potatoes – Page 2 – Michael Eats

Quick Bites: Wish Restaurant, Nadege, Good Behaviour Ice Cream

Published on December 20, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Turkey Aussie Burger at Wish Restaurant

My new policy with this blog is that it’s a negativity-free zone, so I’ll highlight the crispy fried potatoes that come on the side here, which are super tasty — they’re perfectly crispy on the outside, and creamy on the inside — and I’ll leave it at that. I’ll also say that my dining companions both enjoyed their meal, and that the place was packed (and always seems to be packed), so maybe I was just being a grumpy gus.

Ice Cream Bar at Nadege

Again, this is a negativity-free zone, so I’ll just say that Nadege has ice cream bars now, and that I didn’t particularly care for the one I tried; it’s probably slightly below a higher-end mass-produced product like Magnum or Haagen-Dazs in quality, but much, much more expensive at about seven bucks (!!) per bar.

Birthday Cake ice cream at Good Behaviour Ice Cream

And on the exact opposite end of the quality spectrum, there’s Good Behaviour Ice Cream. I like this place more and more each time I go (and I liked it a lot right from the get-go). This particular scoop has that classic birthday cake flavour, and the quality of the ice cream is off the charts; it’s almost absurdly creamy and rich. Assuming we’re splitting traditional ice cream and gelato into two separate categories, I think this place and Bang Bang are neck and neck for the title of the best ice cream in the city (but if gelato is in the mix, then Nani’s pretty much has to be the king).

Tasty Greek Food at Fat Lamb Kouzina

Published on July 26, 2019July 26, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 874 Yonge Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.fatlambkouzina.com/

Fat Lamb Kouzina is a delightful little Greek place near Yonge and Bloor that, as you’d guess from the name, specializes in lamb. It’s mostly a take-out joint, though they do have a communal table and some stools.

The menu’s pretty simple — you can either get lamb, pork, chicken, or eggplant, and you have the choice of getting it on a pita, or with a side of potatoes or salad.

I went with the lamb; it’s right there in the name. It’s an easy enough choice.

There’s nothing better than well-prepared lamb — there’s something about its distinctive flavour that’s fairly irresistible. And they prepare it very, very well here. It’s slow-roasted and seasoned perfectly, with a zippy, herb-packed flavour.

It’s also incredibly tender. Maybe a touch too tender? I would have liked it to have a bit more texture, but it’s hard to complain when it’s this delicious.

I got it with the potatoes on the side, which were perfectly creamy, and just as herby and delicious as the meat. It comes with a cup of creamy tzatziki that amps up everything’s flavour. It’s good stuff.

Tasty Hot Dogs at OHA

Published on June 24, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 21 Ossington Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/oha_toronto/

Kung Fu Dawg set up shop in a little stand on Ossington last year, and they served up some pretty tasty dogs. Alas, that was a short-lived endeavor; they’ve been replaced by OHA, which describes themselves as a purveyor of “Turkish fusion street food.”

It’s mostly a hot dog stand, however. They have a grilled cheese sandwich and something called a “wet burger” on their menu, but they otherwise serve a variety of hot dogs.

I got the OHA Hot Dog, which comes topped with potato salad and tomato sauce.

It’s a tasty dog. Though it lacks Kung Fu Dog’s nice snappy bite, the all-beef hot dog has a nice meaty flavour and a satisfying smokiness.

It’s topped with a thin tomato sauce that packs a decent amount of tomato flavour (I assumed this would be ketchup-esque, but it’s not particularly sweet or vinegary) and a variation on potato salad called Olivier salad. Potato salad sounds like an odd topping, but its zesty creaminess actually works quite well with the salty and smoky hot dog.

Above Average Ramen at Ramen Misoya

Published on September 12, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 646 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.ramenmisoya.ca/

I don’t need a whole lot to convince me to try a new ramen joint. Ramen Misoya is a Japanese ramen chain that’s been featured in the Michelin guide, with locations all over the world.

Michelin-featured ramen? That’s pretty much all I need to hear. I’m sold.

(Though the last Michelin-adjacent ramen joint that opened in Toronto, Konjiki Ramen, was pretty disappointing.)

I ordered the gold kome special, which is a pork- and miso-based soup that comes with chasu, half an egg, ground pork, and a couple of potato wedges.

It’s a solid bowl of ramen. The broth has a decent amount of complexity; it’s got a porky richness and a nice miso flavour, and it’s livened up by a mild gingery and garlicky bite. The level of salt is a bit too intense, but it’s otherwise above average.

The noodles were also quite satisfying, with a perfect thickness and a nice firm texture.

The add-ins, sadly, were hit-and-miss. The egg was tasty, with a great gooey yolk. But the chasu was so tough I could barely even bite through it, and had a vaguely gamy flavour.

The potato wedges were just weird; even if these had been perfect I’m not sure they would have worked. And they were undercooked and crunchy, so they definitely didn’t work.

Eggs Benedict (?) at Smash Kitchen

Published on March 27, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 4261 Highway 7, Unionville
Website: http://www.smashkitchen.com/

Is eggs benedict still eggs benedict if you don’t include the hollandaise sauce? Traditionally, that dish consists of an english muffin topped with meat (usually ham or bacon), a poached egg, and hollandaise.

That’s four things; the hollandaise is 25 percent of the dish. How far can you change something until it’s no longer that thing? Is it still spaghetti and meatballs if you replace the tomato sauce with alfredo? Probably not!

Which is to say that I just ordered the Smash Benedict from Smash Kitchen, and they replaced the hollandaise with gravy. To be fair, they also have a traditional eggs benedict on the menu, so that does kinda give them license to mess around with it in their other offerings.

The problem is, I missed the hollandaise. This particular benedict featured an english muffin topped with pulled pork, cheese, the standard poached egg, and the aforementioned gravy. The pulled pork was tossed in a very vinegary barbecue sauce that, while tasty, absolutely dominated the dish.

A heaping serving of creamy hollandaise might have helped to cut the vinegary sharpness of the pork, but the gravy was completely lost. It may as well have not even been there. I had to eat most of this with some hash browns to help mellow out that strong barbecue sauce flavour.

Still, it certainly wasn’t bad, and the crispy fried hash browns were a very tasty accompaniment. But if I came back, I’d probably just stick with the classic benedict (there was also a crab cake benedict that looked tasty, and yes — that one had hollandaise on it).