sandwich – Page 10 – Michael Eats

Tasty Fried Chicken at Ding-a-Wing

Published on October 20, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 171 College Street, Toronto
Website: https://dingawing.com/

Sometimes I’m not entirely sure how to open these blog posts, so you know what? I’m just going to get straight to business: the fried chicken sandwich at Ding-a-Wing is fantastic. You should eat it immediately.

They have a handful of fried chicken sandwiches on the menu here. I should note that I tried place this earlier this year when they were on Roncesvalles; they’ve since moved, but it seems like the menu has remained the same.

I went with the Hawt Sandwich: “Buttermilk brined and fried boneless chicken thigh with coleslaw, pickles and dusted with our Cayenne Salt on a potato bun.”

It’s a phenomenal piece of fried chicken; the level of exterior crunchiness is just right, it’s nicely seasoned, and the meat is super juicy.

I wish it were spicier (the level of heat was somewhere between mild and non-existent), but otherwise the flavours are all great, with a satisfying balance between the hearty chicken and the zippy coleslaw and pickles.

My only real complaint is the bun, which is pillowy and mildly sweet. It’s theoretically a great match for the sandwich, but I think it was likely dressed too far in advance, which meant the bottom bun was mushy. But the sandwich was otherwise so delicious that it was easy enough to overlook this.

Ruffles Crunch Teen Burger at A&W

Published on October 1, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1130 Dundas Street East, Mississauga
Website: https://web.aw.ca/

The Ruffles Crunch Teen Burger at A&W is a standard A&W bacon cheeseburger with a bunch of chips in it. The end.

Oh, I guess I should write more? I’ll write a bit more. But that pretty much covers it.

The burger, as per A&W’s website: “A perfectly seasoned grass-fed beef patty topped with Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream chips, lettuce, onions, tomato, bacon, cheddar cheese and a creamy garlic and jalapeño aioli, served on a freshly toasted sesame seed bun.”

It’s not bad. The fat stack of Ruffles adds a decent amount of crunch and some nice zippiness from the seasoning. They make for a decent burger topping, but I think it’s unlikely anyone will walk away from thing thinking that chips should be on all burgers. There’s a reason chips aren’t on all burgers. They’re a bit overwhelming as a topping.

I’ll admit that I didn’t even realize the sauce was supposed to be a creamy garlic and jalapeño aioli until I started writing this review. There wasn’t really enough there for any of the flavours to stand out; it tasted like plain mayo to me.

The rest of the burger is what it is. The patty was a bit dry, but it’s tasty enough. It’s fine. The whole thing is fine. It’s a fast food burger with chips in it. It’s not one of those things where you’re like “wow, this is so much better than I was imagining!” It’s exactly what you’re imagining.

Tasty Breakfast Sandwiches at La Boulangerie

Published on September 30, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1134 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://laboulangeriedundas.com/

The breakfast sandwich at La Boulangerie was recommended by no less than Susur Lee, so I figured it was probably worth checking out.

And clearly, La Boulangerie is a popular place, because it was absolutely swarming with people when I visited on a recent Sunday afternoon.

They have a handful of tasty-looking sandwiches on the menu, but on this particular visit, I was a man on a mission.

The breakfast sandwich, as per their menu: “egg, ham, bacon, white cheddar.”

It’s a well-executed breakfast sandwich, that’s for sure. The eggs are perfectly cooked, and the quality of the ham and the bacon are top-notch.

I don’t know if it’s worth going out of your way for, though. It’s very good, but it’s such a basic, unornamented sandwich that it’s hard to get too excited about it.

This is probably not something I should admit publicly, but it also doesn’t pass my personal “is this substantially better than a McMuffin?” test. I clearly have garbage taste, because I think a McMuffin from McDonald’s is better than like 90 percent of the fancy breakfast sandwiches in the city, including this one.

A Tasty Cuban Sandwich at Havana Sanguich

Published on September 16, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 252 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.havanasanguich.com/

Havana Sanguich is a new sandwich shop downtown that serves what they call “Cuban-style sandwiches and Colombian street food.” It’s mostly a take-out joint, though they do have a few tables outside.

They actually have a pretty extensive sandwich menu, with something like a dozen choices. But of course, if you’re at a Cuban sandwich shop, you’ve gotta get the Cubano.

The Cubano, as per their menu: “black forest ham, lechon, Swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard on Cuban bread.”

I think this place might serve the best Cuban sandwich I’ve ever had? It’s right up there, that’s for sure.

It’s the type of sandwich that could easily be too rich (it’s crammed with a two types of pork and melty cheese), but the balance of flavours is spot-on, with just the right amount of acidity from the mustard and pickles.

The combo of the salty ham and the sizable chunks of tender, flavourful pork shoulder is seriously satisfying, with the gooey Swiss bringing it all together. And the fresh, lightly crispy Cuban bread is the perfect vehicle; it’s nice and fluffy, with just enough substance to hold up to the meaty sandwich.

The sandwich is about 17 bucks, which seems pricey, but it’s easily hefty enough to be shared.

I tried the Cuban smoked brisket sandwich as well (“Cuban break, smoked brisket, roasted mojo pork, Swiss cheese, pickles, fried onions”). It’s hard to top that Cubano, but this was almost as good, with a whole bunch of tender beef and some nice zippiness from the onions. It’s a really satisfying sandwich.

I also tried a couple of the empanadas: beef, and cheese. Both were quite tasty, and both featured a delightfully crispy exterior that set them apart from other empanadas that I’ve had.

French Onion Grilled Cheese at Phancy’s Bodega

Published on August 4, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2473 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.phancybodega.com/

French onion soup? Yeah, that’s delicious. Grilled cheese? Obviously great. So if you’re going to cram the two together, clearly I need to try that.

They have a bunch of tasty looking hoagies and grilled cheese sandwiches at Phancy’s (I’ve heard the Buffalo chicken is particularly good), but once I saw the French onion soup sandwich, it had to happen.

The French onion grilled cheese, per Phancy’s menu: “Truffle french onion mayo, provolone, caramelized french onions on butter toasted pullman loaf.”

It’s a quality sandwich. How could it not be? It’s got a whole bunch of caramelized onions and gooey cheese, so of course it tastes good.

The fluffy, slightly sweet brioche-like bread isn’t a perfect match for the sandwich, however. It has a hard time holding together under the deluge of greasy toppings, and its sweetness is probably overkill.

Something like sourdough would bring bit more heft, not to mention a zingy counterpoint to the very sweet caramelized onions (the sandwich is really crying out for something acidic to cut through the extreme richness, though I suppose that would muddle the French onion soup theme).

Still, it’s a very tasty sandwich, though I should note that this was maybe the greasiest, heaviest grilled cheese sandwich I’ve ever eaten. It was like taking a wrecking ball to my guts.

Don’t make any big plans after eating this thing, is what I’m saying.