Toronto – Page 111 – Michael Eats

Tasty Pies at General Assembly Pizza

Published on June 11, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 331 Adelaide Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.gapizza.com/

After my horrifying Pizzeria Libretto experience, I wondered: am I being too picky? Was Libretto actually not that bad? Are my expectations just way too high?

Thank you, General Assembly Pizza, for letting me know that I’m not crazy. Pizzeria Libretto was indeed terrible. I am still capable of enjoying pizza.

They’re certainly not the best I’ve ever had, but the pizzas they’re serving here are all-around solid.

The first thing you notice is the even char on the crust; clearly, the temperature/time in the oven is just right. Remember the disturbing photo of the colourless bottom of the slice from my Libretto post? Here’s what the bottom of a slice of pizza should look like:

That’s not to say that the crust here was perfect. I liked the subtle crispiness on its exterior, but it didn’t quite have the chewiness that you’re looking for, and it was a bit bland. It wasn’t quite at the Wonder Bread level of Libretto’s crust, but it was definitely lacking.

The toppings do a pretty great job of hiding the crust’s shortcomings, however. I tried three pizzas: Sweet Heat (tomato, mozzarella, hot salami, chili, honey, basil), Falco Sausage (tomato, parmesan, sausage, red onion, bread crumb, garlic, black pepper, chili flake, basil), and Garden Smash (tomato, squash eggplant mash, red onion, spring onion, garlic, sesame, basil).

All three were quite tasty, with a great sweet/salty contrast on the Sweet Heat, and a nice savoury punch on the Falco Sausage. Even the Garden Smash — a cheeseless pizza, which I was deeply skeptical about — was fairly satisfying (though I still missed the cheese).

You can also kick things up with a nicely potent chili oil they have on the side. I strongly recommend that you do this; it’s great.

Wacky Flavours at Death in Venice Gelato Co.

Published on June 8, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 536 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.deathinvenice.ca/

If you’re looking for an off-kilter scoop of gelato, Death in Venice is the place to go. With their various flavours featuring ingredients like parsnip, kaffir lime, and lavender, you’d be advised to look elsewhere if you’re hoping for a scoop of plain chocolate or vanilla.

Of course, it’s easy enough to serve oddball flavours as a novelty; it’s not-so-easy to make them actually taste good.

I can happily say that Death in Venice absolutely nails the whole “tasting really good” thing.

On this particular visit I tried the pistachio yogurt and baklava, which was outstanding. It features crispy bits of phyllo pastry, pistachio chunks, and honey, which really nails the baklava flavour. The yogurt adds a very subtle tartness. There clearly isn’t enough yogurt here to qualify this as frozen yogurt; there’s just enough to add that flavour without being overly sour.

That’s not to mention the lemon zest, which works perfectly with the other elements here. I think there might have also been ricotta? I’m not sure.

But you know what I am sure about? That this was great. Because it was great. Aside from the really interesting combination of flavours, the gelato itself was creamy and luxurious. It’s good stuff.

A Mixed Bag at Tabule

Published on June 7, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2009 Yonge Street, Toronto
Website: http://tabule.ca/

I like Tabule a lot; it’s probably one of the better Middle Eastern restaurants in the city, though this particular visit wasn’t particularly awe-inspiring.

The starter was fantastic, at least — we got the sampler platter, which came with hummus, babaganuj, and tabule. The creamy hummus had a nice garlicky bite without overwhelming, the tabule was fresh and zingy, and the babaganuj had a mild smokiness that really set it apart. It comes with a basket of soft, toasty pita bread. It’s great.

My main wasn’t quite as good. I got the eggplant, which comes served on mujaddara, a Middle Eastern rice dish with lentils and fried onions.

The eggplant was perfectly cooked; that particular vegetable can easily be mushy, but in this dish it had a satisfyingly firm texture and an amazing creaminess. I think it might have been some of the most well-prepared eggplant I’ve ever had.

But while it and the rice were both quite tasty, the whole dish was one-note rich; the tahini sauce didn’t do much to contrast with the eggplant and the rice. Something with some sweetness or acidity would have really rounded things out — as delicious as it was, I was getting tired of eating it by the end of the plate.

I had the kunafa for dessert, which was a more unambiguous failure. I actually had this on a previous visit, and that time it had a really great balance of creaminess and crispiness, without being overly sweet. This time? Not so much.

But to quote LeVar Burton: you don’t have to take my word for it. Here’s a side-by-side of the the one I just had, and the one I was served on my last visit.

Yikes. And it was as bad as it looked — it was absolute mush all the way through, with an unpleasantly intense, throat-burning sweetness.

Mediocre Ice Cream at Emmy’s Ice Cream

Published on June 6, 2018June 6, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 426 St. Clarens Avenue, Toronto
Website: http://emmys-ice-cream.business.site/

I love ice cream (and I mean, who doesn’t?). I’m always on the lookout for the next great scoop.

I’m not going to bury the lede — Emmy’s does not serve the next great scoop.

It’s fine. There wasn’t anything glaringly wrong with it. But the quality is more in line with something you might get from the supermarket with the words “Nestle” or “President’s Choice” on the label.

It’s in a bit of an odd location; it’s basically part of a coffee shop (they have their own sign and door, but once you’re inside, it’s all one store).

They don’t make their own ice cream. They source it from Dutch Dreams. I have a vague recollection of going to Dutch Dreams well over a decade ago and not being impressed, but I was hoping that they had improved in the interim.

Alas. I had the “Life on St. Clarens,” which is vanilla ice cream with a peanut butter swirl, along with brownie chunks and cookie dough.

Nothing about it particularly stood out. Though the ice cream was somewhat rich, the flavour was just generic sweetness. The same lack of flavour extended to the chunks — the brownie was just chewy and sweet, and the cookie dough was crumbly and sweet. Nothing makes an impact.

Given the fairly unambitious array of flavours they have on offer, I suspect that they’re trying to be more of a stop for local kids than somewhere you might go out of your way for. Which is fine. But… don’t go out of your way for it.

Epic Fried Chicken Sandwiches at Chica’s Chicken

Published on June 5, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2853 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.facebook.com/chicaschicken/

I’ve already talked about the Nashville hot chicken at Chica’s, which is amazing. Well I just went back and tried the sandwich, and yeah, it’s pretty damn good, too.

The first thing that you notice is that it’s monstrously big. The piece of fried chicken in the sandwich is almost comically oversized. It’s not easy to eat.

It looks like it might be one of those fried chicken sandwiches that’s about fifty percent batter and fifty percent chicken, but it’s surprisingly meaty, with a pronounced (but not overbearing) outer layer of crunchy goodness.

I think they might have somehow managed to combine chicken breast and thigh into one enormous mega-patty, because aside from the fact that it was insanely large, some of it tasted like dark meat, and some of it tasted like white. Maybe I’m going crazy and it was all white meat; either way, it was perfectly cooked and not even remotely dry.

I ordered it hot AF, and like on my last visit, it was abundantly spicy — but not overwhelmingly so. It’s an outstanding sandwich.

I got the bean salad on the side, which was corny, beany, garlicky, and delicious. I also tried the waffle fries, which are battered and crispy. Battered fries aren’t my favourite, but these were good.

I’ve pretty much tried the entire menu at this point (the only thing I haven’t had are the wings), and there isn’t a dud in the bunch. If you haven’t tried this place yet, you need to rectify that immediately.