Toronto – Page 103 – Michael Eats

Quality Noodle Soup at Big Beef Bowl

Published on August 20, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 8362 Kennedy Road, Unionville
Website: None

Big Beef Bowl is another place that serves fresh, chewy noodles, which means I’m pretty much going to love it by default. I’m very easy to please when it comes to a big bowl of delicious noodles.

I got the braised beef brisket noodles, which comes with your choice from six types of noodles: round or flat, with three thicknesses each. I got the round noodles in a medium thickness. And they were great — they might have been ever-so-slightly too soft, but they were otherwise hearty and chewy and satisfying.

The soup itself wasn’t anything too special, but it got the job done. It was a bit spicy by default, but was improved immeasurably by a few hearty spoonfuls of the chili oil they’ve got on the table. You always have to be careful with that particular condiment, because depending on the place, its spiciness ranges from a moderate tingle to volcano hot. The one at Big Beef Bowl isn’t particularly spicy, but it has a satisfying toasty flavour that really improves the soup.

There were also several chunks of fatty, immensely tender beef brisket. I could have eaten a whole pile of these.

Mind-Blowing Dessert at Millie Patisserie

Published on August 17, 2018October 17, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 12 Oxley Street, Toronto
Website: http://milliedesserts.com/

I just had a slice of the mille crepe cake from Millie Patisserie, and it was so incredibly delicious that I’m pretty sure I can never eat dessert again. I mean, what’s the point? It’s all garbage to me now. Mille crepe cake 4 eva.

In case you’re not familiar with a mille crepe cake, it’s a magical creation in which crepes and custardy cream are layered on top of each other until you wind up with something that looks like a cake.

The version they’re serving at Millie Patisserie is next level. It’s insanely good.

On this particular visit, they had four varieties: vanilla bean, tiramisu, earl gray, and matcha. I went with vanilla bean, and holy crap it was amazing.

The custard between the crepe layers was crazy delicious. It was rich and creamy, with an intense custardy flavour and the perfect amount of vanilla. Just give me a spoon and a bucket of this stuff and I’ll eat it until I literally explode.

The tender crepes are just as good, with a very light chewiness that complements the custard perfectly. The proportion of both is just right; it’s the perfect balance of creaminess and substance and amazingness. It was easily one of the best desserts I’ve had in ages.

It’s not cheap, however. One slice comes up to a bit over ten bucks with tax, which is so much that I almost left the store without ordering anything. But man, it is absolutely, positively worth it. Aside from the fact that it’s ridiculously delicious, the quality of ingredients they’re working with is obviously high, and I have to imagine that making one of these things is quite labour intensive. There are so many layers and they’re all so perfect.

Satisfying Grilled Cheese at the RH Courtyard Cafe

Published on August 15, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3401 Dufferin Street, North York (inside Yorkdale Mall)
Website: https://www.restorationhardware.com/content/category.jsp?context=TorontoCafe

Since I’ve already established that the restaurant at the Restoration Hardware in Yorkdale is better than it has any right to be (I was shocked at how decent the burger was), it shouldn’t be a surprise that the grilled cheese is quite tasty.

It’s a classic, no-frills grilled cheese. This is a dish that a lot of places feel the need to gussy up, with toppings and condiments aplenty. But grilled cheese is perfect on its own; all you need is good quality bread, cheese, and a whole bunch of butter. No ornamentation is necessary.

And that’s exactly what the RH Courtyard Cafe gives you: the cheddar cheese is sharp and gooey, and the bread has the perfect amount of substance, with a crispy exterior and a soft interior.

It’s also ridiculously buttery, as it should be; if you can hold a grilled cheese sandwich without your hands instantly becoming slippery with grease, then you need to throw it right in the garbage. It’s worthless.

But then there’s the price. It’s 19 bucks. As good as it is (and it’s quite good), it’s still just a grilled cheese sandwich, which might be the easiest (and cheapest) thing in the world to make. So it’s hard to justify spending that much on it.

Decent Eats at Olde Yorke Fish & Chips

Published on August 9, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 96 Laird Drive, Toronto
Website: https://oldeyorkefishandchips.com/

Everyone loves fish and chips, don’t they? It’s one of those universally appealing meals that’s hard to truly hate. I mean, it’s a big old plate of deep fried goodness.

But it’s surprisingly difficult to find a place that does it really well (without a plane ticket to the UK, at least). It’s such a simple dish, but sometimes the simplest meals are the toughest to pull off. It’s just fish and batter; if your technique isn’t perfect, there’s nowhere to hide.

I got the haddock and chips from Olde York, and while it was certainly tasty, there were a couple of things holding it back from being much better than okay.

A lot of fish and chips joints tend drop the ball with the batter itself; so many places over-apply it, resulting in a thick and crunchy shell that overwhelms the fish. And while Olde York isn’t the worst offender in this regard, the batter was definitely too substantial.

It’s also easy to overcook the fish, and alas, that was an issue here as well. It wasn’t too blatant, but it was dryer than it should have been.

I don’t want to make this a complain-a-thon, because I actually did enjoy it… but the fries could have been crispier and the tartar sauce was way too sweet.

But that’s the thing about fish and chips: even when it’s not perfect, it’s still so satisfying.

Satisfying Noodle Soup at GB Hand-Pulled Noodles

Published on August 7, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 66 Edward Street, Toronto
Website: None

I’ve mentioned before that chewy hand-pulled noodles are basically the best thing ever. That continues to be true. That’ll be true forever. Hundreds of years from now, when the robots complete their bloody uprising and have wiped out the human race, it’ll continue to be true. Even robots will enjoy hand-pulled noodles. Because they’re the best.

And if you’re craving hand-pulled noodles and don’t feel like venturing out into the ‘burbs, you could certainly do worse than GB Hand-Pulled Noodles.

They have a few things on the menu, though the main attraction here is the noodle soup. You can choose your noodle thickness from seven (!) different options, which range from “super thin” to “extremely wide.” I went with narrow thick, which is right in the middle.

The soup itself is fine, though it is a bit one-note salty (no one around me finished their broth, nor did I). The prodigious amount of tasty chili oil that they serve it with certainly helps, but it’s clear that the soup is more of a vehicle for the noodles than something anyone would particularly enjoy on its own.

Aside from the noodles, the other highlight is the thinly-sliced beef, which is tender and flavourful. The beef at noodle joints like this tends to be hit-and-miss, so I appreciated the level of quality here.

But of course, the reason you’re here is those noodles, which get expertly pulled in full view of the dining room.

The narrow thick noodles that I picked basically look like a particularly weighty spaghetti. They were chewy, toothsome, and outstanding. Even by the standards of hand-pulled noodles, these were particularly firm and substantial; I was on the fence about them at first, but they quickly won me over.