sweet – Page 4 – Michael Eats

Steakhouse Teen Burger from A&W

Published on May 13, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3300 Bloor Street West, Etobicoke
Website: https://web.aw.ca/en/home

I like A&W. Generally speaking, I think they’re one of the better fast food chains. The Steakhouse Teen Burger, on the other hand? Uh… well, they can’t all be winners, can they?

Here’s how A&W describes it: “A perfectly seasoned grass-fed beef patty topped with sweet and smoky bacon jam, real cheddar cheese, tomato, arugula and creamy peppercorn aioli, all served on a freshly toasted sesame bun.”

It’s that bacon jam. The ads for this thing proudly proclaim that it’s sweet and smoky; I don’t know if I noticed any smokiness, but wow, is it sweet. It’s sweet. I’ve had desserts that aren’t this sugary.

This might have been okay if it has been applied sparingly — a little bit goes a long way — but they had globbed an alarming amount of it onto the burger, and it was all you could taste.

Don’t ask me what the peppercorn aioli tasted like, because I have no idea — the flavour here was 100% pure bacon jam.

And hey, bacon jam can be quite tasty, but this stuff was all jam, no bacon — it had very little bacon flavour, a little bit of tanginess, and a whole lot of sweetness.

I also got unlucky and got a burger patty that had clearly been sitting out for a while, because it was honestly one of the drier hamburgers I’ve had in a long time.

I did not enjoy anything about this. Sorry A&W; I like you, but today was not your day.

Fruit on a Stick at Tanghulu Tanghulu

Published on May 10, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 252 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.tanghulutanghulu.com/

Tanghulu is an Asian street food snack in which pieces of fruit are coated in crispy sugar and served on a stick. That’s it — fruit + sugar + stick.

At Tanghulu Tanghulu, they give strawberries, blueberries, grapes, and clementines the sugar-coating treatment. They also serve fruit cups with chocolate sauce.

I went with strawberries, and yeah, it’s good. The strawberries were fresh, ripe, and juicy, and the generous layer of sugar gives it a nice crunch and some extra sweetness.

That’s it. It’s fruit covered in glassy sugar. It’s exactly what you think it is.

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.

Delicious Doughnuts at Fab’s Donuts

Published on April 19, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1618 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/fabsdonuts/

Fab’s is in the same spot where Maverick’s Donut Company used to be, which I liked a whole lot. Apparently it’s from the same owners, who decided to strike out on their own. Clearly, they know what they’re doing, because the doughnuts here are very, very good.

They are quite different, however — notably, Maverick’s specialized mostly in cake doughnuts, and as far as I can tell, this is a cake-free zone. All the doughnuts that I tried were classic raised doughnuts.

I tried four: creme brulee, pistachio heaven, Biscoff, and chocolate kunafa.

All were generously filled, and all were thoroughly delicious, though the creme brulee — with its crackly top and tasty custard filling — was probably my favourite.

But then everything was thoroughly tasty, with the doughnuts themselves having a nice chewy texture, and with the flavours being right where they should be. It’s all quite sweet, but not a sugar-bomb. They’re great doughnuts.

Tasty Desserts at Bakerbots Baking

Published on March 23, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1242 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Website: https://bakerbotsbaking.com/

Bakerbots is affiliated with Bang Bang, which serves some of the best ice cream in the city (I’ve written about Bang Bang roughly a billion times on this blog, and while it’s been a while, they’re still great). So, of course, it’s a top-notch bakery.

They used to be in a teeny-tiny location that was about the size of a generous walk-in closet, but have since moved to a much larger spot on Bloor (they even have a few seats!).

I think the assortment of desserts might be slightly larger than before, but it’s also possible they’re just more spread out now. Either way, they have a very tempting variety of cakes, cookies, pies, and other tasty stuff.

I ordered the key lime puff, which features a choux pastry stuffed with whipped cream and key lime pie filling, topped with Italian meringue.

It’s hard for me to not compare a pastry like this to the amazing Choux Lab, and no, it’s not as good as that — but it’s close!

The key lime filling is nicely tart and very creamy. I’m not sure if this needs both whipped cream and meringue, which I think dilutes the lime flavour a bit too much, but that’s a minor complaint. The filling is delicious, and the nicely crisp choux pastry complements it well.