poutine – Michael Eats

Wacky Eats at The Ex

Published on September 1, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 210 Princes’ Boulevard, Toronto
Website: https://theex.com/

Another year, another batch of over-the-top carnival food from The Ex.

Butter Chicken Birria Tacos from Rick’s Good Eats

Rick’s Good Eats — which specializes in tasty Indian fusion — is always a safe bet, and yeah, these tacos were very good. They came looking a bit flat and sad (and small, considering they cost about twenty bucks with tax and tip), but they’re actually quite delicious, with some tasty butter chicken inside and a whole bunch of gooey cheese. Not cheap, but hey, it’s The Ex. Everything’s a bit overpriced.

Poutine Dumps from Super Noodle Company

Unfortunate name aside (I shouldn’t have to say this, but please don’t shorten dumplings to “dumps”), this was also quite good. The menu describes this as “homemade chicken dumplings, torched American cheese, coconut curry gravy, crispy shallots, garlic, fresh green onions & chili oil.” It’s not even remotely poutine-like (I never in a million years would have made that connection if you hadn’t told me), but whatever it is, it’s tasty. The combo of cheese and dumpling is vaguely pierogi-esque and quite satisfying, and everything else in the bowl is tasty.

Korean Fried Chicken Sandwich from Korean Fried Chicken

The chicken in the sandwich was pretty skimpy (it maybe filled half of the bun), but the chicken that was there was crispy, juicy, and covered in the usual Korean fried chicken sauce, which is always satisfying. The fries were a bit undercooked, however.

Rib Sandwich from Hogtown Ribs

Well, something had to be a dud, I suppose. I don’t know why I thought (or hoped, at least) that this would have actual rib meat rather than ground-up McRib-style patties, but yeah, of course it was the latter. And okay, fine, I can roll with a McRib — but the meat here had clearly been sitting in a warming tray for hours, with a chewy texture and that gamy flavour you get from pork that’s been reheated one time too many.

Chicken Nugget Cookie from Craig’s Cookies

Here’s a head-scratcher: the rib sandwich that seemed like a sure bet was a dud, and the chicken-nugget-stuffed cookie that should have been gross was… actually kind of good? This seems like it should be horrible, but it’s tasty for the same reasons that chicken and waffles are tasty — it has a very similar flavour, but in a convenient hand-held package. And the salty chicken nugget helps to balance out the sweetness of the cookie itself (which is always a bit more pronounced than I’d like at Craig’s Cookies). I was shocked by how much I liked this.

Raptor Chicken Nacho Poutine at McDonald’s

Published on November 8, 2024November 8, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1001 Islington Avenue, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

I’ll admit that the Raptor Chicken Nacho Poutine kind of sent me into an existential panic. Like, where did I go wrong in my life that I’m sitting alone in a McDonald’s on a Friday evening, scarfing down an ill-advised novelty poutine so I can review it for my food blog? What wrong turn did I make to get here?

The Raptor Chicken Nacho Poutine is not good. But hey, I ate it. It caused me to look deep down inside myself and not like what I see, but I did eat it and finish it, so of course I’m going to blog about it. Otherwise what was it all for??

Here’s how McDonald’s describes this thing: “this new offering is made with 100% Canadian-raised seasoned chicken, our World Famous Fries™ layered with stringy cheese curds and savoury gravy, topped with tortilla strips and drizzled with nacho cheese sauce.”

Maybe I’m exaggerating a bit about how bad this is. It’s not gross, I guess, but I didn’t find anything about eating it to be particularly pleasant. It’s mostly just an odd hodgepodge of flavours and textures that don’t particularly belong together.

I think the nacho cheese sauce is the worst offender. I actually like nacho cheese sauce, but combined with the gravy and curds it had an odd sourness that I found off-putting. The tortilla strips were fine, but again, they just seemed odd in the context of a poutine.

As for the big chunks of chicken that they had plopped on top — like everything else, they’re just kinda there, doing their own thing. They don’t really add anything to the dish.

Then there’s the poutine base, which is fine, but I don’t think McDonald’s has a great poutine in the best of times, and this was certainly not the best of times (the fact that the fries were paler and soggier than usual didn’t help).

Tasty Korean Fusion at Oddseoul

Published on August 25, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 90 Ossington Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/90oddseoul/

I know some people are down on the whole small plates format, but I like it. It’s always nice to try a variety of stuff. I guess the main complaint is that you wind up paying more for less food, but that’s not an issue here; with a couple of exceptions, pretty much everything on the menu is in the low- to mid-teens, and the portions are surprisingly generous.

I tried a few things. First up is the spicy scallion and avocado slaw: “mixed greens, cabbage, pickled chilies, bell peppers, crispy shallots, sweet and spicy sesame dressing.” This was a fantastic salad — it’s got a great variety of textures (crispy, crunchy, and creamy) a zippy dressing, and nice pops of acidity from the pickled chilies.

