sandwich – Michael Eats

Smoked Meat at Billy’s Bodega

Published on October 29, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 16 Trinity Street, Toronto
Website: https://billysbodega.com/

As soon as I saw photos of the smoked meat sandwich at Billy’s Bodega, I was in. House-made, hand-cut smoked meat? Yes please, I want that, where is it?

They actually have two smoked meat sandwiches on the menu. There’s the Little Billy, which comes with 150 grams of meat and costs $19, and the Big Billy, which comes with 300 grams and costs $29.

I went with the Little Billy. I had no idea what 150 grams of meat looked like, but based on the price, I figured this would be a decent amount of meat. It turns out 150 grams isn’t much meat! I don’t know if you get a sense of the scale from the photo, but I probably could have eaten each half of the sandwich in about two bites.

Lesson learned: splurge and get the Big Billy.

The quality of the meat is quite nice. It’s thickly sliced, it’s got a good amount of perfectly rendered fat, and it’s very tender. The texture is exactly where you want it to be. It’s stellar.

The flavour is a bit odd, however; it tasted more like corned beef than smoked meat. If it was smoked or spiced at all, I couldn’t taste it. It was pleasantly salty from the brine and had a nice beefy flavour, but that’s about it. It’s not unpleasant, but it’s not what I was expecting.

As for the rest of the sandwich, the overly dense rye bread was toasted (?!?!?), and the application of mustard was a bit too heavy-handed. But then given the beef’s lack of flavour, a lot of mustard is probably a good thing?

Caesar and Bacon McCrispy at McDonald’s

Published on September 21, 2026September 21, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 30 Courtneypark Drive East, Mississauga
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

McDonald’s isn’t exactly reinventing the wheel by combining chicken, bacon, and Caesar dressing. It’s a combination that works — but it’s a bit boring.

They can’t all be menu heists, I guess.

Here’s how McDonald’s describes the Caesar and Bacon McCrispy: “A crispy chicken patty – made with 100% Canadian-raised seasoned chicken – and shredded lettuce on a soft potato bun, topped with a Caesar parmesan sauce, crispy onions and hickory smoked bacon. It’s the Caesar you know and love – the McDonald’s way!”

Remember when I said this sandwich was boring? I actually wish it were a bit more boring. The Caesar parmesan sauce is pretty different from normal Caesar dressing, and I’m not sure why. It’s sweeter and more tangy than you’d expect, and it lacks the garlicky bite of the real deal.

It’s not bad, but I would have preferred something more typically Caesar-esque. I’m honestly not sure I would have even guessed what this was supposed to be if you hadn’t told me.

Otherwise, the sandwich is exactly what you’d expect. It’s perfectly fine — I just don’t understand why the Caesar doesn’t taste like Caesar.

Flamin’ Hot Chicken Sandwich from KFC

Published on August 25, 2026August 25, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

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

For the last few years, it feels like KFC has been asking themselves “would this item be out of place in a carnival?” whenever they come out with a new menu item.

In case it’s not clear, I am 100% on board with this philosophy. All fast food should be an affront to good taste. If it isn’t, what’s the point??

And yes, good taste has been affronted. The Flamin’ Hot Chicken Sandwich, as per KFC’s website: “Craving some heat? The Flamin’ Hot Chicken Sandwich features KFC’s juicy, crunchy, signature triple-breaded chicken fillet turned up with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos heat. Coated in bold Flamin’ Hot seasoning, drizzled with spicy Flamin’ Hot sauce, and topped with crunchy Flamin’ Hot Cheetos for an extra fiery kick in every bite – all served on a soft potato bun.”

This is exactly what you want it to be: stupid, but tasty. The sauce is pleasantly zingy with a mild cheesy tang, and the Cheetos (which are generously applied) add an extra dose of crunchiness to a sandwich that’s already quite crunchy. It’s good.

It’s not particularly spicy, which is a shame from something with “Flamin’ Hot” in its name, but it does have a mild kick.

As with everything from KFC, the quality of the sandwich depends quite a bit on whether the chicken was freshly fried, and in my case, it was hot and fresh.

I also tried the Flamin’ Hot Fries: “The Flamin’ Hot Fries feature our crispy golden fries turned up with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos heat. Tossed in bold Flamin’ Hot seasoning for a fiery, crave-worthy bite every time.”

