Tag: salad

Satisfying Grilled Cheese at the RH Courtyard Cafe

Published on by Michael NusairLeave a comment

RH Courtyard CafeLocation: 3401 Dufferin Street, North York (inside Yorkdale Mall)
Website: https://www.restorationhardware.com/content/category.jsp?context=TorontoCafe

Since I’ve already established that the restaurant at the Restoration Hardware in Yorkdale is better than it has any right to be (I was shocked at how decent the burger was), it shouldn’t be a surprise that the grilled cheese is quite tasty.

It’s a classic, no-frills grilled cheese.  This is a dish that a lot of places feel the need to gussy up, with toppings and condiments aplenty.  But grilled cheese is perfect on its own; all you need is good quality bread, cheese, and a whole bunch of butter.  No ornamentation is necessary.

RH Courtyard Cafe

And that’s exactly what the RH Courtyard Cafe gives you: the cheddar cheese is sharp and gooey, and the bread has the perfect amount of substance, with a crispy exterior and a soft interior.

It’s also ridiculously buttery, as it should be; if you can hold a grilled cheese sandwich without your hands instantly becoming slippery with grease, then you need to throw it right in the garbage.  It’s worthless.

But then there’s the price.  It’s 19 bucks.  As good as it is (and it’s quite good), it’s still just a grilled cheese sandwich, which might be the easiest (and cheapest) thing in the world to make.  So it’s hard to justify spending that much on it.

Epic Fried Chicken Sandwiches at Chica’s Chicken

Published on by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Chica's ChickenLocation: 2853 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.facebook.com/chicaschicken/

I’ve already talked about the Nashville hot chicken at Chica’s, which is amazing.  Well I just went back and tried the sandwich, and yeah, it’s pretty damn good, too.

The first thing that you notice is that it’s monstrously big.  The piece of fried chicken in the sandwich is almost comically oversized.   It’s not easy to eat.

It looks like it might be one of those fried chicken sandwiches that’s about fifty percent batter and fifty percent chicken, but it’s surprisingly meaty, with a pronounced (but not overbearing) outer layer of crunchy goodness.

Chica's Chicken

I think they might have somehow managed to combine chicken breast and thigh into one enormous mega-patty, because aside from the fact that it was insanely large, some of it tasted like dark meat, and some of it tasted like white.  Maybe I’m going crazy and it was all white meat; either way, it was perfectly cooked and not even remotely dry.

I ordered it hot AF, and like on my last visit, it was abundantly spicy — but not overwhelmingly so.  It’s an outstanding sandwich.

Chica's Chicken

I got the bean salad on the side, which was corny, beany, garlicky, and delicious.  I also tried the waffle fries, which are battered and crispy.  Battered fries aren’t my favourite, but these were good.

I’ve pretty much tried the entire menu at this point (the only thing I haven’t had are the wings), and there isn’t a dud in the bunch.  If you haven’t tried this place yet, you need to rectify that immediately.