sandwich – Page 5 – Michael Eats

Tasty Sandwiches at Cubano Kings

Published on April 27, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 141 Spadina Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.cubanokings.com/

As you’d expect from the name, Cubano Kings is pretty much all about Cubanos (though they do have a few other things on the menu). They actually serve five different varieties of the sandwich — who knew that many types of Cuban sandwiches even existed?

The Miami Cubano (“slow-roasted mojo pork, black forest ham, Swiss cheese, mustard & pickle”) is the classic Cubano we all know and love, so that’s what I ordered.

It’s a solid sandwich. It’s nicely pressed with a crisp exterior and gooey cheese within, and it has a good proportion of ham and roast pork.

It was very light on the mustard and probably could have used a bit more to cut through the richness of the other ingredients, but otherwise this was a solid, no-frills Cuban sandwich.

Cheap Eats at Mini Bar

Published on April 21, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 116 Spadina Avenue, Toronto
Website: None

If nothing else, Mini Bar is an absolute steal. A relatively hearty sandwich downtown for eight bucks? Yeah, you can’t go wrong there.

Well, I suppose you could go wrong if the sandwich didn’t taste good, but that’s clearly not an issue here.

I ordered the bulgogi and kimchi, which comes in a Kaiser roll, topped with tender beef bulgogi, kimchi, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and a slice of cheddar cheese.

Is it going to rock your world? No, probably not; it’s a pretty no-frills sandwich, but for what it is (and considering the price) it’s very tasty. If I worked in the area, I’m sure I’d be a regular.

Mini Bar serves kimbap on Fridays, which is also quite satisfying. They were making them as I ordered, so it was super fresh and filled with tasty stuff.

Quick Bites: Doraji, Chica’s, Maman

Published on April 20, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Bibimbap from Doraji at the Well

I tried the bibimbap here during the media night at the Well, and quite enjoyed it. Well, I just tried it again — spicy pork this time (bulgogi beef, chicken, fried tofu, and vegetarian are also options) — and again, I quite enjoyed it. It’s a very classic bowl of bibimbap, executed perfectly. I honestly don’t have much more to say about it than that. If you like bibimbap, it’s a great version of that dish. And if you don’t, what is wrong with you??

Hot Honey at Chica’s Chicken

While Chica’s days of being the mind-blowing, thigh-slapping best fried chicken that you’ve ever had are long gone, it’s still quite good. For some reason, I hadn’t tried their Hot Honey sandwich until now, and yeah, it’s predictably delicious. Most things at Chica’s tend to be a bit sweeter than I’d like, so I probably shouldn’t be surprised that their version of hot honey is more honey, less hot. A bit more acidity and heat would really help round out the sweetness, but it’s still quite tasty for what it is. And as always, the chicken itself features a great balance between the crispy exterior and juicy interior.

Chocolate chip cookie at Maman

Maman is an NYC bakery chain that opened a location in Toronto a few years ago. They have a whole bunch of sandwiches and pastries on the menu, but I heard that the chocolate chip cookie is the thing to get. And yeah, it’s tasty. Nothing about it knocked my socks off, but it’s clearly an above average cookie. My only real issue is the sugar they sprinkle on top; it’s a neat idea in theory (I’m assuming the idea is to give you a crispy, slightly caramelized top), but in practice it just gives the cookie a slightly grainy texture. I still quite enjoyed the cookie (and it wasn’t too sweet, despite the sprinkling of sugar), but that was a shame.

Great Shawarma at Tahini’s

Published on April 5, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 347 King Street West, Toronto
Website: https://tahinis.com/

Tahini’s is a shawarma chain with around a dozen locations peppered throughout the GTA, so I’ll admit that my expectations were not super high. Still, I figured I’d give it a shot.

I ordered the chicken shawarma wrap, which comes in three different configurations: original, old school, and authentic. I went with original (“garlic, tahini, pickles, tomatoes, pomegranate molasses, parsley”).

I was shocked at how much I enjoyed this.

Everything here is just where you want it to be: the chicken is juicy and has a decent amount of crispy bits, the proportion of toppings to meat is just right, and the sauces (which are very generously applied) are quite tasty. In particular, the addition of pomegranate molasses is kind of ingenious, as it gives the wrap a zippy brightness that helps to cut through its richness.

And the wrap (saj, I think?) is nicely toasted, giving it a nice balance between its lightly crispy exterior and chewy interior.

In my experience, once a restaurant opens more than two or three locations, the quality starts to take a nosedive, so the fact that Tahini’s is this delicious is a very pleasant surprise.

Amazing Gyros at Souv Like

Published on March 22, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 708 Pape Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://souvlike.ca/

Souv Like has a reputation for serving some of the best gyros in the GTA. All it took was one bite to confirm this to be true. Heck, I knew it was probably true just by looking at it, with all those gloriously brown crispy bits.

They have a handful of things on the menu, but I think the pork or chicken gyros are where it’s at.

I went with the pork, which is a pretty no-frills wrap, coming stuffed with meat, tomatoes, onions (which I skipped), fries, and secret sauce. I should also note that the grizzled man behind the counter assembled this thing with remarkable speed; I think he shaved the meat off the spit and put the wrap together in something like thirty seconds. And yet nothing about it felt haphazard, with a good proportion of meat to toppings to sauce. The guy’s clearly been doing this a while.

It’s an amazing wrap. The pork is pretty much exactly where you want it to be, with an abundance of crispy bits, a nice tender texture, and a great flavour. It’s maybe a touch on the salty side, but that’s balanced out nicely by the slightly sweet secret sauce. The perfectly cooked fries are a good addition, and the fresh, slightly chewy pita works well.

I also like that the wrap is heavy on meat, and light on everything else. A lot wraps like this are so overloaded with veggies that the meat almost feels like an afterthought. Clearly, that’s not the case here.