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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 interior

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.

The Legendary County Caesar

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 Wakeup Call

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!

French Toast

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.

Croque Madame

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.

Chicken Thigh Sandwich

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.

The King

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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