One of these things is not like the others: sandwiches, pasta, pizza and pljeskavica at the city’s hottest new restaurants
Photography by Emma McIntyre

The County General
936 Queen St. W., 416-531-4447
The owners of Splendido, Toronto’s long-standing fine dining institution, know exactly what sells right now: cheap sandwiches and pricy cocktails. In their minuscule new bar at the corner of Queen and Shaw, they’re working those trends so effectively there’s a lineup out the door at 10 p.m. on a Tuesday night, and the beleaguered servers greet newcomers with exasperated sighs. The crowd is typically Bellwoods, with women in ushankas and neon lipstick, men in girlfriend-repelling overgrown beards. The short menu is part South Carolina, part South Korea. Sides include mustardy devilled eggs, bland apple-cabbage slaw and good kimchee. The steamed pork buns, made with perfectly charred belly, are tender and toothsome. For every good sandwich, though, there’s a gaffe, like an excessively fatty Reuben that’s abandoned after three bites, and a desiccated cupcake that could have emerged from a day-old bake sale. Ignore the desserts and stick to what the place does best—knee-weakening bourbon cocktails like the Figgy Dew, made with Bulleit, fig syrup, cucumber, lemon and ginger beer. After one of those, you’ll be chair dancing to “Da Doo Ron Ron” with abandon.

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