When Mike and I lived downtown, the County General (@CountyGeneral) at Queen and Shaw was one of our go-to’s for great cocktails and tasty bar snacks. Shortly after moving to the east end, the County General (@countyriverside) opened up a second location at Queen and Boulton. Having dropped by over a handful of times since opening six months ago, this Riverside location is one of our new go-to’s.
Most of the time, we drop by for cocktails and snacks – usually sans camera hence the lack of posts about them. We had been meaning to drop by for brunch and finally had a chance to check it out last weekend.
The space, which centres around a large bar, is small and cozy – lots of dark wood elements with bright red chairs.
I started off my meal with The Legendary County Caesar ($12). Without a doubt, one of the best caesars I’ve had! It’s definitely a must-order for Caesar fans.
Mike and our friend John each ordered The Wakeup Call – espresso, rum, Amaro & cinnamon ($12). The ingredients in the cocktail played off the bitterness from the espresso nicely and made for a very unique cocktail.
The dish that caught my eye was the French Toast – finger lickin’ fried chicken, maple syrup, buttermilk ranch ($14). I’m a sucker for sweet and savoury combinations and this really hit the spot. The County General kills it when it comes to fried chicken – the batter is perfectly crisp, the meat is perfectly seasoned and juicy. I also loved the mixture of the creamy ranch and sweet maple syrup. The only down-side was the portion. You’ll notice that the portions here aren’t very large but we keep coming back because the food is delicious!
Mike ordered the Croque Madame – pulled pork, fried egg, Mornay, texas BBQ sauce ($12). This saucy croque madame was packed full of flavours from the Mornay sauce, the BBQ sauce and gooey fried egg. All-in-all, pretty tasty but I preferred my french toast.
I have to mention the side salad that came with Mike’s dish though. It was SO delicious! The dressing was fantastic and I loved the addition of the pickled red onions.
Our friend John ordered the Chicken Thigh Sandwich – avocado, chutney, pickled onion, cilantro ($13). I’ll be honest, the first time I came to the County General on Queen West, I wasn’t in love. One of the dishes we ordered was their famous chicken thigh sandwich and I was really disappointed by the size of the teeny tiny slider-sized sandwich. Fast forward several years, and the sandwich is now a more reasonable size. Most importantly, John enjoyed the sandwich. Like I said, you can’t go wrong with their fried chicken.
We ended our meal with The King – banana bread, peanut butter, bacon toffee ($7). It consisted of a thin slice of banana bread topped with caramelized bananas and bacon toffee. Nothing revolutionary but a great way to end off the meal.
As I’ve already mentioned, the portions aren’t very big and you won’t get the best bang for your buck if you’re looking for a large and filling meal. However, the food is really delicious, the servers are always friendly and I love the cozy space. So, if you don’t feel like waiting an hour for Bonjour Brioche or Lady Marmalade, the County General is a fantastic alternative!
At a glance:
• Sister restaurant of the Queen and Shaw location
• Located on Queen East (and Boulton Ave)
• Our go-to spot for drinks/snacks – amazing cocktails (which change with the season) and tasty bites
• Enjoyed the brunch (loved the french toast with fried chicken)
• One of the best caesars in the city
• Portions aren’t very big but the food is delicious
Ratings (out of 5):
• Food: 4 stars
• Service: 4 stars
• Atmosphere: 4 stars
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