Toronto – Page 99 – Michael Eats

Average Mexican Food at Cinco Mexican Restaurant

Published on October 9, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 131 Roncesvalles Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.cinco.restaurant/

Cinco is an unassuming Mexican restaurant on Roncesvalles that’s been serving up tacos and rotisserie chicken for about a year. Nothing about it particularly stands out, but if you’re in the area, I’m sure you could do worse.

I tried a couple of things. The first was the cochinita pibil taco: “marinated braised pork in adobo, six hour slow-cooked pork belly, queso oaxaca, topped with habanero onions.”

It wasn’t bad, though I wish they had taken the same amount of meat and split it into two tacos, because it’s kind of absurd.

The bites where you get a bit of everything — the shredded pork, the cilantro, the pickled onions — are really good. But there’s such a heaping mound of meat that many (most?) of the mouthfuls are pork, pork, and nothing but pork.

This wouldn’t have necessarily been a bad thing, but the pork was quite dry despite being shockingly greasy (seriously, the amount of oil dripping out of the taco was insane. The entire plate was swimming in it by the time I finished).

Still, it was tasty enough — the adobo-braised pork was tasty, the two blue corn tortillas were nice and fresh (the thin layer of cheese between them was a nice touch, but it was a bit too subtle to add much to the overstuffed taco), and the mouthfuls with a bit of everything had a nice balance of richness from the meat and acidity from the pickles.

I also tried the the chicken quesadilla, a daily special. This was a bit of a head-scratcher; it was filled with pieces of plain chicken, and… that’s about it. No cheese, no other ingredients (that I could taste, at least), just a whole bunch of stale-tasting chicken chunks. But it was fine, I guess — especially once I started dipping it into the pool of porky grease from the taco.

Tasty Fried Dumplings at Sang-ji Fried Bao

Published on October 8, 2018September 5, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1 Byng Avenue, North York
Website: None

Sang-ji bao are basically like a traditional soup dumpling’s (a.k.a. xiao long bao) more rugged cousin. They’re pan fried, with a slightly thicker skin and a dark brown crust on the bottom. Soup dumplings are delicious, but if you want something a bit more hearty, sang-ji bao’s got your back.

And as you’d probably guess from the name, Sang-ji Fried Bao specializes in the stuff. I was pretty excited to try it.

We started with the scallion oil noodles, an absolutely delightful flavour-bomb of oily (but not overly greasy) noodles topped with peanuts and fried scallions. The peanuts offer a nice crunchy contrast to the chewy noodles, and the imposingly dark fried scallions are packed with flavour and immensely satisfying.

I liked this dish even more than the fried dumplings.

The sang-ji bao were certainly nothing to scoff at — they’re pleasingly porky and packed with scalding hot soup. The wrapper is a bit too thick, however, and the whole thing is a touch on the bland side.

Still, it’s got that satisfyingly crispy bottom, and the whole thing is tasty enough, even if it’s not the best version of these things that I’ve ever had.

Subtle (and Delicious) Pastries at Roselle Desserts

Published on October 4, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 362 King Street East, Toronto
Website: http://www.roselleto.com/

I think “subtle” is the best word to describe what they’re serving at Roselle Desserts, a charming little bakery on King, just around the corner from the Distillery District.

I tried three things: a chocolate chunk cookie, a chocolate souffle cookie, and a raspberry madeleine.

The souffle cookie was the best of the three. It had a rich, deeply cocoa-infused flavour, with a surprisingly subtle amount of sweetness. It also had a really satisfying texture: lightly crispy on the outside, and soft and fudgy on the inside.

Lack of sweetness seems to be a theme here; the chocolate chunk cookie was also way more subtle than the norm. It’s a great quality cookie, with a nice chewy texture and a very generous amount of tasty chocolate chunks.

Unlike the other two, the lack of sweetness felt like a detriment with the madeleine; this one was way too subtle for its own good, with only a vague whisper of raspberry flavour. The sweetness here was so restrained that I’m not even sure this should be classified as a dessert.

Great Margherita Pizza at Pi Co.

Published on October 3, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1200 Bay Street, Toronto
Website: http://www.pi-co.ca/

Fact: a margherita pizza, done well, is the best pizza. It’s just crust, sauce, cheese, basil, and olive oil, but when it’s done well, it all comes together in a way that feels magical. It’s one of the world’s few perfect foods.

Pi Co. does it well.

The restaurant itself is actually pretty interesting — it’s mostly a take-out joint, and aside from the margherita, they don’t have any pre-topped pizzas.

The restaurant is set up almost like a Subway, with a variety of toppings behind glass that you can choose from on the spot. And the Neopolitan-style pies bake fast, so you can be in and out surprisingly quickly, despite the fact that they’re starting every pizza from scratch.

It’s quite good. A pizza like this lives and dies by its crust; the crust here was solid, with a satisfying chew, a decent amount of flavour, and a nice blistery exterior. The external crisp factor could have been slightly higher, but that’s a very minor complaint.

Everything else was great, with a nice balance of sauce and cheese. It’s not the best margherita I’ve ever had, but it’s pretty damn satisfying (again: it’s a perfect food).

Gelato Disappointment at La Viziatta

Published on October 2, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2470 Yonge Street, Toronto
Website: None

La Viziatta might be the oddest gelato shop I’ve ever been to. It’s inside a video game store.

I don’t mean that they’re neighbours, or that they sell gelato on one floor and games on another. I mean that it’s a video game store with a gelato counter.

But sure, why not? I’m sure the costs to operate a business in a high-traffic spot like Yonge and Eglinton are quite high. So if you can split them with someone else, you may as well go for it.

And they have an interesting assortment of flavours, including the one that brought me here: peanut butter and jelly.

Sadly, it’s not nearly as amazing as you’d hope. The gelato isn’t particularly creamy, the peanut butter flavour is fairly anemic, and the “jelly” is actually an overly sweet syrup rather than jam or jelly. None of the elements are particularly offensive — I ate it all, and if you put another cup in front of me I’d eat that too — but nothing is as tasty as it should be.

Of course, it’s hard not to compare it to the PB and J flavour at Bang Bang, which is almost unfair — that might just be one of the best scoops of ice cream that I’ve ever had. It’s the exact opposite of what they’re serving here: it’s super rich, it has an intense peanut butter flavour, and the balance with the jam is absolutely perfect.