As Scrabble games go, it was an embarrassing blow-out – a Leafs versus Bruins game with my wife as Boston, creaming me by well over 200 points. It was over so quickly we found ourselves drained (emotionally and linguistically) by 5:00 p.m. – and hungry, too, since we ran out of those spicy, anchovy-spiked cheese straws from The Harbord Bakery (best cheese straws in the city) just about the time Wendy put down “parvenus,” her fourth seven-letter word. So we went out to dinner, early enough to find two seats at the bar of The County General, the casual new place opened by Splendido’s owners, chef Victor Barry and manager Carlo Catallo. Neither of them were there (I suppose they were at Splendido) but we were beautifully looked after by the two women behind the bar – smart, friendly service really stands out sometimes. I didn’t realize that one of them is Aja Sax, whose cocktails I have read about but have yet to try. Last night we were in more of a white wine mood and found a lovely Fielding Estates Viognier on the small but proudly all-Niagara wine list. Aja also does the music, apparently, which was right up my boomer-box tin pan alley – drifting along through Leonard Cohen to U2, Chris Isaak, the Stones, Derek and the Dominoes… and all at a reasonable and highly civilized level.
The County General is small – just 14 seats plus another 10 at the bar – but it’s nicely put together. The decorative theme involves a large number of 2-by-1 planks, lining the walls, creating a dropped ceiling and forming the bartop. They play on this barn-like feel with occasional sculptures of chicken – which makes perfect sense when you see how often chicken appears on chef Garth Legree’s short menu. He is working with a fairly narrow palette of flavours – sort of Thai meets American barbecue – but the results are absolutely delightful.
We started with a hearty soup full of chunks of tender, pale-as-pork ham, white beans and hunky croutons of Marc Thuet bread. The thickish broth was tangy with mustard and lemon juice, thyme and rosemary – just the way to start a winter evening. I had the daily special of wings which were easily the best wings I’ve ever had (okay I’ve only ordered wings three times in my life, but these were the best). Legree cooks them sous-vide then flash-fries them so they’re unbreaded, relatively lightweight and glazed with a sticky and delectable bbbq sauce that avoids over-sweetness and gains depth from a hint of espresso coffee. The wings are strewn with sliced up raw red chilies and a mass of fresh cilantro. Three condiments are presented separately – a creamy, smooth blue cheese dressing, a herbed mayo, and a fresh, tangy apple slaw. Being almost a virgin where wings are concerned I don’t know the protocol of these extra sauces. They were too good to waste, but I was enjoying the wings’ own flavours so much I didn’t want to mask them. In the end, I used the bones as dippers and had the best of both worlds.
Another star dish is the trio of miniature steamed buns each of which contains a small quivering block of lightly smoked pork belly. Again changes are rung by a variety of condiments. In one bun it’s a crunchy, not-too-garlicky kim chi; in another, that green apple slaw; in a third, a dollop of oniony avocado chutney with a mittful of fresh cilantro. A runny green chili sauce is delivered in a miniature squeeze bottle.
The main event of our dinner, however, was the fried chicken – a dish intended for two. Served on a wooden board, two substantial chicken breasts have been cooked sous vide and then differently treated – like twin sisters who have grown up in different parts of the world. One has a tamari glaze of great complexity – spicy-sweet and altogether delicious. The other has had a brush with a spice rub featuring allspice and chili and has then been battered and fried. It’s pretty well perfect fried chicken, juicy and flavourful, and ends up being the one we mess with, wrapping thick slices up in lettuce leaves with various combinations of the accompanying garnishes. You can see them in the opicture in their teeny metal bowls – cilantro, green onion, radish, pickled red onion, kim chi, grated fresh ginger, Thai chilies, avocado chutney with plenty of kaffir lime, bbq sauce, a squeeze bottle of red chili sauce. Awesome.
Other treats? Great frites, triple-fried to make them soft on the inside, crunchy on the outside, with a ramekin of smokey, house-made ketchup. A slice of classic apple pie dusted with cinnamon. A flight of 4 top rums, part of a fulsome and very sophisticated program of brown spirits (mostly rums and bourbons) that Aja Sax has put together. It all costs far less than it could. The only drawback is that you have to get there pretty early or pretty late if you want to find a table. Me, I’d rather sit at the bar.
The County General is at 936 Queen Street West (on the corner of Shaw). 416 531 4447.