wrap – Page 4 – Michael Eats

Satisfying French Tacos at Brick ‘N’ Cheese

Published on June 9, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 678 College Street, Toronto
Website: https://brickncheese.com/

Brick ‘N’ Cheese specializes in French tacos, which is basically a French burrito that’s crammed with meat and pressed flat in a panini press.

There used to be a great restaurant in the city called Mister Frenchy that served these things; alas, that place shut down. So if you’re looking for a French taco in the GTA, I think Brick ‘N’ Cheese might be the only game in town.

The menu at Brick ‘N’ Cheese is pretty customizable; you can either make your own creation by picking from an assortment of meats and sauces, or you get get one of six of what they call “premade bricks.” I went with the original premade brick: “extra lean ground beef & chicken, ketchup, cheddar, and pickles” (the menu doesn’t mention it, but there are fries in there as well).

Nothing about it particularly blew my mind, but it’s a satisfying wrap. It’s meaty, cheesy, and rich. I couldn’t help but compare it to the French taco I had at Mister Frenchy, which was greatly enhanced by a delicious, zippy sauce that helped to cut through the richness of the wrap. I wish they had something like that here (and the fries tasted like stale fries that had been dunked in oil prior to assembling the wrap, which meant that they were roughly a trillion times hotter than the other fillings), but this was otherwise a solid wrap.

Great Shawarma at Leziz Kitchen

Published on May 21, 2024 by Michael Nusair1 Comment

Location: 418 Horner Avenue, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.lezizkitchen.com/

Look, I’m going to cut right to the chase with this one: you know what shawarma is. I don’t need to sell it to you. And the chicken shawarma wrap at Leziz Kitchen? It’s great. You should try it.

Everything about it just works. The shawarma itself is as it should be — it’s nicely spiced, it’s got a bunch of crispy bits, and the meat is juicy.

The wrap has a nice balance of meatiness and freshness from the veggies (mostly just lettuce and tomato; I skipped the onion), the garlic sauce is flavourful without being a garlic assault, and the hot sauce adds some nice zip. And the pita, which they put on the grill to heat up and get some light toastiness, is fresh and lightly chewy; it does a great job of holding everything together.

It’s definitely one of the better shawarma wraps I’ve had in the Mississauga/Etobicoke area.

Quick Bites: Pizzeria Badiali, Ghadir Meat & Restaurant, Chica’s Chicken

Published on May 19, 2024April 13, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Cacio e pepe pizza from Pizzeria Badiali

I wrote about Pizzeria Badiali a few years ago and mentioned how great it is; I’ve been back a few times since, and it consistently pumps out some of the best pizza in the city. On my latest visit, I tried the cacio e pepe (“shredded mozz, fior di latte, cacio sauce, pecorino and black pepper”), and yeah, it’s top notch. It translates the tastiness of a bowl of cacio e pepe to a pizza pretty much perfectly. It’s peppery, cheesy, and rich, and the crispy/chewy crust is as amazing as ever.

Mixed Shawarma from Ghadir Meat & Restaurant

Speaking of the best stuff in the city, the last time I wrote about the shawarma from Ghadir Meat & Restaurant, I mentioned that it’s a contender for that crown. I tried chicken last time and got the mixed this time (which comes with chicken and beef), and hey, what do you know — it’s still some of the best in the city. It didn’t quite have the amount of crispy bits on the meat that I’d like, and there was no hot sauce (I guess you have to ask), but otherwise? Basically shawarma perfection. Perfect balance of meat, veggies, and sauces. Also: look at the way they’ve toasted this thing. It has an almost pita chip level of crispiness in spots. I need literally every shawarma joint to do this, please. Thanks.

Double Crunch Sandwich from Chica’s Chicken

The last couple of times I’ve had Chica’s Chicken, I’ve noted that they’ve been going downhill a bit. I was afraid that this might be an inexorable march to mediocrity, but thankfully, it seems like the quality level has plateaued. It’s not all-time-great like it used to be, but it’s still very good. On this particular visit, I got the Double Crunch Sandwich (which is part of a limited-time promotion with Jarritos, and will be gone by June 14): “fried chicken, peppercorn ranch, deep-fried jalapeños, lettuce on a brioche bun.” They were out of lettuce and subbed in coleslaw instead, but otherwise everything was as described on the menu. It’s a very tasty sandwich: it’s zippy, has some mild pops of spice from the fried jalapenos, and is packed with flavour. The chicken was, mostly, crunchy and juicy, though the thinner parts were a bit dry. It’s a very tasty sandwich, even if it can’t quite reach the heights of Chica’s at their prime.

Creamy Avocado Ranch McWrap from McDonald’s

Published on May 17, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1001 Islington Avenue, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

I’m not really a fan of any of the McWraps, which are generally kind of dry and bland. I think they’re McDonald’s half-hearted attempt to put something “healthy” on the menu, but you know what? McDonald’s shouldn’t be healthy. It should be junk. It should clog your arteries and make you feel bad about yourself. That’s its purpose.

Still, there is a new McWrap, so, sure, I’ll give it a shot.

Here’s how McDonald’s describes the Creamy Avocado Ranch McWrap: “Made with 100% Canadian-raised seasoned chicken topped with creamy avocado ranch sauce, crispy jalapenos, shredded lettuce, sliced tomato and cucumbers. All wrapped up in a soft white flour tortilla.”

Like the rest of the McWraps, you can get it with either crispy or grilled chicken; I went crispy. It’s fine. It’s probably one of the better ones, because the avocado ranch sauce is zippy and tasty, and there’s quite a bit of it. Would I have known the sauce had avocado in it if you hadn’t told me (and if it weren’t tinted green)? Absolutely not. It basically just tastes like a zestier ranch, but it’s solid for what it is.

Otherwise, the veggies are all fresh, the chicken is what it is, and the crispy jalapenos add some texture (but zero spice, sadly). I’m not mad I ate it, even if it’s not really what I want from McDonald’s.

A Delicious Wrap at Yaseen’s Shawarma

Published on April 13, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 5030 Maingate Drive, Mississauga
Website: https://yaseensshawarma.ca/

Shawarma is one of those foods that’s everywhere in the GTA. I doubt that you can go more than two or three blocks without coming across at least one shawarma joint in most parts of the city. And yeah, it makes sense — it’s fast, cheap, and reliably tasty.

That being said, even with as many options as there are in the GTA, Yaseen’s Shawarma stands out. I got the chicken saj wrap, which features chicken shawarma, zippy pickles, and a very generous amount of garlicky sauce.

If that sauce weren’t so tasty it might have been too much, but it was rich, garlicky, and delicious. I want to buy a tub of it.

The shawarma had a decent amount of crispy bits, and was nice and juicy. It also had an interesting citrusy flavour that helped cut through the richness of the chicken and the sauce (sumac? Lemon zest?).

And the saj flatbread its wrapped in was nice and fresh, and was toasted on its exterior, giving it a light but satisfying crispiness. It’s a great wrap.