Toronto – Page 73 – Michael Eats

Old School Gelato at La Paloma

Published on October 31, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1357 St Clair Avenue West, Toronto
Website: http://lapaloma.ca/

La Paloma has been around since 1967, so it’s pretty much the OG gelateria in the GTA. You can’t argue with that type of history; they’re obviously doing something right (though I recently panned Johnny’s Hamburgers, which has also been around since 1967, so I guess you can argue with that type of history).

Anyway, it’s good. It might not be the best gelato in the city, but it’s definitely not the Johnny’s of ice cream.

On my most recent visit I had the Sicilian pistachio. It tasted like they were using pistachio flavouring or even other nuts in there (something about the flavour was a bit off), and it was a bit too sweet, but it’s still quite satisfying.

It helps that the texture is great, with a nice creamy richness. It’s definitely above average.

A Delicious Fried Fish Sandwich at Sea Witch

Published on October 30, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 636 St. Clair Avenue West, Toronto
Website: http://www.seawitchfc.com/

Taking the fish from a plate of fish and chips and serving it in a sandwich is such an obvious idea that I’m shocked it isn’t more common. And if Sea Witch is anything to go by, it totally works.

You can get the pickerel sandwich either with or without chips; it’s $15 with, and $13 without, so obviously you need to get the chips (it is, however, a massive amount of food, so bring your appetite).

It’s quite tasty. The sandwich easily could have been too rich, but they wisely pile on a whole bunch of zingy pickled onions, not to mention a generous amount of tangy tartar sauce. This balances things out quite nicely. The hearty ciabatta holds together well, and proves to be an ideal vehicle for the hearty sandwich.

As for the fish itself, it’s good, though it’s not outstanding — the batter is slightly too substantial, and the fish is a bit overcooked and dry. Still, with all of the other stuff going on, it works just fine.

The fries are the highlight. They’re crispy, creamy, and substantial; they’re basically the perfect fish and chips chips.

Fake Butter Chicken at TVX: The Vegan Extremist

Published on October 24, 2019October 24, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 291 Augusta Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.facebook.com/TheVeganExtremist/

Is it still butter chicken if it doesn’t have butter or chicken? That’s the question at TVX, a vegan joint in Kensington Market that serves what it calls “plant-based South Asian cuisine.”

Mostly, they serve a variety of vegan curries that come with rice and paratha roti. One of those curries is the aforementioned butter-and-chickenless butter chicken, which subs in fried cauliflower for chicken.

So is it still butter chicken? Not really. But is it tasty? Definitely.

It doesn’t taste quite like any butter chicken I’ve had before — the sauce is tangier and less creamy — but for what it is, it’s quite good. It’s garlicky, very spicy (you can choose your heat level — I went with the spiciest, and it wasn’t kidding around) and surprisingly satisfying.

The fried cauliflower works really well — it’s battered and fried, with a nice crunchy exterior and a meaty interior. It doesn’t even vaguely resemble the chicken in a traditional butter chicken, but the hearty crunch stands up nicely to the sauce, and it’s delicious regardless.

The paratha roti was also untraditional but tasty. It’s thicker and more substantial than any paratha roti I’ve had before, but it still had that satisfying combo of crispy, greasy exterior and chewy interior that you’re looking for.

Stellar Ramen at Kyouka Ramen

Published on October 23, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2222 Queen Street East, Toronto
Website: https://kyouka.ca/

The Beaches is a bit of a culinary wasteland; there are a lot of restaurants along the main stretch of Queen, but almost none of them are particularly good.

There are exceptions, however. One of them is Kyouka Ramen; it easily serves some of the best ramen in the city.

I ordered the namesake Kyouka ramen: “daily chicken + pork broth, kombu dashi, aromatic sesame oil, green chives, bean sprouts, pork + chicken chashu, egg, naruto fish cake, wood ear mushroom, chili paste.”

The broth — a mixture of chicken and pork — is delightful. It’s got that rich roasty, meaty flavour that you want from a top-shelf bowl of ramen, and it’s got it in spades. It’s really nicely seasoned, with a good level of salt that helps all the other flavours sing, but never feels overwhelming. It looks a bit greasy, but it doesn’t feel oily at all. It’s top notch stuff.

The rest of the bowl is hit and miss, but the soup itself is so good that it barely even matters.

The noodles were probably the biggest issue. They were slightly overcooked, and didn’t quite have that satisfying chew that you’re looking for from a great bowl of ramen.

The pork chashu was tender and delicious, with a mild smoky flavour that was quite tasty. The chicken, however, was slightly dry and a bit tasteless.

The egg was perfectly cooked, with a nice gooey but not runny yolk — but it was underseasoned and bland. Everything else was quite good.

Still, that soup was tasty enough that the bowl would easily be in my top five in Toronto. It’s so good.

Mediocre Dim Sum at Planta Queen

Published on October 22, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 180 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.plantarestaurants.com/

I just talked about Shanghai Dim Sum, a dim sum restaurant in Richmond Hill that’s both delicious and delightfully affordable.

Well, Planta Queen serves dim sum on the weekends, and it’s the complete inverse of that — it’s ridiculously expensive and thoroughly mediocre.

I managed to try a few things, and while nothing was outright unpleasant, everything I tried was an inferior version of something you could get at a dim sum joint or elsewhere. The dumplings were probably the worst offenders — the various fillings were fine, but the wrappers were flabby and overcooked.

Adding insult to injury? They all ranged from 13 to 15 bucks for an order of four. For 15 bucks, I could get 60 soup dumplings from Shanghai Dim Sum (well, I’m sure they have a limit per table, but you get the idea) — and those dumplings were about a million times better than any of the dumplings here.

The other things I tried — a dosa, fried mushrooms, dan dan noodles — were all decent enough, but again, they were crazy expensive and thoroughly inferior to the real deal.

The best thing I had — by far — was the chocolate cake. The pastry chef here is clearly the real talent in the kitchen, because the cake was abundantly satisfying. It was rich, fudgy, and slightly fruity, with a deep chocolately flavour. It was amazing.