sausage – Michael Eats

Tasty Noodle Soup at Pho Anh Vu

Published on March 26, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1482 Dundas Street East, Mississauga
Website: https://phoanhvu.com/

I’ll admit that I did not have particularly high hopes for Pho Anh Vu. A chain Vietnamese restaurant in a Walmart plaza? Surely that will be okay at best.

And indeed, the chain Hakka joint a couple of stores over is just as mediocre as you’d think. This place, however? Surprisingly good. Way, way better than you’d expect.

In particular, I’d heard good things about the bun bo hue here, so that’s what I got. I actually got the deluxe version of the dish, bun bo hue dac biet, which they only serve on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday: “Hue Style Beef Special, Crab Cake, Homemade Sausage, Rare Beef with Vermicelli Soup, Beef Shank, Ham Hock.”

It’s a tasty bowl of noodle soup and a solid version of this dish, with a vibrant, flavourful broth that has a nice spicy kick.

It’s also crammed with tasty stuff (though I think they left out the crab cake in mine, sadly), with the very tender beef and the flavour-packed sausage being the highlights. It’s quite good.

Delicious Slices at Sadboy Pizza

Published on March 23, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 51 Main Street South, Georgetown
Website: https://sadboy.ca/

I can’t say I’m in Georgetown often (or ever), but I had heard nothing about good things about Sadboy Pizza and was in the general vicinity, so sure, why not?

All those good things: 100% correct. Sadboy Pizza serves some top notch slices.

They have a variety of interesting-looking pizzas, but I’m all about the plain cheese, particularly when I’m first trying a place, so I went with the mozz OG (“fresh and aged mozzarella blend”).

It’s a great slice of pizza. In particular, the crust is just where you want it to be, with a perfect amount of exterior crispiness, a tender chewiness within, and a really satisfying flavour.

The combo of fresh and aged mozzarella adds a pop of flavour that you normally don’t get in this type of pizza, and there’s a good ratio of cheese to tasty sauce.

It’s not one of the bigger slices I’ve ever had, but it was also only five bucks even. Which means that it was small enough and cheap enough that I was able to justify buying a second slice. I went with the breakfast4dinner (“garlic cream sauce, crispy diced hashbrowns, bacon, chicken breakfast sausage (halal), sesame seed crust, frank’s maple syrup drizzle”), and yeah, it was just as good.

I don’t know that I would have guessed the breakfast angle if you hadn’t told me — it tastes like a pretty standard meaty pizza, though the syrup does add a nice sweetness that helps to balance out the saltiness from the sausage and bacon. Still, whatever it is, it’s quite delicious.

My only real complaint here is that both slices could have used another minute or two in the oven (they were both a bit lukewarm around the middle), but other than that? Sadboy totally holds up to any of the top-tier pizza joints in the GTA. It’s that good.

Solid BBQ at Golden Horseshoe Barbecue

Published on November 10, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 657 Dupont Street, Toronto
Website: https://goldenhorseshoebbq.com/

Golden Horseshoe BBQ started life as a pop-up, and opened their permanent location a couple of months ago to immediate hype.

I sort of figured things would have died down by now, but when I showed up just before the place opened at 11:30 on a Saturday, there was already a line waiting to get in. It took about half an hour before I was sitting in front of my food, and the line was even longer by the time I left. So yeah: popular place. Be prepared to wait a bit.

Like most barbecue joints in the GTA over the last few years, they specialize in Texas-style BBQ, and more specifically: brisket.

In fact, when I sidled over to the guy carving the meats so I could order, his first question was “how much brisket do you want?” They just assume you’re ordering brisket, because of course you are. You can try some of the other meats if you want, but the brisket is clearly the specialty.

I got brisket and a sausage link, along with a side of charro beans and coleslaw.

The brisket is nicely seasoned and unctuously tender — I quite enjoyed it. But like pretty much every Toronto-area BBQ joint, the smoky flavour is just barely there (you really have to close your eyes and use your imagination to detect it).

I don’t get it. What’s everyone in this city doing wrong? Is it the local wood? Not enough time on the smoker? The place smelled pleasantly smoky and the brisket had a visible smoke ring, so I’m a bit flummoxed.

