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A Solid Sandwich at Banh Mi Tan Dinh

Published on November 11, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3415 Dixie Road, Mississauga
Website: https://www.instagram.com/banhmitandinh/

If you’re craving a banh mi in this particular area of Mississauga, you’re all set — within a five minute drive of this place, there’s Banh Mi Saigon, Banh Mi Ba Le, Banh Mi Nguyet Minh, and Bot Chien Saigon. I’ve been to all of them at this point, and some are definitely better than others, but honestly? You can’t go wrong with any of them. There isn’t a dud in the bunch.

I ordered the same assorted cold cuts banh mi that I always get, and it’s a very good version of a classic sandwich.

The bread itself is a bit on the dry side, which holds it back from greatness somewhat, but otherwise everything is right where it should be, with a nice assortment of meaty cold cuts, creamy pate and mayo, and zippy pickled veggies.

I wish there were a bit more pate, but then I wish that of pretty much every banh mi I eat — I’m starting to wonder if most banh mi shops are being stingy with the pate, or if I just like my sandwich to be pate-heavy.

They asked if I wanted hot peppers, and yeah, of course. I could have used a few more, but the peppers that are there add some nice pops of spiciness to the sandwich.

Fantastic Mexican Food at Itacate

Published on November 4, 2024November 4, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 998 Saint Clair Avenue West, Toronto
Website: https://itacate-toronto.com/

Itacate is a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant that serves some seriously, seriously tasty eats. They only have a handful of tables, so I guess it’s mostly a take-out place, but it’s worth either waiting for one of those tables or eating in your car. It’s so good.

I tried a couple of things. I wanted to try at least one taco, and their menu is extensive, with almost a dozen choices. I went with the carnitas, which comes with a very generous amount of ultra-tender pork on a double corn tortilla.

They asked if I wanted onions and cilantro, and I said no because I am a card-carrying raw onion hater; in retrospect, I probably should have said no to the onion and yes to the cilantro, but that pork was so incredibly tender and flavourful that it was beyond delicious with just a little bit of the zippy salsa that comes on the side.

I like corn tortillas, but they’re always a bit of a crapshoot, because if they’re not very fresh, they can dry out and become unpleasant to eat. That definitely wasn’t an issue here.

I also tried the pambazo: “bread dipped in guajillo sauce with sausage and potatoes, with sour cream, lettuce and cheese.”

Man, what a sandwich. Perfect bread (with a light crispiness on its exterior and some nice flavour from the guajillo sauce), tasty sausage, and some great texture and flavour from the lettuce and cheese. Once you add some of the aforementioned salsa? All-time great sandwich. Crazy good.

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.