Up next was the squash poutine: “tempura squash, cheese curds, curried gravy, roasted kimchi, pickled onions.” This has very few poutine-like properties (the gooey cheese is fully liquefied, the gravy — while delicious — tastes nothing like a traditional gravy, and the squash can’t really be compared to fries), but whatever it is, it’s very tasty. I wish the squash were a bit crispier, but I’d happily order this again.

The loosey (“Korean Big Mac, served on Texas toast”) was the closest thing to a miss, and even it was tasty enough. The beef was too tightly packed and a bit tough, and none of the flavours struck me as particularly Korean or McDonald’s-esque. Still, it’s a decent enough burger.

Last but not least was the bulgogi cheesesteak (“sliced marinated steak, American cheese, sambal mayo, toasted baguette”). Crossing bulgogi and a Philly cheesesteak is actually kind of ingenious, and the bulgogi here is super tasty. I wish it had been a bit cheesier (it had one thin slice of partially melted American), but it’s still a great sandwich.

Mediocre Fried Chicken and Poutine at Rudy

Published on February 4, 2020 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 619 College Street, Toronto
Website: http://www.rudyresto.com/

I love Rudy. I’m on record calling their burger the best in the city. So it pains me to say this, but the meal I just had there was not great.

To be fair, I didn’t have a burger; going to a burger joint and not ordering the burger is probably not the smartest thing in the world.

Instead, I got the fried chicken sandwich and the poutine. Neither was particularly great.

The chicken sandwich is dubbed the Valentino: “Fried Chicken Sandwich, Coleslaw, Valentino Sauce, Mild Hot Sauce.” I’ve had this before and found it to be quite tasty, so maybe they were just having an off day?

The biggest issue is the chicken itself; it was dry, overcooked, and incredibly salty.

The first few bites were outright bad, but then I noticed that the two sauces were actually in little plastic containers on the side rather than on the sandwich. I’m not sure why they did it that way (I certainly didn’t ask for that), but once I applied them both to the chicken, things improved considerably. The tasty ranch / hot sauce combo helped to smooth over a lot of the chicken’s faults.

As for the soft squishy bun that works so well on the burger — sadly, it has a hard time holding up to the more substantial chicken sandwich.

I also tried the poutine, which Toronto Life recently called the best in the city. It was fine? I guess? The gravy was overabundant and bland, the curds were stale (no squeak to be found), and the whole thing wasn’t hot enough to even vaguely melt the cheese. It certainly wasn’t unpleasant to eat, but it’s a far cry from the best in the city.

I should note that someone else got the burger and said it was as delicious as ever, so unsurprisingly, the burger is the thing to order at the burger joint. Who would have guessed!

A Misguided Brunch at Ramona’s Kitchen

Published on April 28, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 7355 Bayview Avenue, Thornhill
Website: http://www.ramonaskitchen.ca/

I should note a couple of things up front: Ramona’s Kitchen is popular. I showed up with a group of four at around 11:30 on a Saturday, and the place was absolutely packed, with a full restaurant and a bunch of people waiting around for tables. It took a solid half hour to sit down. So people obviously like the place.

And everyone I was with really liked the food. A lot.

That being said? I ordered the breakfast poutine, and it was kind of shocking how bad it was.

The dish consists of hash browns (which they call “tri-coloured potatoes” for the three types of potatoes they use), hollandaise sauce, cheese curds, and a poached egg.

The individual components were all decent — the potatoes were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, the hollandaise was rich and creamy, and the poached egg had a perfectly runny yolk.

But the whole thing was just off.

It was served in a tall, narrow bucket, which I guess is a fun presentation, but really awkward to eat out of.

And while most of the components were good, the curds were a bit too salty and tasted stale (fresh curds should squeak when you bite into them; these did not). And though the potatoes were hot and fresh, the hollandaise was only warm, which didn’t provide enough heat to get the curds even vaguely melty.

Also (I sure have a lot of complaints about these cheese curds, don’t I?), the majority of the pieces were tiny little curd fragments, and since they were cold and unmelted, the whole thing was unappealingly cottage-cheese-esque.

The hollandaise was quite good, though, as were the potatoes, so you’d think that alone would be enough to make this delicious. I mean, crispy potatoes? Delicious. Hollandaise? Also delicious. But if there was ever a case of “too much of a good thing,” this is clearly it. The entire bucket was absolutely swimming in heavy, creamy hollandaise, and it’s just overkill. It’s like hollandaise pudding with potatoes. It’s off-putting.

That’s not to mention that, by the bottom of the bucket, the hollandaise had started to congeal, making it even thicker and richer, with a gluey, mayonnaise-like consistency.

But again: I think this is a good restaurant? Just don’t order the breakfast poutine unless you really, really like hollandaise (and I do! But not as much as I thought, apparently).