spicy – Page 6 – Michael Eats

Nashville Hot Chicken at Knockout Chicken

Published on July 23, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 207 Augusta Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://knockoutchickento.com/

Knockout Chicken has been serving up fried chicken sandwiches in Kensington Market for a few years now (they also have a location in Mississauga), and yeah, I can see why they have staying power. Their fried chicken is pretty solid.

They have a whole bunch of sandwiches on the menu, but the woman behind the counter said the Nashville Sandwich is the most popular (“Nashville-style fried chicken breast, homemade coleslaw, pickles, jalapenos, and chipotle aioli”), so that’s what I got.

It’s not the crispiest or the juiciest fried chicken I’ve ever had, but I enjoyed it. It’s got a decent kick to it, it’s nice and flavourful, and the slightly sweet bun suits it well. It’s got a bit more going on than you’d expect from Nashville hot chicken, but for the most part, it works.

My only real issue here is with the coleslaw, which tastes heavily of sour cream and is a bit one-note rich. I think the sandwich would have been improved with less (or none) of this stuff, but everything else was tasty enough that this wasn’t a huge deal.

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.

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.

Solid Noodle Soup at Kenzo Ramen

Published on December 10, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3337 Bloor Street West, Etobicoke
Website: http://www.kenzoramen.ca/

It’s hard to remember this now, but there was a time (not that long ago!) when ramen was actually pretty difficult to find in the GTA. And Kenzo is Toronto’s ramen OG; they opened their first location in 2002, and for quite a while, they were pretty much the only game in town if you wanted to sample ramen in the city.

Of course, these days it’s hard to go more than a few blocks without coming across a ramen joint, but Kenzo’s still around despite all the competition. So they must be doing something right.

And indeed, the bowl I had might not have been up there with the city’s best, but there was absolutely nothing wrong with it.

They have a whole bunch of options, but the waiter mentioned that the King of Kings is their most popular, which is a spicy shio broth with an “assortment of stir-fried vegetables with ground pork, topped with charsu, egg, naruto maki, menma, wakame, green onion, nori.”

You can choose your spice level; I went with the spiciest, and it was indeed quite fiery.

The stir-fried vegetables are actually the most unique part; they give the whole bowl that distinctive stir-fried wok hay flavour, which makes it feel quite distinct. It actually kind of reminded me of a style of ramen called burnt miso ramen that I don’t believe you can find in the GTA.

The noodles were a bit on the soft side, and the broth lacked the complexity you’ll find in the best bowls of ramen, but overall it’s a tasty bowl of noodle soup.

Tasty Sandwiches at Gus Tacos

Published on November 20, 2023November 20, 2023 by Michael Nusair2 Comments

Location: 1546 Dupont Street, Toronto
Website: https://tacosgus.ca/

I recently had a couple of tacos from Gus Tacos; I enjoyed them enough that I figured I should come back and try some other stuff. Well I just tried the carnitas torta, and yeah, this place is the real deal.

The menu describes the torta as coming topped with “beans, cheese, guacamole, chipotle mayo, onions, cilantro and your choice of protein.” I skipped the onions, though if you can handle raw onions, I’m sure their crunchiness would enhance the sandwich.

It’s a top notch sandwich. It’s served on a fresh, fluffy bun, and all of the flavours are exactly where they should be. The carnitas (which is basically like pulled pork) is super tasty, with a nice porky flavour and a great texture.

I asked for the sandwich spicy, and it came with a little container of zingy hot sauce on the side. Once I added this to the sandwich, things really came alive — it made a very good sandwich even better.

Torteria San Cosme, a thoroughly delicious torta place in Kensington Market, shut down during the pandemic, which seriously bummed me out. I don’t know if the torta here is quite at that level of amazingness, but it’s close enough.