside of the infamous (and defunct) Adamson Barbecue, they’ve since cut ties and have their own space (which they share with Churnt Up, an ice cream shop, and Phamily Eats, which sells patties).

They’ve still got a bit of a barbecue theme, however — their namesake pie, the Conspiracy, comes topped with “white sauce, emmental cheese, brisket, red onion, jalapeno, barbecue sauce.”

It’s an odd pizza, but it absolutely works. In particular, the chunks of brisket are shockingly good — they’re nice and tender, and they’ve got a distinctly smoky flavour. It makes me wish they served a sandwich, because it’s top-notch BBQ brisket.

But then the whole pizza is pretty great, with pops of heat from the jalapenos, a satisfying richness from the white sauce and the cheese, and with the barbecue sauce bringing it a nice zippy sweetness to cut through the meat and cheese. The crust is quite good too, with a super crispy exterior and a fluffy interior.

I also tried the Government Cheese, which comes topped with “mozza, cheddar, emmental, provolone, manchego, oregano.”

It takes a lot for me to say that a pizza is too cheesy, but… this one was too cheesy. It’s overwhelming. It also kinda reminded me of a Costco pizza (the cheddar, maybe?). It’s not bad — a huge pile of gooey cheese is never going to be all bad — but I can’t say I’d ever order it again.

Great New York Style Slices at Pizzeria Badiali

Published on September 26, 2021April 13, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 181 Dovercourt Road, Toronto
Website: https://www.pizzeriabadiali.com/

Pizzeria Badiali is a pizza joint that bills itself as “a nod to the New York classics.” And yeah, it’s quite different from the Neapolitan-style pizzas you can find all over town.

Of course, it would have to be — it’s a slice shop, and the floppier slices of a Neapolitan-style pizza aren’t exactly grab-and-go compatible.

The slices here, on the other hand, have a delightful crispiness that never feels overly crunchy, with an interior texture that balances fluffiness and chewiness quite well. It reminds me a bit of the slices they serve nearby at Superpoint, but I think this might be even better.

I got the margherita: “crushed tomato, fior di latte, pecorino and padano, basil.”

It was great — in particular, the balance between the creamy fior di latte and the sharp pecorino and padano really popped.

The place is quite popular (someone actually came out and announced a twenty minute wait for a new batch of slices shortly after I got mine), and with the combo of great quality toppings and a superlative crust, it’s easy enough to see why.

Quality Neapolitan Pizza at Sip Wine Bar

Published on May 7, 2020 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2 Broadway Avenue, Toronto
Website: http://www.sipwinebar.ca/

I wound up at Sip Wine Bar entirely because the restaurant I was supposed to be visiting turned out to be closed (RIP to the Yonge Street location of Via Mercanti), so I’ll admit that my expectations weren’t particularly high.

They went even lower once I tried the appetizer, a decent but uninspired bruschetta that basically defines the word “meh.”

But I actually quite enjoyed the pizza. I ordered the margherita, because as I’ve said before, it is the king of pizzas and one of the world’s few perfect foods. It’s also a great test of a pizza joint’s ability, because there are no fancy toppings to hide behind. If the quality of your dough and your technique aren’t on point, it’s game over.

Sip Wine Bar definitely passed that test. It’s not the best pizza I’ve ever had, but every element was right where it should be — in particular, the crust was great. It had a good amount of flavour and a great chew, and enough char to give it some personality without overwhelming. The ratio of sauce and cheese was also quite satisfying. It was a quality suh.

Unique Brunch at Byblos Uptown

Published on January 7, 2020 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2537 Yonge Street, Toronto
Website: https://byblosuptown.com/

Brunch is great, no doubt about it. Eggs Benedict, pancakes, French toast — all tasty stuff. But sometimes you want something a bit different, and if that’s the case, the Middle-Eastern-influenced brunch menu at Byblos fits the bill quite nicely.

We started with the Turkish Manti Dumplings (“eggplant + yogurt sauce + date molasses”), which was easily the weakest dish of the three I tried. The yogurt/molasses sauce was one-note sweet and tangy, and the dumplings were basically pure mush. There was almost no distinction in texture between the wrapper and the creamy filling.

Up next was the Eggplant Kibbeh: “zucchini flower + baharat + chickpea batter.” This was interesting. Kibbeh is a Middle Eastern dish made from spiced ground beef; it’s essentially a fried meatball stuffed with more meat.

The vegetarian version they serve here has only the most vague kibbeh-like properties, but it’s tasty for what it is; it’s nicely spiced, and the creamy filling contrasts well with the crispy fried exterior.

My main meal was the Bastirma Khachapuri: “manouri cheese + egg + guindilla + urfa chili.” This was basically a Turkish pide filled with cheese, eggs, and bastirma, a cured meat that’s generally thought to be the precursor to pastrami.

It was pretty tasty — it was freshly baked, with a nice crispy exterior and a chewy interior. It’s not the best pide you’ll ever eat, but of course, the combo of cheese, eggs, and salty cured meat is a winner. That’s always going to be a winner. It’s hard to go wrong there.