Toronto – Page 79 – Michael Eats

(Mostly) Tasty Eats at The Ex

Published on August 31, 2019September 1, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 210 Princes’ Boulevard, Toronto
Website: https://theex.com/

Though I haven’t been in a couple of years, I enjoy going to the Ex. I mean, they have an enormous building dedicated entirely to food, not to mention vendor after vendor selling junky carnival food, so of course I enjoy it.

I didn’t get to try quite as much as I would have liked (this stuff was all extremely heavy), but I sampled a few things.

The Big Chief from Porkies Sandwich Co.

This place specializes in porchetta and pork belly, and serves a sandwich that’s crammed with both of them. The two meats are topped with caramelized onions, arugula, provolone, salsa verde, and chipotle mayo. It’s not bad — the two types of pork are a bit bland and textureless (they’re super tender, but there are zero crispy bits or crackling), but they’re still porky and satisfying. The cheese was unmelted and basically added nothing to the sandwich, but the onions and the sauces are tasty and do a good job of cutting through the extreme richness of the belly and the porchetta. I will say, however, that this might have been the greasiest sandwich I’ve ever eaten in my life. Grease was leaking everywhere.

Scorpion Burrito from Burrito Co.

Though Burrito Co. advertises this as “Canada’s hottest burrito,” that’s a dubious claim; the burrito itself is barely spicy at all. It does, however, come with a tiny dropper filled with a legitimately fiery hot sauce. This stuff isn’t kidding around, though I wish they had added it right into the burrito, because having to reapply it every couple of mouthfuls was a bit of a pain. As for the burrito itself, it was fine, I guess? It was decent enough, but nothing about it particularly stands out (other than the comically absurd $19.25 price tag).

Pickle Pizza from Rick’s Pizza

This is the only thing I tried that was outside of the food building. The slice is basically exploding with pickle flavour; it’s topped with pickle slices, and features dill ranch instead of tomato sauce. It’s a novelty food and it tastes like a novelty food, but it’s actually kind of satisfying. The pickles are nice and zingy, and the pizza itself is decent. I don’t know that I’d want to eat this all the time — but isn’t that the whole point of carnival food? If it’s something you’d want to eat on a regular basis, it’s probably not doing its job.

A Tasty Cupcake at Bobbette and Belle

Published on August 30, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1121 Queen Street East, Toronto
Website: http://bobbetteandbelle.com/

I kind of hate going to a good bakery, because I want to eat that, and that, and that, and that, but there’s only so much room inside my stomach. It’s kind of like Sophie’s Choice, but at least she only had two children to choose between; there’s like a dozen things here that look delicious.

I wound up going with the Cookies and Cream cupcake at Bobbette and Belle, but there were so many other pastries I could have picked. Everything looked great.

I’d say I chose pretty well. The cupcake features a chocolate base topped with an Oreo-infused frosting. It’s delightful. The cake is nice and moist, with a satisfying chocolatey flavour. And the frosting is sweet (but not overly sweet) and creamy, with a nice balance of cookie chunks. It’s one of the better cupcakes I’ve had in a while.

Middling Taiyaki at Sukoshi Mart

Published on August 26, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 160 Baldwin Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.sukoshimart.com/

Sukoshi Mart is a little Japanese convenience store in Kensington Market that sells hard-to-find Japanese goods. They also sell freshly-made taiyaki, a waffle-like dessert that’s traditionally filled with either red bean or custard.

I like this place. If you’re looking for Japanese snacks or candy, it’s worth a visit.

The taiyaki, on the other hand? Not so much.

It’s fine. It’s perfectly edible, but the exterior is dense and doughy, and the red bean is overly sweet. It’s also misshapen and haphazard, so it doesn’t even have the (usually) delightful visual component. It’s not the best.

Tasty Middle Eastern Food at Azkadenya

Published on August 23, 2019August 23, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 235 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.azkadenya.ca/

I’ll admit that I didn’t have particularly high expectations for Azkadenya, a “mezza diner” with locations all over the Middle East. Aside from the fact that it’s a chain restaurant, the slick decor and quirky dishes made me think it would be style over substance.

Well, don’t judge a book by its cover, I guess? This place was actually quite good, though the restaurant is clearly at its best when it sticks with the classics and doesn’t mess around too much.

We started with the hummus, which is creamy and tasty. It didn’t quite knock my socks off, but it’s a solid bowl of hummus. It helps that it comes topped with healthy amount of good quality olive oil, with a bottle available on the table to top it up (which you should absolutely do — hummus and EVOO are best friends and should never be apart).

Actually, I should mention the multiple bottles at the table — there’s olive oil, a couple of tasty hot sauces, a tahini sauce, and something labeled “sour but sweet” that I completely forgot to try (I know, what’s wrong with me?).

Servers are constantly walking around to replenish your supply of pita bread — they bake these things fresh in what appears to be a wood-burning oven, so yeah, they’re quite good.

Next up was the falafel, which comes in an order of eight. This was easily the highlight of the meal. They’re nicely spiced and not too big, which gives you the perfect ratio of crispy exterior to fluffy interior (too many places make huge, almost tennis-ball-sized falafel, and the crisp-to-fluffy ratio is all wrong). They’re also not dry in the middle, which is another common issue with falafel in the GTA. They’re really good.

Then there was the beef “shawarma.” I’m putting that in quotes because, I’m sorry, but this isn’t shawarma. It comes essentially looking like a kabob (though the beef is sliced, even if it doesn’t look that way). It’s a fun gimmick, and the presentation is certainly striking, but it’s not shawarma. It tastes nothing like shawarma.

Still, it’s tasty enough for what it is. The meat is tender and nicely marinated. Once you put it in a pita with some of the condiments (it comes with pickles, tahini sauce, garlic sauce, and tomatoes) it’s quite satisfying.

Last up was the kunafah pops, which takes the traditional Middle Eastern dessert and turns it into little deep-fried balls. Like the shawarma, this was the restaurant being a bit too clever for their own good. All of the textures are wrong — the exterior is a bit too crunchy, the cheesy interior doesn’t quite have the gooeyness you’re looking for, and it has a mild oily flavour from the fryer. It certainly wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever eaten, but traditional kunafah would have been vastly superior.

Jerk Chicken at Rasta Pasta

Published on August 22, 2019October 17, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 61 Kensington Avenue, Toronto
Website: http://eatrastapasta.ca/

Rasta Pasta serves, as the name implies, a fusion of Caribbean and Italian cuisine. It’s a bizarre amalgamation of flavours, but they’ve been a Kensington Market hotspot for years, so they’re obviously doing something right.

Their pasta wasn’t available when I visited, so I kept it simple and ordered the jerk chicken sandwich, dubbed the Vatican.

The sandwich consists of saucy jerk chicken and coleslaw in a soft roll that’s nicely crispified thanks to a panini press. It’s quite good.

However, despite the presence of a functioning grill at the front of the restaurant, the chicken tastes more braised than grilled. It’s extremely tender, and the jerk sauce is flavour-packed and mildly spicy, but the crispy exterior and smoky flavour that you expect from jerk chicken is completely absent.

And yet it’s so tasty that it isn’t particularly an issue. The sweet coleslaw complements the savoury chicken really well, and the crispy roll is the perfect vehicle. It’s a very satisfying sandwich.