sandwich – Page 16 – Michael Eats

Indian Grilled Cheese at Thindi Cafe

Published on March 31, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 400 College Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.thindi.ca/

Thindi is interesting — their website says that their goal was to offer something a bit different from the “curry focused” Indian restaurants in the GTA, focusing instead on Indian street food, with a bunch of sandwiches and jazzed-up Maggi noodles on the menu.

I went with the green chili cheese toast, which the menu describes as being “layered with fresh coriander chutney, onions, bell peppers, thai green chilies and cheese.”

It’s basically an Indian grilled cheese sandwich; it has a nice zippy flavour from the chutney, some pops of spice from the green chilis, and a decent amount of gooey processed cheese.

It didn’t exactly blow my mind, though I will admit that I removed the raw red onions, thus rendering my opinion somewhat worthless (raw onions are terrible, what can I say??). Usually when I remove them from something, I feel like I’m not missing out on much, but in this case I think they were probably pretty important to the overall taste/texture of the sandwich.

Quick Bites: Banh Mi Nguyet Minh, DeCourses Cafe, The Tuck Shop x Breadhead

Published on March 25, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Pork roll, cured pork and pate banh mi from Banh Mi Nguyet Minh

Not much to say about this one, to be honest. It was a perfectly tasty banh mi; not the best I’ve had, and not the worst. The bread was a bit overly crunchy (it was a bit of a mouth shredder) and I wish there were more pate, but it was otherwise a solid banh mi.

Breakfast sandwich from DeCourses Cafe

DeCourses Cafe is a charming little brunch spot that does quite well (it was packed when I visited, and had a steady stream of people picking up take-out orders). The menu mostly consists of brunch standbys; I went with the breakfast sandwich (“white artisan bread, bacon, fried egg, cheese blend”). Nothing about it particularly stood out, and it really needed something with some zippiness to cut through the richness of the egg, bacon, and cheese, but it was a solid breakfast sandwich. I enjoyed it.

Apple crumble croissant from The Tuck Shop x Breadhead

Note: I’m working on a bit of a backlog at the moment, and apparently this bakery is now defunct. Oh well; here are some thoughts on a bakery you’ll never get to try.
The Tuck Shop x Breadhead is a tiny little bakery that has a small but interesting variety of pastries on offer. I went with the apple crumble croissant, which has the general shape/configuration of a pain au chocolate, but with apple crumble stuff instead of chocolate. It’s very tasty — it’s not nearly as sweet as you’d expect, with a decent dose of apple crumble flavour encased in a good quality croissant. It didn’t exactly blow my mind, but I quite enjoyed eating it.

Satisfying Fried Chicken at Burger Legend

Published on March 18, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1086 Islington Avenue, Etobicoke
Website: https://burgerlegend.ca/

Burger Legend recently opened a new location in Etobicoke; I tried the burger at their original Streetsville location a few years ago, and thought it was pretty solid.

I had the fried chicken sandwich this time, which they serve in various styles (Buffalo, Nashville, Cajun, etc.). I ordered the Nashville hot chicken, and it was pretty tasty.

It’s very hard to go wrong with a crispy, freshly-fried piece of fried chicken, and yeah, it was quite good. The white meat was a bit on the dry side and the chicken itself was underseasoned, but it was otherwise a solid fried chicken sandwich.

It is, as you’d hope from Nashville hot chicken, pretty spicy. It’s not going to blow your face off, but the spice level is noticeable. It’s topped with coleslaw and something they call “Bawss sauce,” and both are quite tasty and complement the chicken well. They also do a pretty good job of bringing the chicken some much-needed flavour.

The nicely toasted bun is soft, fresh, and holds up nicely to the substantial piece of chicken. It’s not a sandwich that’s going to rock anyone’s world, but it’s thoroughly tasty.

Tasty Italian Food at Spaccio West

Published on March 17, 2024March 17, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 128A Sterling Road, Toronto
Website: https://www.terroni.com/locations/spaccio-west

Taking over the spot where the Drake Commissary used to be, Spaccio West is the latest addition to Terroni’s increasingly expanding Italian food empire.

It’s an enormous space, and features a full restaurant, an Italian grocery, and an assortment of pastries, pizza slices, and sandwiches you can take out.

I’ll have to return at some point to check out the restaurant, but on this trip, I tried the porchetta sandwich.

Featuring a generous amount of thinly sliced porchetta topped with some braised greens and some kind of creamy sauce, it’s a solid sandwich. It doesn’t have any of the crispy bits you might hope for from a porchetta sandwich, but the meat is tender and tasty enough that this never feels like a big deal.

It’s served on a flatbread that basically tastes like an undressed pizza. This mostly works quite well, though the bread is a bit on the bland side.

Unique Fried Chicken at Rick’s Good Eats

Published on December 23, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 6660 Kennedy Road, Mississauga
Website: https://www.ricksgoodeats.ca/

Tucked away in an industrial area of Mississauga, Rick’s Good Eats is a delightful hidden gem serving tasty Indian fusion dishes. I had the burger there a few years ago and quite enjoyed it, and I just tried the fried chicken sandwich and liked it even better.

Rick’s Fried Chicken Sandwich, as per the menu: “Battered, double-fried Tandoori Chicken dressed with signature Ting Tang sauce, Achari Mayo, lettuce, chopped tomato and onion, pickles and cilantro.”

The woman behind the counter also asked if I wanted to add bacon, and of course I said yes. I’m not gonna say no to bacon; what am I, a maniac?

(Though as it turns out I safely could have said no to the bacon — there are so many bold flavours and textures here that the bacon is pretty much completely lost.)

It’s a phenomenal fried chicken sandwich. In particular, the idea of crossing tandoori chicken and fried chicken is actually kind of genius. The very tender chicken has a pronounced marinated tandoori flavour and an intensely satisfying exterior crunch. It’s very, very good.

Everything else is just as good, with a great contrast between the zippy Ting Tang sauce and the creamy mayo, additional crunch and freshness from the veggies, and a fluffy bun that does a good job of holding it all together. It’s easily one of the better fried chicken sandwiches I’ve had in a while.