sweet – Page 6 – Michael Eats

Tasty Cookies at Felix & Norton

Published on December 15, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 8601 Warden Avenue, Unionville
Website: https://www.fncookies.com/

I should note that I cannot possibly be objective about Felix & Norton. My high school was right across the street from this cookie shop. I was a fat kid. Cookies were a very, very regular occurrence.

So I don’t know if these cookies are actually delicious or if it’s just the nostalgia talking, but either way I like them a whole lot.

On this visit, I had two of my favourites from back in the day, Menage a Trois (which features white, milk, and dark chocolate) and Caramelt (milk chocolate and caramel).

They have that slightly cakey texture you get from cookies that are designed to be perpetually chewy; I’m normally not crazy about that, but it works here. Again, it might be the nostalgia.

The quality of the chocolate is pretty decent, and the cookies themselves are sweet, but not overly so. They’re quite good. They also have a flavour I can’t quite put my finger on, other than to say that it is unmistakably Felix & Norton. That flavour is thoroughly ingrained in my brain, and has remained unchanged over the years. I don’t know what it is, but it makes these cookies taste noticeably different from anything else I’ve had in the GTA.

Solid Gelato at On Third Thought

Published on December 5, 2024September 14, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 6 Markham Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.onthirdthought.com/

I recently saw On Third Thought on a list of the best gelato in the city, and I thought, wait — this place serves some of the best gelato in the city? And I haven’t heard of it??

Obviously I needed to try it ASAP.

They have about a dozen flavours on the menu, mostly fruity. Interestingly, they have a handful of booze-infused scoops for a one dollar upcharge. I went alcohol-free and got chocolate and caramelized fig.

It’s not bad at all. I personally wouldn’t put this in my top 10, but I’m certainly not mad I ate it. The gelato is served at the perfect temperature and is decently creamy, and while the fig flavour was more tart than I was expecting (and both were leaning a bit sweeter than I prefer), the chocolate had a richness to it that I found quite enjoyable.

They also serve the gelato in a glass bowl with a metal spoon if you’re eating on the patio, and I found this to be unexpectedly delightful. You wouldn’t think it would make a difference, but there’s something about it that just feels better than eating out of the usual disposable cup.

A Delicious Korean Pancake at Hodo Kwaja

Published on November 27, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 656 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Website: http://hodokwaja.ca/

I previously tried the walnut cakes at Hodo Kwaja, which is their specialty. Those things are thoroughly delicious, and it was tempting to just order them again. But they also serve a few other desserts here, including hotteok — Korean pancakes with a sweet filling.

You can order these filled with either brown sugar or red bean; brown sugar is the more traditional choice, so that’s what I went with.

It’s extremely delicious. I figured this wouldn’t be on the level of the walnut cakes, but I actually think it might be even better? It’s just as good, that’s for sure.

The pancake itself is delightfully chewy, and the sweet brown sugar syrup complements it perfectly. It’s a very sweet dessert, but there’s a good balance between the pastry and the syrup; it’s not the throat-burner you might suspect.

Quick Bites: Crumbl, Tom’s Dairy Freeze, Lola’s

Published on November 10, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Chocolate chip cookie from Crumbl

Crumbl is an American cookie chain that opened in Mississauga earlier last year with a ton of hype. I actually tried to go around when they opened, and the line was so intense that I wound up skipping it altogether. Things have calmed down quite a bit (the place was empty on my recent visit), so I was finally able to try the chocolate chip cookie (they have a rotating menu of six cookies, but the chocolate chip is what made them famous). The cookie seemed like it should have been pretty decent; it’s not too sweet, and it’s clearly made with good quality chocolate. But the cookie was way, way underbaked, with a pronounced raw flour flavour and a middle that was more gummy than chewy. I’m assuming this was partially on purpose, to create a softer cookie, but they clearly went a bit too far (it probably doesn’t help that the cookie is enormous, which makes it harder to underbake without having a fully raw middle).

I should note that I originally wrote this a few months ago (I have a bit of a backlog). I recently tried Crumbl’s second location in Mississauga, around Dixie and Dundas, hoping that the first cookie was just a mistake — surely it’s not supposed to be that underbaked? I had the exact same experience. I also overheard a family in line raving about how much they love the cookies here, so clearly this place has its fans. I am not one of them.

Strawberry sundae from Tom’s Dairy Freeze

I just checked — this will be my seventh time featuring Tom’s Dairy Freeze on this blog, and you know what? I regret nothing. The place continues to serve the city’s best soft serve, so why shouldn’t I write about it on a semi-regular basis? It’s my duty. I got the strawberry sundae on this particular visit, and it was, of course, delicious. I find the sauces here tend not to be nearly as good as the ice cream itself, but this one was great — in particular, the huge chunks of strawberry complemented the creamy ice cream perfectly.

Chocolate gelato from Lola’s Gelato

Speaking of amazing ice cream, every time I check out Lola’s, I’m like “is this the best gelato in the city??” Certainly, they’re neck-and-neck with Mizzica (Nani’s used to be a contender, but my last few visits have been surprisingly poor). I got plain old chocolate on this particular visit, and while it was maybe a touch too sweet, it had a great chocolate flavour and the texture was perfect: super rich and creamy, and served at the right temperature (e.g. not as hard as a brick).

Tasty Pastries at Ba Noi

Published on November 7, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 806 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Website: https://ba-noi.myshopify.com/

Ba Noi is a delightful bakery on Bloor that specializes in sourdough, along with a handful of tasty treats.

They’re also very, very popular. When I showed up on a Saturday afternoon, they were sold out of everything outside of chocolate chip cookies and butter tarts. That was unfortunate, but certainly, there are worse things to be forced to order at a bakery. I tried both, and they were each extremely tasty. I’ll definitely have to come back to try the sourdough.

The cookie was the highlight. It helped that it was extremely fresh (arguably too fresh, but who can say no to a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie?), but this was a superlative cookie, with great quality chocolate and a nice depth of flavour. I find a lot of chocolate chip cookies can be one-note sweet, but that definitely wasn’t the case here.

The butter tart was interesting; it was kind of like a hybrid between a standard butter tart and a Portuguese custard tart, with a flaky crust and a filling that was less sweet and more custardy than the norm. It was absolutely delicious, though the crust was a bit soggy despite it still being warm from the oven when it was served to me (the woman behind the counter advised that it might be too fresh to sample immediately; I waited about an hour to eat it. It’s possible it steamed in the bag?).