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Tasty Dipped Sandwiches at Hot Dip

Published on June 27, 2021 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1186 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/hotdiptoronto/

Hot Dip is a new sandwich shop on Queen Street that specializes in meaty sandwiches you can dip into things, and yeah, gimme that. That’s a genius idea.

They actually only have four sandwiches on the menu (at the moment, at least), which I appreciate. I always freeze like a deer in headlights when I see a menu with dozens of things on it — I know that everything on this huge menu cannot possibly be great, so just tell me what the good stuff is and what I can ignore.

Focusing on only a few things solves this problem entirely.

I ordered the Hot Dip (because you should always get the menu item that shares a name with the restaurant) which is a roast beef sandwich with horseradish mayo topped with crispy onions and served on a pretzel roll. The dip, in this case, is sharp cheddar.

It’s a very good sandwich. The thinly-sliced roast beef is super tender with a nice beefy flavour, and there’s a generous amount of it — the menu says eight ounces (i.e. half a pound, i.e. a lot of beef), and based on how substantial the sandwich is, I have no reason to believe they’re skimping on the meat.

The pretzel roll is just as good as the beef. Sometimes pretzel bread can be a bit on the dense side, but this struck a great balance between softness and heft, with a lightly crispy exterior.

As for the dip, weirdly enough it’s the weakest part of the sandwich. Despite being called “sharp cheddar” it has a thoroughly mild flavour — it basically has the taste and texture of watered-down Cheez Whiz. It mostly just adds moisture to the sandwich, but between the fresh bread and the tender meat, it doesn’t particularly need it.

My other big issue: it’s an incredibly heavy sandwich, and it really needs something acidic to cut through the overwhelming richness. I guess the horseradish mayo is supposed to fill this role? But it’s completely overwhelmed by all the beef; you can barely even tell that it’s there. It’s certainly not a deal-killer (it’s still very tasty), but it makes the sandwich feel a bit one-note rich, which is a shame.

Classic Pork Ramen at Momofuku Noodle Bar

Published on May 20, 2020 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 190 University Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://noodlebar-toronto.momofuku.com/

Apparently Momofuku has been open in Toronto for eight years. I was under the impression that it was more like three or four years, which doesn’t seem like a huge difference but kind of shook me to my core.

Well, maybe that’s overstating it, but seriously: where does the time go? It’s like one second you can comfortably call yourself young, then the next second you realize that you’re practically middle-aged, and when the hell did that happen??

But I digress. We’re talkin’ about noodles here.

I tried the classic bowl of pork ramen at Momofuku back when it opened, and my recollection is that it was tasty enough, but nothing particularly special.

It’s better than I remembered. I don’t think anyone is going to call it the best ramen in the city, but it’s a top notch bowl of noodle soup.

The broth is quite tasty, with a nice porky flavour. It comes with a scoop of sweet chili paste on top; the bowl really gets going once you mix that in. It adds a nice sweet/savoury punch that does a great job of complementing the porkiness of the broth.

The noodles are nice and chewy, and the toppings are all great — in particular, the delightfully fatty thick-cut chashu is super tender, and the egg (which is a Japanese-style soft-boiled egg — a.k.a. onsen tamago — rather than a standard ramen egg) adds a silky richness that compliments the slightly sweet broth quite well.

I tried a couple of other things. There was the fried calamari, which is tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, with a tasty mayo-based dipping sauce on the side. And it’s hard to go to Momofuku and not get one of their buns; I tried the shiitake buns, which feature meaty mushrooms tossed in hoisin sauce. Hoisin is one of those things that could make basically anything taste good, so yeah, it was good.

Quick Bites: Chodang Soon Tofu, Khau Gully, La Paloma

Published on May 16, 2020 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Kimchee soon tofu bowl at Chodang Soon Tofu

I’ve written about this place a couple of times before, both for this blog and another one, which is why I’m not bothering with a full post for this particular meal. But I feel obligated to point out that Chodang Soon Tofu is still great; their namesake dish, a seriously delicious and hearty bowl of stew crammed with creamy tofu, is as vibrant and amazing as ever. If you’re even remotely in the area, don’t miss this place; it’s a gem.

Various dishes at Khau Gully

I tried a handful of dishes at Khau Gully, a delightful Indian restaurant just south of Yonge and Eglinton. Nothing particularly knocked my socks off, but everything was solid. In particular, the nimbu dhaniya murg featured tender chunks of chicken in a deliciously zippy sauce, and the awadhi subzi featured nicely cooked veggies in a very creamy, tasty sauce. The kulfi is also worth checking out. If you’ve never had kulfi before, it has a unique richness that makes it feel pretty distinct from traditional ice cream.

Zuppa Inglese at La Paloma

If I’m trying a gelato place for the first time, I’m probably going to pick a simple flavour like pistachio or stracciatella to gauge the quality of the ice cream. But if it’s a place I’m familiar with, all bets are off; I’m instantly drawn to odder flavours I might not have tried before. And I can’t say I’ve ever had a gelato flavour quite like the Zuppa Inglese at La Paloma: “English trifle with layers of cranberries, orange zest and our homemade sponge cake.” It absolutely nails the trifle flavour, with the fruity/cakey/custardy taste shining through. It’s also got that in-your-face booziness that you’ll often find in Italian desserts; this is a bit of an acquired taste (and it’s not my favourite thing in the world), but I don’t mind it. The gelato itself was a bit icy, but this was otherwise a top-notch flavour.

Quality Neapolitan Pizza at Sip Wine Bar

Published on May 7, 2020 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2 Broadway Avenue, Toronto
Website: http://www.sipwinebar.ca/

I wound up at Sip Wine Bar entirely because the restaurant I was supposed to be visiting turned out to be closed (RIP to the Yonge Street location of Via Mercanti), so I’ll admit that my expectations weren’t particularly high.

They went even lower once I tried the appetizer, a decent but uninspired bruschetta that basically defines the word “meh.”

But I actually quite enjoyed the pizza. I ordered the margherita, because as I’ve said before, it is the king of pizzas and one of the world’s few perfect foods. It’s also a great test of a pizza joint’s ability, because there are no fancy toppings to hide behind. If the quality of your dough and your technique aren’t on point, it’s game over.

Sip Wine Bar definitely passed that test. It’s not the best pizza I’ve ever had, but every element was right where it should be — in particular, the crust was great. It had a good amount of flavour and a great chew, and enough char to give it some personality without overwhelming. The ratio of sauce and cheese was also quite satisfying. It was a quality suh.

Tasty Jerk Chicken at Roywoods

Published on April 8, 2020 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 65 Front Street West, Toronto (inside Union Station)
Website: https://roywoods.ca/

It’s been a while since I’ve had a sandwich from Toronto Life’s list of the 25 best in the city, but clearly, the list is still cranking out the hits. The jerk chicken sandwich at Roywoods is good eatin’.

It’s quite simple: cocoa bread, jerk chicken, coleslaw, sliced tomato, and onion (I skipped the onion, because raw onions are the worst and why anyone thinks differently will forever baffle me).

You can’t really tell from the picture, but the jerk chicken is abundant, and it’s perfectly cooked. I wish it were a bit spicier (it has a mild kick, but not much more than that) but the satisfying jerk flavour makes up for the lack of spice.

The only real issue is the slightly stale cocoa bread, but there was so much moisture from the saucy coleslaw and the juicy chicken that the dryness of the bread was just barely an issue. Eating it is definitely a multiple napkin experience.

I tried a couple of sides as well. The fried plantains had a nice combo of crispy and creamy, and the callaloo — featuring flavourful, tender greens — was just as good.