Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 699 St. Clair Avenue West
Type of Meal: Dinner
Overall mark - 7 out of 10
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Gastro World's Grading System
Address: 699 St. Clair Avenue West
Type of Meal: Dinner
After visiting New Orleans and
having delicious fried chicken at Willie Mae’s Scotch House, I was intrigued to
sample what Toronto has to offer. The Stockyards was rated #1 in the city by
Blogto, so naturally it seemed fitting to start with the best.
My friend warned me the
restaurant is small with limited seating (about twenty bar stools facing the
kitchen and wall). Since they don’t take reservations, we decided to head over
earlier but found a line an hour long by 6:30.
Between the four of us we split
two fried chicken dinners ($15). Each arrived in a cast iron skillet with four
pieces of chicken, a large serving of fries, a decent sized coleslaw, ketchup
and hot sauce.
The buttermilk marinated chicken
was juicy and tender - even the denser breast pieces. The breading was crispy,
thin and had some spice mixed into it. Personally, I would like a flakier crust
to give more crunch and spices mixed into the buttermilk to brine the meat
better. All in all, it was good fried chicken. Although I liked Stockyard’s chicken, I personally found the
fried chicken at Patois more suited to my taste.
The sides were amazing! The fries
were thin, crispy and full of potato flavour. Despite being stuffed I couldn’t
help but continue to consume them. Additionally, the coleslaw was balanced
between acidity and creaminess; I particularly liked the celery seeds mixed
throughout.
Wanting to try some of the
Stockyard’s famous BBQ (unfortunately, their ribs and chicken wasn’t
available), we split a pulled pork sandwich ($8.50). The soft egg bun was piled
high with big chunks of smoky meat.
Although the pork was well flavoured, there could be more BBQ sauce – I
like it saucy! Some coleslaw also topped the sandwich to add freshness.
Note, when ordering sandwiches it will arrive by itself, for an extra $2.50 you
can add a side of fries.
In an attempt to balance out the
meaty starchy meal, we ordered a side of brussel sprouts ($6). They were
delicious – cooked well (soft but still had bite to it) and flavourful from the
addition of smoked ham and sriracha sauce. Consider ordering this as they
arrive quickly and may help stave off hunger while waiting for the chicken to
be made.
If the
wait doesn’t appeal to you, Stockyards does offer take-out. In fact, it seemed
to be a popular option. You should live in the area or be willing to eat
without a table nearby as letting this delicious chicken sit in a paper container and
get soggy would be a shame.
Overall mark - 7 out of 10
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____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
