zaatar – Michael Eats

Quick Bites: Los Panchos Mexican Restaurant, Las Muns, Azhar Kitchen and Bar

Published on October 24, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Birria burrito and carnitas quesadilla from Los Panchos Mexican Restaurant

It’s been a few years since birria mania swept through Toronto, and it’s still going strong. Case in point: Los Panchos Mexican Restaurant has a whole birria section on their menu, where basically every Mexican staple you can think of has been birria-ified. I tried the birria burrito, and while there was no broth on the side, the beef was nice and tender. Nothing about it particularly popped, but I certainly didn’t dislike eating it. I also tried the carnitas quesadilla, and aside from the fact that the pork tasted slightly leftovery, it was a solid version of the dish. Both were crying out for some hot sauce, however — if any was available, I didn’t see it.

Spicy beef and poutine empanadas from Las Muns

I was intrigued by Las Muns, a Spanish empanada chain that has a bunch of locations in Europe, and is starting to expand in Canada. They have a variety of flavours — some classic, some quirky (stuff like Cajun shrimp and Thai chicken). I went with the spicy beef and poutine varieties, and they were both… fine, I guess? They taste more like something you might expect to find in the freezer section at Costco rather than a handmade empanada from a restaurant, but they were both inoffensive enough.

Za’atar fries and muhammara from Azhar Kitchen and Bar

Okay, let’s end this with some positivity. I checked out the happy hour menu at Azhar and tried a couple of things, and both were quite tasty. The za’atar fries weren’t the best fries I’ve ever had, but they were quite solid, with the generous amount of za’atar they were tossed in adding a nice zippy, herbal punch. That’s not the mention the lemon aioli that comes on the side, which was satisfyingly rich and creamy, with a nice brightness from the lemon to round things out. It’s a great dip. I also tried the muhammara (“roasted pepper, walnut, sourdough, pomegranate seed; one pita”), which was even better, with a nice chunky texture and a satisfying cumin-tinged flavour. And the freshly-baked pita on the side was a perfect complement.

Tasty Middle Eastern Flatbread at Manousha Inc.

Published on July 17, 2022July 18, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 6039 Erin Mills Parkway, Unit 6, Mississauga
Website: https://manoushainc.ca/

Manousha is a take-out gem in Mississauga that specializes in mana’eesh, a Middle Eastern flatbread that comes with various toppings. They also have a handful of interesting looking subs, but I figured the mana’eesh is probably the way to go.

And yeah, it’s definitely the way to go (though I’m sure the sandwiches are good too — I think another visit is in order).

I went with the zaatar, which comes topped with a mix of zaatar (a Middle Eastern herb blend) and olive oil, along with the chicken musakhan (a Palestinian dish featuring sumac-infused chicken with onions).

The crust is great — it’s slightly crispy on the outside, and it’s got a great balance of chewiness and fluffiness on its interior. They bake everything in a wood-burning oven, and clearly, they know how to use it.

Both mana’eesh were quite tasty, though the musakhan was the highlight. It’s a little bit tangy, a little bit sweet, and satisfyingly meaty from the tender chicken.

Lousy food at the Livelihood Cafe

Published on July 6, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 254 Augusta Avenue, Toronto
Website: http://www.livelihoodproject.org/

The Livelihood Cafe is a laudable endeavor — it’s part of a non-profit organization that helps new immigrants build a career in Canada.

So maybe I’m a jerk for saying this (okay, I’m definitely a jerk for saying this), but the food was actually pretty bad.

I tried a few things. The first dish featured multigrain toast topped with some kind of pepper spread, cucumber, and cheese (I forgot to take a picture of the menu and I couldn’t find one online, so I’m a bit fuzzy on the specifics). This was the best of the three dishes I tried. The grainy bread was a little bit too rustic, overwhelming the mild pepper spread, and the whole thing had an overriding bitterness, but it wasn’t horrible.

Up next was the baba ganoush, which came with a side of over-toasted pita bread that was halfway between crunchy and chewy. Baba ganoush is a spread that’s made primarily with roasted eggplant and tahini, so how this managed to taste of neither of those things is a complete mystery. It was just kind of salty and pasty and unpleasant.

The last (and worst) dish was the mana’eesh, which is a flatbread topped with a mix of za’atar (a Middle Eastern spice mix) and olive oil. Only there barely seemed to be any olive oil; the za’atar was overly dry and grainy, and the bread was off-puttingly thick and rubbery. I could barely eat more than a couple of bites of this.

Also: it was a bagel-sized piece of bread for nine bucks, which is gallingly expensive — though if you think of it as a charitable donation, it takes some of the sting away.

This is going to sound harsh, but everything was so bad I would have rather just flat-out donated money to charity without having to eat the food.