The Tuesday Taste - MightyBird

 

 

Hey Joni

put it all behind you

Hey Joni

now I've put it all behind me too

Forget the future

these times are such a mess

Tune out the past

and just say yes

 

 

Another Tuesday.... another Taste. If you're somebody who prefers my reviews were a bit shorter on occasion, well this occasion is addressed precisely to you. I do not have anything excessive to say about our entry this week. 

Is it a charming backstory you're after? Well... MightyBird is a joint fried chicken venture of hospitality entities Eat Up Canada and Open Concept Hospitality, both of which operate various other stalls in the revamped section of the Union Station food hall. So... no, would be the answer to that question. 

Nevertheless since launching in 2023 (at that very same food hall) MightyBird has branched out to an additional two franchises in Brampton and Kingston, with plans for more in the works. 

Admittedly this was not a place especially high on my list to try for these Tuesday reviews, but circumstance (being hungry and grouchy one afternoon at Union Station) led me down this way. So I went for one of their Mighty OG sandwiches with a side of cheese fries, totaling in around 22 bucks. 

 

   

Not the most Instagramable (we all know that's a verb now, whether we like it or not) cheese fries I've ever encountered, but looks can sometimes be deceiving as we all know. 

No deception here, though. The fries are very okay: there's an airy taste to them, skins on and a decent potato flavour... but I also get that unmistakable numbing frozen taste as well. Is New York Fries still a thing? Does that still exist? These fries remind me of those, which I always felt were okay-ish but very underwhelming (especially when "Fries" is in your freaking name). I would've liked a bit more crispiness as well, though these aren't undercooked or anything. 

As for the cheese sauce... well here's a great example of something tasting exactly how it looks. See all that plastic-looking cheese with an unnatural sheen? You already know that flavour without even having to put it in your mouth. Like a hybrid of nacho cheese meets KD (more the latter) which while unrefined is an entirely acceptable thing to smother your fries in. I personally would've liked an attempt at something a little more elevated, such as some green onions or cheap herbs just to make this thing look prettier. I mean sheesh, the place does describe itself as "chef-crafted" and all I'm seeing here is something easily replicated at home with some frozen fries and powered cheese mix.       

How bout this sandwich, this "Mighty OG" (geez, knowing the corporatey background of this place and then seeing them call their flagship sandwich an OG makes me cringe significantly). 

I wouldn't call this a mighty amount of chicken but it's a good size and plenty messy, like any fried chicken sandwich worth its crunchy weight should be. There's coleslaw, banana peppers (an intriguing addition in tandem to the typical pickle slice) some kind of mayo sauce and a lightly sweet honey drizzle (by far the drippiest element).

Man. Is it an entirely fine, moderately enjoyable fried chicken sandwich? Sure. Did it blow me away in any respect whatsoever? Not at all. Here's the biggest problem: total lack of seasoning, which was an issue with the fries as well. You taste the dark meat chicken just fine, it's fairly juicy although not all that fatty... but the breading is just empty crunch lacking any zing of spice or pepper.

Instead it's up to the supporting elements to bring any kind of diverse flavours. The banana peppers give a little bit of pickled heat, the honey and mayo some faint sweetness, while the slaw is just a standard shredded dry green cabbage. It all adds up to... just a very decent fried chicken experience. Nothing here really grabs or excites you.

 

 

Overall... wow we're at the end already? I wasn't kidding when I said this would be a short one.

No, I can't say I'd fully recommend trying MightyBird for yourself. There's just not a whole lot about it that's particularly memorable. It's all so aggressively okay to the point of being exceptionally boring... and there are so many truly wonderful fried chicken places in Toronto that are far more worthy of your hard earned dollars and attention. The bar has been raised, folks. You'll enjoy this bird just fine, however there just won't be any lasting impression one way or the other. Consume and move on. Shrug. 

 

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Ex-ceptional Dickery

The CNE can shove it up their own insert orifice here. Not letting somebody walk through with a bike, when it's an insane rainstorm, most CNE-goers are long gone and you're the only access to the last GO train of the night? Go fuck yourselves. This is a boycott, I refuse to review any of that garbage they're selling this year. They can eat shit (and judging by what the Food Building is selling so will everybody else).  

 

Match Superpoint

Some unfortunate and perplexing news in Toronto Pizza Land, as noted Ossington spot Superpoint abruptly closed their doors this past Sunday. A shame: their pizza wasn't among the true best in the city for me but was still extremely good... hopefully this is just a brief hiccup and not a permanent goodbye.  

Celluloid Walk Off Heroes

Found this list ranking the 25 greatest sports films of all time quite interesting, though omitting "Major League" (a goofy comedy I admit) or "Field of Dreams" (sappy and sentimental I also admit) is a head scratcher. Nevertheless there are some excellent films to be found throughout the ranking:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/best-sports-movies-ranked/?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

 

Tuesday Tune

I was in an awful headspace much of this particular week (being forced to ride home in that fucking rainstorm certainly contributed to that) so here's a song from an incredible album helped get me through some of the really tough times of the COVID pandemic. Unlike those CNE pricks, this actually rules. 

 

 

That's all for this week! We're on a bit of a down streak here in terms of actually good food to review, so hopefully next time will snap us out of that slump. Until then, stay safe, stay cool and most of all don't spill that mustard.