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At The County General, Chefs Garth Legree (at left) and Victor Barry whose other restaurant, Splendido, is a Toronto icon of fine dining, serve real food for very real people. With their help comfort food, the kind I wrote about in the 1980s, is back and the city, including the food critics, is embracing the restaurant whole-heartedly.
Even though it’s one of the new kids on the gastro-block, Joanne Kates, recently retired from the Globe and Mail, blessed it as one of her Top 100 of 2011. She wrote: “The General is Splendido’s downtown downscale beach-head, with loud 60s music, lots of brown liquor, and farmhouse food gone snazzy….And noise and lineups and no reservations. For good ol’ boys (‘n’ gals) gone hipster.” Toronto Life, BlogTO, Toro, National Post, JamesChatto.com, The Grid, DineTO…it’s almost an embarrassment of well-deserved media riches.
The ingredients are honest, from the thick slices of heirloom tomatoes heaped into the sandwiches to the fresh apples in the pie with a side of cinnamon-strewn, vanilla ice 
cream. Few restaurants in Canada, let alone Toronto, have the chutzpah to have an Ontario-only wine list. Their beers are the same…all brewed HERE! Hallelujah!
The menus range from a full on, fabulous brunch on both Saturdays and Sundays (try the Croque Madame – country ham, grilled bread and ‘perfect’ egg or the fried buttermilk chicken on a milk bun with avocado chutney, coriander and green onion) to ‘grub’ like roasted bone marrow with a side of truffle fries to pork tacos made 
with braised pork shoulder and dolloped with tomatillo salsa verde, smoked chipotle creme fraiche, coriander and radish.
Meat free? The spring vegetable & goats milk cheese galette with asparagus, runner beans and pickled ramps is baked in a flaky pastry crust, and speaking of crust, no one should leave without a piece of that apple pie.
The County General is one of about 250 restaurants that celebrate Food Day across Canada. Contact them at the number below to reserve a table.
The County General est l’un des 250 restaurants à travers tout le Canada qui participent au Journée des terroirs. Contactez The County General directement, au numéro ci-dessous, afin de faire votre réservation.
The County General
936 Queen St. W,
Toronto, ON M6J 1G9
T: 416-531-4447
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