Toronto – Page 2 – Michael Eats

A Delicious (and Gigantic) Meal at Brown Donkatsu

Published on July 3, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 487 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Website: https://browndonkatsu.ca/

Brown Donkatsu serves the Korean version of tonkatsu, which is quite similar, but with a sweeter sauce.

Before checking this place out, I had read a few references to how big the portions are, so I was expecting a hefty meal. I was unprepared.

Wow, it’s a lot of food. I got the combo katsu, which comes with half brown katsu sauce, and half cream sauce. You can choose from chicken or pork; I went with pork.

Every order comes with two fried cutlets, and I’m not sure if you can get a sense of the scale from the photo, but they’re surprisingly massive. One of these would be enough for any reasonable person. Two is… a lot.

I think the reasonable thing to do is to eat one and take the other to go. The problem here is that they’re very, very good. So once I started eating, I couldn’t stop. The crispy exterior is substantial enough to give you a very hearty crunch, but light enough that it doesn’t overwhelm the pork. And the pork is nice and tender. It’s seriously tasty.

I finished it, but I didn’t feel good about it, that’s for sure. It’s the type of meal where you feel like you have to go lie down to recover.

I will say that I’ll probably just stick with the brown sauce if I ever find myself back here. It complements the meaty pork quite well, with a nice sweetness that helps round things out (it’s also quite different from the curry or tonkatsu sauce that you might expect). The ultra-rich cream sauce, on the other hand, is a bit one-note heavy. I certainly didn’t dislike eating it, but a little of it goes a long way. I would have liked about 90% brown sauce, and 10% cream sauce for a little bit of extra richness.

As for the other stuff on the plate, the sweet, creamy dressing on the cabbage is nice, and the corn and rice are corn and rice.

A Delicious Burger at General Public

Published on June 27, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 201 Geary Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.generalpublic.ca/

It’s been a while since I’ve had a really good burger, so the one at General Public hit the spot. They only serve it on the happy hour menu, for some reason (which is 4:00pm to 6:00pm), but it’s worth coming here at that time to check it out. Really, really good.

The GP Burger, as per their menu: “red leicester & cheddar blend, bone marrow, onion, branston pickle.”

Given how hard it is to find anything other than a smashed burger in Toronto, a hamburger in any other style is kinda delightful by default.

This one features a nice, hefty patty that’s cooked to a perfect medium rare. They’re obviously using good quality beef with a good amount of fat, because it’s seriously juicy and has a satisfying beefy flavour.

The cheese is nice and gooey, and the toppings mostly complement the burger quite well, other than the onion (I’m not a fan of raw onion, so this my fault, not the burger’s). The bun appears to be too big, and yeah, it kinda is, but it’s so plush and fluffy that it’s not nearly as big of a problem as it seems just by looking at it. It works.

I tried a couple of other things. There was the curried lamb tartare (“kashmiri, curry mayo, poppadom”), which was a really unique spin on a classic dish, with a nice crispy crunch from the poppadom that comes on the side, and a spiced flavour (particularly cumin) that distinguishes it from any tartare you’ve had before.

I also tried the bone marrow, which isn’t normally on the menu but was a special when I went. It’s over-the-top rich (the bread that comes on the side is basically soaked in butter, as if it weren’t decadent enough on its own), but it’s so, so good.

I also had the lemon posset for dessert, which features an ultra-creamy lemon pudding topped with a crispy shortbread cookie. Like everything else, it was seriously tasty — the pudding itself was maybe the silkiest I’ve ever had, and the bright, lemony flavour was perfectly tuned.

A Decent Breakfast Sandwich at Eggslut

Published on June 23, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 545 King Street West, Toronto
Website: https://eggslut.ca/

Hot take alert: whenever I eat a trendy breakfast sandwich in the GTA, I always ask myself the same question — is this better than a McMuffin? An alarming number of times, the answer is no. No, this fancy breakfast sandwich that costs several times as much as a McMuffin… does not actually taste better than a McMuffin.

Eggslut opened in Toronto recently to a whole bunch of hype. The most popular sandwich on the menu seems to be the Fairfax, so that’s what I went with: “cage-free soft scrambled eggs and chives, cheddar cheese, caramelized onions and sriracha mayo in a warm brioche bun.”

It’s fine. The soft scrambled eggs are perfectly cooked, with a luxuriously rich, creamy texture. The sweetness from the caramelized onions and pillowy brioche bun helps to balance out the saltiness of the eggs. It’s tasty.

But the bun is so, so soft, and in the absence of anything that isn’t squishy in the sandwich, the texture is one-note mush.

Contrast this with a Sausage ‘N Egg McMuffin, where you get a nice balance of textures — light crunch and chewiness from the toasted muffin, softness from the egg and cheese, and meatiness from the sausage. The Fairfax is clearly using better quality ingredients and cheffy technique, but the McMuffin is more satisfying.

(Not to mention that the McMuffin costs about five bucks, whereas this costs fifteen and absolutely does not feel worth the splurge.)

I should mention that I also tried the French Toast Sticks (“house-made brioche French toast dusted with cinnamon sugar and served with maple custard”), and they were actually pretty amazing. The French toast is pleasantly custardy, with a perfectly crispy exterior and a nice punch of flavour from the cinnamon and sugar. The creamy custard on the side complements it perfectly.

It’s kinda hilarious that the menu calls this a side (it’s straight-up dessert), but whatever you call it, it’s delicious.

Dill Pickle Chicken Sandwich from Wendy’s

Published on June 12, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 5250 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.wendys.com/en-ca

Pickle fried chicken sandwiches are definitely having a moment; Popeyes, KFC, and McDonald’s have all done their own version, and now here comes Wendy’s to hop on that bandwagon. Your move, Burger King.

Here’s how Wendy’s describes it: “A juicy, crispy chicken breast with dill pickle mayo, mozzarella cheese, and six (6!) pickle slices on a toasted bun. Your pickle craving doesn’t stand a chance.”

I’ll admit that I wasn’t crazy about this one. It has an unmistakable dill pickle flavour, both from the pickles and the zippy mayo, but otherwise the sandwich is just kinda one-note salty in a way that I found vaguely unpleasant.

It didn’t help that the chicken itself was dry. That’s always a crapshoot at a fast food joint; sometimes you get lucky, and sometimes you get sad dryness. Oh well.

Tasty Gelato at Aura Gelato Artigianale

Published on June 6, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1070 Saint Clair Avenue West, Toronto
Website: https://auragelato.com/

Aura Gelato Artigianale is a bit confusing — the sign on the outside says Gemma Gelato, but everything on the inside of the shop (including the cups) calls it Aura Gelato Artigianale. Online, it’s occasionally referred to as “Aura Gelato Artigianale at Gemma Gelateria.” So… it’s a collaboration between the two shops, I guess?

Whatever it is, it’s good.

I always like to go basic when I try a gelato or ice cream joint for the first time; it’s the best way to suss out the quality. With no big chunks or funky flavours to hide behind, it’s all about the gelato itself.

I got the dark chocolate, and yeah, that’s good stuff. It’s super rich and creamy, the sweetness is very well tuned, and the chocolate flavour is nicely robust. It’s really tasty.