Either way, it was very tender and very tasty, but smoky flavour is a big part of the appeal of this type of BBQ, so it’s a shame.

The sausage, oddly enough, was the highlight. It was packed with flavour, pleasantly greasy, and had some nice pops of flavour and creaminess from the cheese interspersed throughout. Again, not particularly smoky, but hugely delicious.

As for the sides, the vinegary coleslaw was crunchy and zippy, and does a great job of cutting through the richness of the meats. And the charro beans (which are basically like a more savoury, less sweet version of baked beans) featured creamy beans and a nice depth of flavour.

Amazing Breakfast Sandwiches at Dad’s Breakfast & Coffee

Published on August 2, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1473 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/dads.goodmorning

Dad’s Breakfast Sandwiches opened pretty recently, and it’s already extremely popular. I tried to visit a couple of weeks ago, at just before noon on a Saturday, and it was all sold out. I don’t mean one or two sandwiches were sold out. I mean they had sold out of everything.

Clearly, going early is advisable. I showed up at around 9:00am this time, and the place was packed, so I’m guessing another sell-out was inevitable.

(An aside: the sign calls this place “Dad’s Breakfast Sandwiches,” but online, it appears to be called “Dad’s Breakfast & Coffee.” Figure out a name and stick with it, guys; this isn’t that hard.)

I tried a couple of the sandwiches: Dad’s ’48 (“egg, hashbrown, cheddar, house ketchup, bacon or sausage”) and Katsu Dad (“katsu egg, caramelized onions, chili crisp, aioli”).

I was wondering if maybe this place was a bit over-hyped, but both of these sandwiches took my skepticism, loaded it into a cannon and shot it into the sun. The hype: 100 percent deserved.

The Dad’s ’48 is the more traditional of the two, but is just perfectly executed on every level. You can choose between bacon and sausage; the guy behind the counter mentioned that they make their sausage in house, so that’s what I went with.

It’s phenomenal. Perfect balance between the silky egg patty, the gooey cheese, the meaty sausage (which is nicely spiced and thoroughly delicious), and the crispy hashbrown. The ketchup and pickle slices (which the menu doesn’t mention) add more flavour and zinginess. The fluffy, slightly sweet bun is the perfect vehicle. It’s a top-tier breakfast sandwich. One of the best in the city for sure.

But as much as I liked that one, I think I might have liked the Katsu Dad even more. The idea of breading and frying an egg patty is, frankly, genius. It’s got a great level of crispiness on its exterior, but the egg patty within is just as silky and perfectly cooked at the non-fried one in the Dad’s ’48.

And the combo of the ultra-savoury, mildly spicy chili crisp and the sweet caramelized onions — not to mention the creamy aioli — is a big winner. I can’t say I’ve ever had a breakfast sandwich quite like this before, and it’s one that will live in my dreams forever.

Bangers and Mash Sandwich at Hot Pork

Published on June 4, 2025June 4, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 932 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/hotpork.to/

I tried the beef brisket breakfast sandwich from Hot Pork last year, and spoiler alert: it was one of the best breakfast sandwiches I’ve ever had.

So when I heard Hot Pork was serving a bangers and mash sandwich (“Irish Banger Patty, Mashed Potato Patty, Caramelized Onions, Brisket Gravy, Brioche Bun”), I thought, well, that sounds weird, but if Hot Pork is doing it, it must be great.

And indeed it was. Indeed it was.

I will say that it could have used something like 50 percent less mashed potato; the bun already kinda fills that role in a sandwich, and the prodigious amount of mashed potatoes here is carb overload (it also dilutes the other flavours, which are all fantastic).

Otherwise? Amazing sandwich. The pork patty is nicely-spiced and thoroughly delicious, and the combo between the savoury, ultra-flavourful gravy and the deeply caramelized onions is a big winner. And the brioche bun adds some nice sweetness and holds up to the very, very messy sandwich without overwhelming.

With slightly less mashed potato, this could have been an all-timer — but even as is, it was seriously tasty.