I won’t lie: these were terrible. I got lucky with a fresh piece of chicken, and very unlucky with these fries, which tasted like they had been sitting out for several hours. They were also so lightly seasoned that if I had eaten these blind, I don’t think I would have guessed that they were supposed to be Flamin’ Hot.

(Or maybe my palate was just blown out by the sandwich — it’s not exactly subtle, that’s for sure.)

And of course, I got an order of the Flamin’ Hot dip: “Turn the heat wayyyyy up with our Flamin’ Hot dip. A creamy, spicy dip packed with the bold heat of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Perfect for dunking fries, chicken, or anything that could use a little extra flame.”

This was the exact same sauce that’s on the sandwich, and I’ll admit that it works better as a condiment on a sandwich than as a dip for fries.

It’s weirdly thick, and its one-note zesty flavour gets tiresome when you don’t have a whole bunch of chicken and bread to mellow it out (though the fact that the fries were borderline inedible certainly didn’t help this dip’s case).

They also have a Cheetos Dirty Soda as part of this promotion, but it’s just a normal orange soda with Cheetos on top, so I skipped it. Give me a Cheetos-flavoured soda, you cowards.

I should note that all this stuff is currently supposed to be exclusive to the KFC app until August 31, though I was able to order it on the website without downloading anything. You definitely can’t order it in person for now, however (at least not at the KFC I visited, which didn’t even have any signage up for the promotion).

Chicken Parmi Burger at McDonald’s (World Menu Heist)

Published on August 20, 2026 by Michael Nusair2 Comments

Location: 30 Courtneypark Drive East, Mississauga
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

I guess it was inevitable that at least one item in the World Menu Heist would be a dud, and this one is definitely it.

The Chicken Parmi Burger, as per the McDonald’s website: “Straight from Australia, the Chicken Parmi Burger has landed in Canada. Crispy seasoned chicken layered with marinara sauce, creamy parmesan sauce, shredded lettuce, and white processed cheese, all on a soft potato bun. Rich, saucy, and just the right amount of indulgent. Get it before it’s gone, mate.”

It’s that marinara sauce. Wow, it’s bad. Its smell hits you as soon as you pop open the box, and it tastes so much worse than it smells.

It tastes like the cheapest jarred sauce you can find at the supermarket — but even that isn’t this bad. It tastes like an off-putting cross between the worst tomato sauce you’ve ever had, and the worst salsa you’ve ever had. It’s acrid and horrible.

It lingered on my palate for hours afterward. I’m actively upset at McDonald’s for inflicting it on me.

Otherwise, everything else here is pretty standard McCrispy stuff, and is fine.

Well, I suppose there is the creamy parmesan sauce, but the marinara was so overwhelming that I couldn’t taste anything else (it’s also possible that they accidently gave me mayo instead of the parmesan sauce, but then nothing could have made up for that horrific marinara, so who cares?).

Quick Bites: Giragi, Barbershop Patisserie, Queen’s Pasta Cafe

Published on August 8, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Lamb Wrap from Giragi

I previously tried the steak wrap from Giragi, and it was stellar. I just tried the vochkhar (lamb), and it was just as good. Clearly, the people in charge of this place know their stuff. As per the menu, this particular wrap comes stuffed with “jajekh, xaviar, pickled turnip, pevaz.” To translate, jajekh is a cucumber yogurt salad, xaviar is an eggplant spread, and pevaz is a mix of onion and parsley. It’s a really, really tasty wrap. It’s so much stuff, and it seems like it should be overstuffed (and technically, it probably is — it’s a mess), but all the flavours work so well together, and the perfectly spiced lamb patties are thoroughly delicious. It’s so good.

Brownie from Barbershop Patisserie

Speaking of things that are obscenely delicious, the brownie from Barbershop is ridiculously good. Like, one of the best brownies I’ve ever had. It’s got an amazingly rich, chocolatey flavour, and the perfectly fudgy-but-light texture has a great chewiness that I can barely even describe. It’s pretty special.

Meatball Sandwich from Queen’s Pasta Cafe

As the name implies, Queen’s Pasta Cafe is mostly about pasta, though they do have a lunch menu with a few sandwiches. I went with the meatball (“Meatballs with Arugula, Mozzarella Cheese and Tomato sauce”), and it was okay. The meatballs were actually quite good, with a nice meaty flavour, a tender texture that isn’t too soft, and a rich sauce. But the stale bun was a bit of a disaster. This is probably my fault, however, for ordering something that isn’t pasta at a restaurant with pasta in its name. Those meatballs would have been boffo on spaghetti, I’m sure.