sandwich – Michael Eats

Throwback Subs at Lakeshore Super Submarine

Published on March 29, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2939 Lake Shore Boulevard West, Etobicoke
Website: None

The best thing about Lakeshore Super Submarine is how delightfully old-school it is. It’s apparently been around for over 50 years, and it looks like pretty much nothing has changed in that time (though it’s not dirty or run-down at all).

It’s cash-only, and the prices — like everything else about the place — are a throwback. I got the “mini” assorted sub (it’s smaller than the standard foot-long, but not by all that much), and it cost $6.75 exactly for a relatively hefty sandwich.

There were a few other customers when I was there, and I think I was the only non-regular. I can see why.

No, there’s nothing all that exciting about it — it’s a pretty standard cold cut sub, dressed with mayo and sub sauce, and with the usual veggies. But it’s a no-frills sub done well, and given what they’re charging for it, I can see why people come back.

Tasty Sandwiches at Dear Grain

Published on March 20, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 48 Ossington Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://deargrain.com/

Mostly, Dear Grain is a bakery that sells some seriously tasty sourdough loaves. But they also have a variety of sandwiches and pastries, and yeah, those are quite good, too.

I had the roasted turkey sandwich (“brie, brown butter and chutney”), and it was very tasty.

They toast the sandwich until the bread is crispy and the brie is melty, and the combo of that creamy, slightly nutty cheese and the meaty turkey works very well. The chutney is cranberry-sauce-esque, which works for obvious reasons. And, of course, the bread is great. It’s a stellar sandwich.

I also tried a sesame cookie; I found the texture to be a bit cakier than I normally want in a cookie, but it’s not too sweet and has a very pronounced roasted sesame seed flavour. It’s quite good.

Japanese Style Egg Salad Sandwich from 7-Eleven

Published on March 8, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 980 Islington Avenue, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.7-eleven.ca/

The egg salad sandwich at 7-Eleven in Japan has become somewhat legendary over the years, so now that it’s landed in Canada, it comes with a whole lot of hype. The first time I attempted to buy one, it was sold out, and I overheard someone else in the store asking about it.

It’s a very simple sandwich; the package it comes in lists the ingredients as just “shokupan bread, eggs, mayonnaise (Kewpie), mustard, salt.”

I can’t claim to be an expert on the real deal in Japan — I’ve had it a couple of times, but generally speaking, if I’m looking for a quick bite in a Japanese 7-Eleven, I’m grabbing an onigiri — but it’s clear even to me that this just isn’t the same.

The egg salad itself is actually quite pleasant — it’s eggy and rich, and is somewhere in the ballpark of the Japanese version. They’re a bit too stingy with it, however, with a lot of the sandwich having very little of the stuff.

The real deal-breaker here is the bread. It’s dense, and not even remotely comparable to the pillowy ultra-fluffiness of the real deal version.

It’s so dense that it makes the thin amount of egg salad feel like an even worse problem than it is, with an unyielding texture that thoroughly overpowers the egg.

Overall, it’s a perfectly fine convenience store egg salad sandwich (especially for the current promotional price of five bucks), but if you’re hoping for a taste of Japan at home… not so much.

More Tasty Eats at Do West Fest

Published on March 8, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

I found the Do West Fest to be quite enjoyable in 2024, and yeah: the 2025 version was still quite enjoyable. It’s probably one of the better street festivals in the city, though clearly I’m not the only person who thinks that because it is packed.

Still, if you don’t mind braving the crowds, there are some tasty eats to be had.

I tried a couple of sandwiches from Dam Sandwiches: the chopped cheese, and the spicy chicken. I’ve been meaning to check out Dam Sandwiches for a while; clearly I need to hurry up and visit their actual restaurant, because both of these sandwiches were very good.

In particular, the chopped cheese — with its tasty combo of nicely browned beef and melty cheese — was better than the version I recently had in NYC, its birthplace. But the spicy chicken was very tasty as well, with a nice zingy flavour and a decent amount of kick. Both were served on a sesame seed bun that was clearly fresh and well above average.

I also had a tahini ice cream bar from Smilk Bars, which had a very pronounced, nutty flavour from the tahini and was maybe the most tahini-ish tahini dessert that I’ve ever had.

The ice cream itself was a bit thin (I assumed maybe the name meant this was made entirely with milk rather than cream, but that doesn’t seem to be the case), but otherwise I quite enjoyed this.

Finally, I had a coconut brigadeiro from Padaria Toronto, which was filled with a generous amount of dulce de leche and had a great coconut flavour.

Chili Crunch Chicken Sandwich from KFC

Published on February 24, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 4559 Hurontario Street, Mississauga
Website: https://www.kfc.ca/

I was actually kind of shocked to see that chili crunch is now mainstream enough to pop up at a giant fast food chain like KFC — but then I guess it’s been on its way up for a few years now (here’s an article from 2022 about how chili crisp “took over America”).

KFC’s got several items with the stuff, including a sandwich, Loaded Chili Crunch Tenders, a chili crunch Snacker Wrap, and chili crunch fries.

I went with the Chili Crunch Chicken Sandwich: “Meet your new spicy obsession – the Chili Crunch Chicken Sandwich. KFC’s juicy, crunchy, signature tripled-breaded chicken fillet is layered with spicy chili crunch oil, creamy chili crunch mayo, crispy onions, and pickles— all sandwiched between a toasted potato bun.”

I’m a fan of chili crunch, so I sort of figured this would be good, and yeah, it is. For one thing, unlike my last experience at KFC, the sandwich was hot, fresh, and made with some level of care. This seems like it should be the bare minimum, but here we are.

But even aside from that, this is a tasty sandwich — the chili crunch they’re using is a bit tangier than the norm, but it works. Combined with the heat and the garlicky punch, it’s a great topping for a fried chicken sandwich. The mayo also has some of that flavour, which is nice.

The level of spice is pretty decent, too — it’s certainly not the spiciest thing you’ll ever eat, but it’s got a nice kick. It’s a level of heat that would have been unheard of from a fast food chain a few years ago, but fast food places have been upping the spice recently.

I’m not sure if the crispy onions add all that much, and the sandwich is maybe a bit too salty, but otherwise I really enjoyed this.